Olympic snowboarding pioneer Ueli Kestenholz has died in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps at age 50. Swiss authorities say Kestenholz was snowboarding with a friend around midday Sunday on an eastern slope of the Lötschental valley in southern Switzerland when an unexpected avalanche hit. Police said the skier with him was able to reach safety, while Kestenholz was buried and later dug out by his companion and rescuers, supported by three Air Zermatt helicopters, per People. He was flown to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Kestenholz won bronze for Switzerland in the parallel giant slalom at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first Olympics to feature snowboarding. He also competed at the 2002 Winter Games and, according to the Swiss Ski Federation, was among the "pioneers" of snowboard cross when it debuted at the 2006 Turin Olympics. He was also twice crowned snowboardcross champion at the X-Games, per the Guardian. The federation said "the snowboard community are devastated," noting he leaves behind two children.
After retiring from competition in 2006, Kestenholz built a life around high-adrenaline outdoor sports, from freeriding and speedriding to paragliding, kitesurfing, skydiving, surfing, wingfoiling, and mountain biking. He once explained his switch from skis to a board as teenager by saying snowboarding finally let him chase his favorite sensation—"gliding sideways"—even in winter. He was "a true crossover athlete," Swiss Ski said in its statement. "His life was far too short."
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