Former world champion freestyle skier Kyle Smaine died in an avalanche in Japan, his family has confirmed.

Smaine, 31, died alongside an unnamed Austrian skier after tragedy struck on the slopes of the Hakuba Norikura mountain near the Tsugaike ski resort on Sunday. It's understood the South Lake Tahoe Professional was on a marketing trip for Ikon Pass and Nagano Tourism when the avalanche hit.

Fellow professional skier Adam U was also on the trip but was rescued after he was trapped on the 2,469-metre-high mountain for 25 minutes. “We saw it coming," he told Mountain Gazette. "We heard the crack. We realised it [was] a big one. We started running and then we got hit.”

U explained him, Smaine and Mountain Gazette photographer Grant Gunderson were "going out for fun" between shoots on Sunday. Gunderson returned to Tsugaike after their first run down the mountain, but U and Smaine met another group of Austrian skiers when they returned to the summit.

After taking a different route on their second run down, U recalled it was a member of the Austrian group who triggered the break. It was reported Hakuba Norikura was subject to an avalanche warning in recent days following a rise in snowfall.

Smaine won the gold medal in the halfpipe event at the FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships in 2015. He was one of four Americans to win gold at that year's championships, helping the United States top the medal table with 11 to their credit overall.

The former X Games competitor took to Instagram shortly before Sunday's tragedy and wrote: "This is what brings me back to Japan each winter. Unbelievable snow quality, non-stop storms, and really fun terrain that seems to get better then (sic) more exploring you do."

Many other figures involved in skiing, photography and extreme sports paid tributes to the late star. "Wish we had more time to ski these past few years," Olympic gold medal-winning freestyle skier Joss Christiansen commented on Smaine's final post. "Thanks for always being such a positive energy Kyle. Heavy hearts tonight."

Two-time Olympic medallist Marielle Thompson described Smaine as "such a bright light lost," while numerous others hailed him as a role model and inspiration. The 2023 FIS Freestyle Ski and Snowboarding World Championships are set to get underway in Bakuriani, Georgia, on February 19, marking the eighth anniversary of Smaine's greatest skiing success in Kreischberg, Austria.