Caught in an avalanche: Swiss winter sports star is dead

The international winter sports world is in deep mourning: Extreme athlete and former Olympic medalist Ueli Kestenholz has died in an avalanche accident in Valais.

13 January 2026

From: fop

The active freerider and former Swiss professional snowboarder was caught and buried by an avalanche on Hochkuriz on Sunday, according to the cantonal police. The accident occurred in open terrain at an altitude of approximately 2400 meters.

A skier who was present and managed to escape to safety just in time immediately raised the alarm. Despite the rapid rescue by emergency services, Kestenholz later died in the hospital in Sion. He was only 50 years old.

Olympic bronze medalist behind Thomas Prugger

Kestenholz was one of the most outstanding representatives of Swiss snowboarding, a true pioneer in the sport. He began his long winter sports career in 1997 alongside the South Tyrolean snowboarding legend Roland Fischnaller. Initially, he competed in giant slalom, then in the then newly introduced parallel events.

Ueli Kestenholz (left) reached the World Cup podium in both alpine snowboarding and snowboard cross. © APA

The highlight of Kestenholz's sporting career: In 1998, he won Olympic bronze in Nagano, finishing behind Thomas Prugger from Puster Valley. Later, the Swiss athlete switched to snowboard cross, competing in this discipline for the third time at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Bardonecchia. He competed in a total of 28 Snowboard World Cup races, reaching the podium five times. However, a victory on the big stage eluded him.

Active as an extreme athlete until the very end

After retiring from racing in the summer of 2006, Kestenholz successfully dedicated himself to freeriding, speed riding, and paragliding. Until recently, he was involved in various extreme sports projects. He enjoyed great respect – not only as an athlete, but also as an inspiration and adventurer in the winter sports scene.