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 and a parent were riding an advanced run. The parent went down first and, when the snowboarder did not follow, went back up and found them face-up with the upper body buried in new snow beside the run. Resort staff called for help; they were taken to hospital in cardiac arrest and pronounced dead that evening. The cause of death was asphyxiation. Police were investigating and reports suggest the rider strayed from the run into the ungroomed edge.
Japan Today (citing police) gives about 10:00 as when the rider was found; death confirmed shortly after 18:00 in hospital.
Where
Not known whether inside or outside the ski areaKagura ski resort, Yuzawa town; ungroomed new snow beside an advanced run (コース脇の非圧雪部分).
Known only to the ski area.
Link to the ski area
At Kagura
Reported at かぐらスキー場, in new snow beside an advanced run (コース脇); reports suggest the rider went off the run by mistake. Whether the spot is inside the managed area is not stated.
People
Died1
Injured—Not reported
Rescued—Not reported
What is known about the cause
Not confirmed
- Which run, and whether the spot was inside the managed area.
- How the rider came to leave the groomed run.
Sources
- NST Niigata Sogo Television ↗ · 2025-01-13checked in search results
- NST Niigata Sogo Television ↗ · 2025-01-14checked in search results
- Niigata Nippo ↗checked in search results
- BSN Niigata Broadcasting (via Yahoo! News) ↗
- TeNY Television Niigata (via Yahoo! News) ↗
- FNN Prime Online (via Yahoo! News) ↗
This record was checked against search results for these reports (date, place and outcome); the original articles could not be opened.
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-22.