Niseko, Japan – A mountain guide from New Zealand died in an avalanche on Saturday while snowboarding at Niseko ski resort in Japan.

The victim, who has been identified as Sam Kerr, 35, of Otago on New Zealand’s South Island and a resident in Japan. Kerr headed Niseko Xtreme Tours at the resort. A Japanese client of Kerr’s sustained minor injuries in the slide, which has been described as 200 meters wide and 350 meters long in an off-limits area of Niseko.

“As people may have heard our fearless leader Sam Kerr passed away in an avalanche yesterday while out freeriding in Niseko,” Niseko Xtreme Tours guide Tom Melville wrote on the company’s Facebook page. “Words can’t describe how we all feel.”

Kerr is survived by his wife Yuka and son Rui.