A summary of public reports, written by Ski in Sky and checked against each source. It is not an official investigation, and it may change as investigations continue.
What happened
The snowboarder had come with two friends. Riding off the course, they hit a tree, were hurt and could not move, and called 110 shortly before 11:30. A Niigata police helicopter rescued them shortly before 13:30. Police (Minamiuonuma station) said they complained of pain in the left leg but their life was not in danger.
About 11:20 is the time of the 110 call (TeNY; Niigata Nippo says shortly before 11:30). Rescue was shortly before 13:30. Date 12 January 2025 per BSN and TeNY; an earlier reading of '1月2日' from a Niigata Nippo snippet was wrong.
Where
Outside the ski areaOff the course at Kagura ski resort, Mitsumata, Yuzawa town.
Known only to the ski area.
Link to the ski area
Near a ski area, not inside it
Snippet: '湯沢町三俣のかぐらスキー場で、コース外でスノーボードをしていた' (snowboarding off the course at Kagura ski resort). How far outside the course is not stated. Outside the courses, so it is not counted against kagura, following the rule used for the Niseko records.
People
Died0
Injured1
Rescued1
What is known about the cause
- News reportRode off the course and hit a tree (reported). [1]
Not confirmed
- Year (see history).
- How far from the course and whether the area was closed.
Sources
- Niigata Nippo ↗checked in search results
- Niigata Nippo (via Infoseek News) ↗
- Yahoo! News Expert (column citing BSN Niigata Broadcasting) ↗ · 2025-01-14
- TeNY Television Niigata (via Infoseek News) ↗ · 2025-01-12checked in search results
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-22.