American freestyle skier dies in avalanche in Japan
An American freestyle skier died after being trapped in an avalanche in Japan on Sunday, his family confirmed.Kyle Smaine, a skier from Lake Tahoe, California, had traveled to Japan for the "incredible quality of the snow," according to a recent post on his Instagram account. "This is what brings me back to Japan every winter," wrote Smaine, who won a gold medal in the halfpipe at the 2015 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships, while sharing a video of himself skiing. Smaine was skiing in the Nagano prefecture on the central Japanese island of Honshu when she died after…
