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 was riding with three companions when they fell in deep new snow and could not move. Resort staff found and dug them out, but they were in cardiac arrest when taken to hospital and were pronounced dead. The cause of death was asphyxiation. Police said the resort had closed the area because of the amount of new snow, with signs in Japanese and English, and the snowboarder appears to have ridden there. A companion was reported as saying they lacked the skill to reach their friend quickly.
Reports differ on the time (shortly after 14:30 or about 15:30, as summarised in search results); left blank.
Where
Not known whether inside or outside the ski areaKagura ski resort, Yuzawa town (Mitsumata). Reported as midway down the advanced Y3 run, which the resort had closed that day because of heavy new snow.
Known only to the ski area.
Link to the ski area
At Kagura
Reports place it at かぐらスキー場, on part of the Y3 run that the resort had closed (滑走を禁止していた場所); one headline says コース外滑走か. Whether a closed run counts as inside the managed area is not settled.
People
Died1
Injured—Not reported
Rescued—Not reported
What is known about the cause
- News reportFell in deep new snow and could not get out; cause of death asphyxiation (reported). [2]
Not confirmed
- The exact time (reports differ).
- Whether the closed Y3 section is inside the managed area, and exactly where the fall happened.
- One snippet gives about 15:30 as the time; another source differs, so time stays blank.
- Riding in an area the resort had closed because of heavy new snow; closure signs were in Japanese and English (police, reported) (reported by TeNY Television Niigata; that source could not be re-checked).
- Companions could not reach the snowboarder quickly in the deep snow (reported) (reported by TeNY Television Niigata; that source could not be re-checked).
Sources
- NST Niigata Sogo Television ↗ · 2023-12-23checked in search results
- NST Niigata Sogo Television ↗ · 2023-12-24checked in search results
- TeNY Television Niigata ↗
- NST Niigata Sogo Television ↗checked in search results
- Yomiuri Shimbun Online (via Yahoo! News) ↗checked in search results
- NST Niigata Sogo Television (via Yahoo! News) ↗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.