Former world champion skier Kyle Smaine was one of two people who died in an avalanche in Japan, according to a photographer who accompanied him on the trip and the U.S.
Ski & Snowboard Team.
Mr. Smaine, 31 years old from Salt Lake City, Utah, was skiing in Japan for a marketing trip, according to the Mountain Gazette, an outdoor cultural magazine.
Mr. Smaine was accompanied by another professional skier from Washington, D.C., and Grant Gunderson , a photographer who was on assignment for the Mountain Gazette, the publication said.