US Pro Skier Kyle Smaine Has Died At 31 & He Was Lost 'To The Mountains'
His last video showed him skiing down the slopes.
U.S. skier Kyle Smaine.
American freestyle skier and former world champion Kyle Smaine died Sunday in an avalanche, according to his family.
Smaine, 31, was skiing with four other foreigners in Japan on Sunday when the avalanche struck, sweeping him and another skier away, Reuters reports.
Nagano police told Reuters that the incident happened Sunday on Mount Hakuba Norikura. They did not identify Smaine by name.
An outdoor magazine called the Mountain Gazette first reported that Smaine was one of the victims, citing one of its own photographers who was also on the trip. Smaine's his dad, William Smaine, later confirmed it in a statement to NBC News.
"Today we lost an incredible person, friend, skier and teammate to the mountains," the US Free Ski Team wrote in a statement on Instagram Sunday.
"We, along with so many others, send our love and comfort to his family, friends and community."
Reuters reports that the bodies of Smaine and the other skier, an Austrian, were recovered from the snow.
Smaine competed as a pro U.S. skier for several years, breaking into the sport in 2010 and peaking with a gold-medal win in the halfpipe at the FIS Freeski World Cup 2018.
The Lake Tahoe, California native retired from the sport after his world champion season, although he continued to ski and share his adventures on social media.
Smaine had been in Japan for several days before the accident, and his last few Instagram posts showed him skiing and praising the snow in the region.
"This is what brings me back to Japan each winter," he wrote in his final post. "Unbelievable snow quality, non-stop storms, and really fun terrain that seems to get better the more exploring you do."
Pro skiers and other athletes have since flooded his comments with tributes.