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 came to the resort with two friends about 08:00, split from them before noon and rode alone. When they could not be reached by evening the friends asked staff for help. Staff searched until visibility became too poor at night and resumed the next morning, finding the rider outside the courses near the top of the resort, head-down in a tree well that had formed where snow melted around a tree trunk. Death was confirmed at the scene; the cause was asphyxiation. Police were looking into how it happened.
Went missing on 18 April (split from friends before noon); found the morning of 19 April. Time of the fall is unknown.
Where
Not known whether inside or outside the ski areaGALA Yuzawa ski resort, Yuzawa town; outside the courses near the top of the resort, in a tree well (ツリーホール).
Known only to the ski area.
Link to the ski area
At GALA Yuzawa
Reported at ガーラ湯沢スキー場, near the summit; one report says beside the course (コース脇), others outside the course (コース外).
People
Died1
Injured—Not reported
Rescued—Not reported
What is known about the cause
Not confirmed
- Inside or outside the course: reports say beside (コース脇) or outside (コース外).
- When the fall happened.
Sources
- Niigata Nippo ↗checked in search results
- NST Niigata Sogo Television ↗ · 2025-04-20checked in search results
- TeNY Television Niigata (025) ↗
- NST Niigata Sogo Television (via Yahoo! News) ↗
- NST Niigata Sogo Television (via Yahoo! News) ↗
- BSN Niigata Broadcasting (via Yahoo! News) ↗
- TeNY Television Niigata (via Yahoo! News) ↗checked in search results
- TeNY Television Niigata (025) ↗checked in search results
- South China Morning Post ↗checked in search results
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.