Kyle Smein, world champion halfpipe fighter, dies in an avalanche in Japan.

TOKYO (AP) – World halfpipe champion Kyle Smein died last weekend after an avalanche hit the mountains of central Japan.

The US Freeski team posted information on social media about the death of a 31-year-old American. Smein, who lives in Lake Tahoe, Calif., recently revealed that he was going to go skiing in remote areas of Nagano Prefecture to enjoy “incredible snow quality.”

His wife, Jenna Dramiz, also took to Instagram, saying, “Tonight I hope to ride a pow or bike with you in my dreams.”

There was heavy snow in the area at the time of Smene’s trip, and an avalanche warning was issued by authorities.

Photographer Grant Gunderson, who was on the trip, detailed the avalanche on social media and said Smein “was thrown 50 meters by the blast, buried and killed.” There were two other skiers with Smein, one of whom died and the other was buried under almost 5 feet of snow but remained unharmed. Gunderson did not give the full names of the other skiers.

Smein won the Ski Halfpipe World Championship in 2015, a year after the discipline was included in the Olympics. His last major competition was the World Championship in Mammoth Mountain, California, which he won in January 2018.

Tributes to Smein spilled over onto his Instagram page. In their own Instagram post, the US Freeski team stated, “Kyle Smein was a world champion freeskier, loved to explore the mountains, was a fierce competitor, but an even better person and friend.”