10 Photos of Ueli Kestenholz: The Swiss Olympic Snowboarder Who Dies in Avalanche

The silence of the Swiss Alps was shattered this week by the loss of a pioneer who helped define the spirit of modern winter sports in the country. Ueli Kestenholz, a man whose life was inextricably linked to the steep, snow-covered faces of the Bernese Oberland, has died at the age of 50 after being trapped in an avalanche.

Kestenholz was known for his fearless approach to the mountains, but the athlete was caught in a deadly avalanche while riding in the back country near his home. His passing marks the end of an era for a generation of athletes who looked to him as the ultimate multi-sport mountain professional.

Who Was Ueli Kestenholz

Ueli Kestenholz was born in Switzerland in 1975, the son of a gymnastics teacher, and grew up near Lake Thun with his two brothers. He fell in love early with the thrill of moving fast on any kind of board.

Away from snowboarding, Kestenholz enjoyed skateboarding and windsurfing, and his Instagram feed showed him paragliding, parakiting, and wingfoiling, underlining his reputation as a total all-around athlete. Outside the professional circuit, he was a responsible father of two and a loving partner to Petra Wolf, who balanced his adrenaline-fuelled pursuits with a grounded family life, according to Swiss outlet Blue News.

'Snowboarding Had a Tremendous Pull'

The peak of his competitive success arrived during the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, where snowboarding made its historic Olympic debut. Kestenholz secured a bronze medal in the giant slalom, becoming the first Swiss athlete to stand on an Olympic podium for the sport.

In a past interview, he recalled how snowboarding began to dominate his life at the age of 14. His parents had bought him skiing equipment, but he admitted feeling guilty as he abandoned it, explaining that 'snowboarding had a tremendous pull' that he could not ignore.

'At first, I still felt guilty towards my parents, who had bought me the skiing equipment. But snowboarding had a tremendous pull,' he told Tages-Anzeiger.

Following his Olympic breakthrough, he transitioned into the world of extreme freeriding and collected two X Games gold medals in 2003 and 2004. He also picked up multiple World Cup podiums, proving he could master both tight, technical race courses and the unpredictable lines of big mountain terrain.

These victories cemented his status as a world-class competitor capable of mastering both technical gates and untamed mountain faces. His influence extended beyond medals, as he had also become a prominent figure in mountain film and photography. Kestenholz's ability to navigate complex terrain with grace made him a frequent subject for filmmakers documenting the limits of human capability in the wild.

Avalanche Tragedy in Valais

Kestenholz was snowboarding with a friend in the Swiss Alps on Saturday, 10 January, when the accident happened in the canton of Valais. A powerful avalanche reportedly swept him away during a backcountry run.

Rescuers managed to transport him by helicopter to Visp before he was transferred to Sion, where he passed away. The Swiss Ski Team confirmed his death on Tuesday, 13 January, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

'Swiss-Ski and the Snowboard Community Mourn Ueli Kestenholz. The First Swiss Olympic Medalist in a Snowboard Discipline Has Lost His Life in an Avalanche Accident at the Age of Just 50,' the post read.

The global snowboarding community is in mourning for the man who helped bring the sport into the mainstream. Tributes have poured in from across Switzerland, acknowledging not just his athletic prowess, but his role as an ambassador for the Alpine lifestyle.