The snowboarding community is mourning the shocking loss of Sophie Hediger, a rising star in the sport, whose death has been confirmed after she was caught up in an avalanche on Dec. 23. She was 26.
Walter Reusser, CEO of Sport at Swiss-Ski, the winter sports guild for Switzerland, confirmed the news in a statement given to NBC News, writing, “We are stunned, and our thoughts are with Sophie’s family, to whom we express our deepest condolences.”
“For the Swiss-Ski family, the tragic death of Sophie Hediger has cast a dark shadow over the Christmas holidays.” his statement continued. “We are immeasurably sad. We will keep an honorable memory of Sophie.”
This year marked a turning point for Horgen in her sport.
She earned her first two World Cup podium finishes during the 2023 to 2024 season. She took second place in the World Cup dress rehearsal in St. Moritz, located in the southeastern part of the Swiss Alps. In 2022, she made her Olympics debut during the Winter Games in Beijing.
Swiss-Ski reports that Hediger had set her sights on taking home a medal at the World Championships in the Engadin region of Switzerland in March 2025.
The snowboarder grew up in Horgen, a municipality within Zürich, Switzerland, according to Swiss-Ski. There, she took up freeriding, or snowboarding on un-groomed terrain, in Arosa, a resort village nearly 82 miles from Horgen.
