The death of Kyle Smaine, a world champion freestyle skier, has sent shockwaves around the world. On Sunday, January 29, 2023, Kyle was killed in an avalanche in Japan at the age of 31, leaving his family and friends devastated.
Kyle was a beloved South Lake Tahoe pro skier and had a successful career. He won a halfpipe gold medal at the 2015 FIS Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding World Championships and represented the United States in numerous ski competitions held across the country.
At the time of the incident, Kyle was traveling with several others, including Grant Gunderson, a photographer for Mountain Gazette, and American professional skier Adam U. Gunderson said that this was the last run on the last day of the trip, and they were just having fun. All of a sudden, a group of Austrian skiers triggered an avalanche from above and buried both Kyle and Adam U. Adam U was buried at a depth of 1.5 meters for nearly 25 minutes.
The group performed CPR on the Austrian skier, who was declared dead after the incident. Moments later, they confirmed that Kyle was unresponsive as well. Gunderson announced the tragic event via his social media accounts. He posted a photo of Kyle and wrote, “Yesterday was definitely my worst nightmare scenario. This was supposed to be the last day of the trip so we just went to Freeski for a nice trip. Since we spent the previous day One of the best ski/shoot days ever”.
The loss of Kyle Smaine has been deeply felt by the skiing community and his fans all over the world. Celebrities have paid tribute to the late skier, and his memory will live on in the hearts of his loved ones. Privacy is requested at this time as the group comes to terms with the loss of their beloved member.
Kyle Smaine was an incredible skier who achieved great success in his career. His tragic and unexpected death has left the world in shock, and he will be dearly missed.