Kyle Smaine

World champion halfpipe skier and Lake Tahoe native Kyle Smaine died over the weekend after getting caught in an avalanche in central Japan.

“He was always trying to get another lap,” Greenspan said, referring to another run and staying out a bit longer. He relished being out on the water or in the back country, and was described by friends as a natural athlete who seemed to effortlessly carry his body through some of the most difficult maneuvers. “He would say or I would say, ‘When are you going to get to ski again?’ I always kind of had that mentality. “He was like, ‘I just wanted to give you a hug before I left.’” Smaine and the other two skiers could not outrun the avalanche. Higher up on the terrain, another skier triggered the avalanche, Gunderson

As many as five people were caught up in the avalanche, but Smaine was one of two people who died.

Every one felt safe in the transition area," Gunderson recounted on an Instagram post. Meanwhile, Gundersno said Smaine was thrown 50 meters by the air blast. Gunderson wrote he was exhausted from the last 10 days so he went down to the base lodge while Smaine and Washington-based pro skier Adam Ü went up again. "They were at the bottom with a member from another group a long way away from the base of the slope transitioning to skin out. "A second skier from the other group triggered an avalanche that stepped down into a massive avalanche (2m deep crown) on an adjacent slope. The best damn years of my life," she wrote.

Kyle Smaine, a world champion in the halfpipe, was backcountry skiing when he was killed.

A spokesperson at the U.S. Although most victims are buried by an average of only three feet of snow, the We can confirm the death of a U.S. “The U.S. As news of the tragedy swept through the freestyle skiing community, there were several remembrances on social media. When the avalanche stops, the snow compacts around victims, becoming almost like concrete. Three were able to escape the avalanche, but two skiers were found dead. Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. [dealing with widespread heavy snow](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/south-korea-japan-grapple-with-heavy-snow-chaos-delays/2023/01/25/eac694b4-9c88-11ed-93e0-38551e88239c_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_15) and record cold. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of athlete and friend Kyle Smaine. Weather forced a search to be suspended, and their bodies were recovered Monday. He will be very missed among the Tahoe community and by his fans around the world,” the company wrote.

Kyle Smaine, a former halfpipe world champion skier, died in an avalanche in Japan on Sunday, his family have confirmed.

“We all did this for Kyle tonight,” two-time Olympic halfpipe skiing champion David Wise said on Sunday, after his X Games victory. We realized: ‘It is a big one.’ We started running and then we got hit.” Three of the skiers were eventually able to make their way down the mountain but Smaine and another man, who has yet to be identified, were later found dead according to local police.

A former world-champion freestyle skier from South Lake Tahoe died in an avalanche while backcountry skiing in Japan on Sunday. Another skier from Austria ...

Kyle Smaine, a retired world champion halfpipe skier, died at age 31 in an avalanche in Japan on Sunday, according to NBC News, citing Smaine's father.

“What Ilia is doing and the way he is pushing the sport is outstanding and incredible to watch. Malinin’s next step is to grab another label that Chen long held: best in the world. That was before Malinin became the story of the figure skating world this fall. The Virginia chalked up the flaws at least partially to putting more recent practice time into his short program, which he skated clean on Friday after errors in previous competitions. Malinin, the world’s second-ranked male singles skater, still landed two clean quads in Friday’s short program and three more Sunday. One year ago, Ilia Malinin came to the U.S.

World champion halfpipe skier Kyle Smaine died after getting buried in an avalanche in the mountains of central Japan over the weekend.

[detailed the avalanche](https://www.instagram.com/p/CoBWZh_pQJS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link) on social media and said Smaine "was thrown 50 meters by the air blast and buried and killed." His last major contest was a World Cup in Mammoth Mountain, California, that he won in January 2018. Smaine, who lived in Lake Tahoe, California, recently posted that he was taking the trip to ski in the backcountry of the Nagano prefecture to enjoy the "unbelievable snow quality."

Skier Kyle Smaine's wife is mourning his death, two months after they got married. Jenna Dramise shared a slideshow filled with photos of her and her late ...

Olympic halfpipe skier David Wise also added, “I’m hoping to crush some pow or MTB rhythm sections with him in my dreams tonight too. The 31-year-old was one of five foreign skiers who were caught in the avalanche on Mount Hakuba Norikura in Nagano Prefecture, [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/two-foreign-skiers-missing-after-avalanche-nagano-japan-2023-01-30/) reported. I picked you up hitchhiking in New Zealand 2010 and who would have thought we would be married 13 years later,” she continued, calling them “the best damn years of my life.” I’m so incredibly thankful that I got to marry you and have you in my life,” the snowboarder wrote on Jan. “I do wish I could tell you that one secret I always had, that I loved you. “I can’t wait to see you again.

A former world-champion freestyle skier from South Lake Tahoe died in an avalanche while backcountry skiing in Japan on Sunday. Kyle Smaine's father told NBC ...