Pioneering American skier Kasha Rigby believed dead in Kosovo avalanche

Renowned American skier Katherine “Kasha” Rigby is believed to have died in an avalanche at a ski resort in southern Kosovo on Tuesday, according to reports.

The death of a 54-year-old female skier at the Ski Center in Brezovica, Kosovo, was first reported by Euronew.albania on Tuesday. Ferizaj region police spokesperson Kanun Veseli told Radio Free Europe that the victim was “a 54-year-old foreign citizen.”

While the report did not name the skier, Rigby’s friends and loved ones posted tributes on her Instagram account, which shows several pictures from the ski resort in Brezovica.

Ski Magazine reported that sources close to Rigby contacted the outlet about her death.

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Kasha Rigby, 54, is believed to have died in an avalanche at the Ski Center in Brezovica, Kosovo, according to reports. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

In Backcountry Magazine’s report on Rigby’s apparent death, editor Adam Howard said she “embodied compassion and free spiritedness.” 

“The whole outdoor and ski world is just gutted to lose such a special soul,” Howard said.

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Rigby was an accomplished telemark skier who “aimed to redefine telemarking with her high-speed, hard-driving style,” according to Ski Magazine.

Rigby also starred in National Geographic’s “Ultimate Survival Alaska” television reality competition in 2015. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

The Vermont-born skier was the first to achieve a telemark ski descent of Cho You, the sixth-highest mountain in the world located in the Himalayas, according to the magazines.

Rigby’s other accolades include multiple other notable ski descents, including from peaks in Russia, Ecuador and Lebanon, the magazines said.

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Rigby also competed on season three of National Geographic’s “Ultimate Survival Alaska” television reality competition in 2015.