American skier Kyle Smein was one of two men who recently died in an avalanche while cross-country skiing at a famous resort in Nagano, Japan. Authorities refused to reveal the skiers’ nationality and names, but Smein’s wife, Jenna Dramiz, confirmed his death in an Instagram post. He was 31 years old.
“You loved skiing more than anyone I have ever met. I picked you up while hitchhiking in New Zealand in 2010, and who would have thought we would get married 13 years later. Those were the fucking best years of my life,” she wrote. “I know you had the best races of your life in Japan and I could never blame you for doing what you love.”
In 2015, Smein won the gold medal in the halfpipe at the FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships.
Smein of Lake Tahoe, California won gold in the halfpipe at the 2015 FIS Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships.
Mike RoggeMountain Gazette editor and photographer Grant Gunderson, who was on assignment, also confirmed Smene’s death.
The trip was organized by the Nagano Tourism Board and a private company as part of a marketing project, but key footage had already been filmed, and on the day of the avalanche, the skiers were running for fun. Gunderson wrote that he had been tired in the past 10 days, so he descended to the base lodge while Smein and Washington professional skier Adam Yu climbed back up.
“They were downstairs with a member of another group, far from the base of the slope, which turned into the sheathing. In fact, the Japanese group did the beacon exercises in this transition zone on the previous lap. Everyone felt safe in this zone. transition zone,” Gunderson said in an Instagram post. “A second skier from another group triggered an avalanche that turned into a massive avalanche (2m peak) on a nearby slope.
“The slope they ran on twice didn’t slip. Adam, Kyle and another skier tried to run.”
Yu was buried at a depth of 1.5 meters for 25 minutes, but miraculously was not injured. An unnamed man buried next to him died of internal injuries. Meanwhile, Gundersno said that Smein was thrown back 50 meters by the blast.
Five people were caught in the avalanche. In accordance with ReutersIn the third week of January, due to heavy snowfall, weather services in the area issued an avalanche warning.
Source: www.cbssports.com
