• Kyle Smaine, 31, was killed in an avalanche in Japan.
• He was one of two skiers who died on Sunday.
• The US Freeski Team described him as “an incredible person, friend, skier, and team-mate to the mountains”.

According to his family, former US world champion freestyle skier Kyle Smaine perished in an avalanche.

Smaine, 31, was one of two skiers who perished on Sunday on the east slope of Mount Hakuba Norikura in Japan.

On Monday, his father, William Smaine, told the media that his son had perished in the tragedy.

The US Freeski Team remarked, “Today we lost an incredible person, friend, skier, and team-mate to the mountains.”

“Smaine loved exploring the mountains, was a fierce competitor but an even better person and friend.”

The gold medalist from the halfpipe at the 2015 World Championships was in Japan on a promotional trip with Ikon Pass and Nagano Tourism.

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Three of the skiers were able to safely descend the mountain, according to Japanese authorities, despite the fact that five men from the US and Austria had been caught in the avalanche.

In a message on Instagram, Smaine’s wife Jenna Dramise wrote: “Dear husband and my whole world, officially married November 18, 2022, which not many people knew about. I’m so incredibly thankful that I got to marry you and have you in my life.

“You loved skiing more than anyone I’ve ever met. I know you had the best runs in your life out there in Japan and could never blame you for doing what you loved. I can’t wait to see you again.”

The unknown is the identity of the deceased Austrian skier.

One of the five men, fellow American skier Adam U, was buried 1.5 meters deep for around 25 minutes before being recovered.

U stated in a statement to Mountain Gazette: “We saw it coming, we heard the crack and we realized it is a big one. We started running and then we got hit.”

After many days of significant snowfall and extremely low temperatures, the weather service issued an avalanche warning for the area.

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