According to a post from his wife on Instagram, US skier Kyle Smaine passed away at the age of 31 in an avalanche in Japan. Jenna Dramise stated, “Dear Husband and my entire life, formally wedded November 18, 2022, which not many people knew about.”
“I’m very grateful to have you in my life and to have been able to marry you. Smaine was one of two males who were caught in an avalanche and later discovered dead by police in Nagano, Japan.
According to police, they were among the 13 victims of the avalanche. The authorities have not yet released the identities of the deceased.
the most incredible years of my life. I am aware that you had the finest runs of your life there in Japan, and I could never hold anything against you for following your heart.
I really wish I could tell you the one thing I’ve always kept a secret: my love for you. I told you about it at least ten times a day, so it was never really a secret. I’m eager to see you once more. In my dreams, I want to ride some pow or motorcycles with you tonight. Love your spouse.
The 31-year-old American was killed while skiing in the Nagano prefecture on Monday, according to Grant Granderson, a photographer for the outdoor publication Mountain Gazette who had been on the same trip as Smaine.
Granderson wrote, “Yesterday was my worst nightmare scenario.” Granderson said that the photographer stayed at base camp on the final day of their vacation while a party that included Smaine and fellow professional skier Adam Ü opted to ski one last run.
Adam Ü paid tribute to his friend Smaine by posting a statement and a picture. He scribbled, “RIP.” “Your excitement and stoke were exactly what this old guy needed.”
A party of Austrian skiers who took a slightly different path were waiting for them at the summit, according to Ü in an interview with Mountain Gazette on Monday. Soon later, an avalanche claimed the lives of three skiers: Smaine, Ü, and a third skier, according to Mountain Gazette.
Kyle, Adam, and the other skier made an effort to flee. Adam was buried for 25 minutes at a depth of 1.5 meters, yet he is unharmed. A miracle, really.
He was buried next to a skier who had inside wounds. The air blast launched Kyle 50 meters, whereupon he was buried and died. The rescue was carried out by another group in the region, which included four or five emergency medical professionals as clients and two Canadian mountain guides.
Kyle and the other skier received the best care possible from the doctors. This is something Adam and I will talk about forever. Due to the weather, authorities were unable to immediately start a search on Sunday, but on Monday am, they sent out a 12-person rescue squad.
A spokesperson for the Nagano police told Reuters that the avalanche on the eastern slope of Mount Hakuba Norikura had trapped at least five individuals, all of whom were foreigners from the US and Austria.
Reuters reports that avalanche warnings were recently issued by weather authorities after significant snowfall.On Sunday, Smaine shared a video of himself skiing that was captured by his body camera.
He claimed that the “unbelievable snow quality, constant storms, and extremely interesting terrain that seems to get better with more exploration you do” were the reasons he chose to visit Japan.
At the 2015 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships, Smaine won gold in the halfpipe.