Extreme skiing star dies after jump

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Extreme skiing star Billy Poole died of injuries from a bad landing while performing a jump for a Warren Miller ski film in Utah, it was reported Wednesday.

He was 28.

Poole was seriously injured when he hit rocks during a jump Tuesday in the back country of Big Cottonwood Canyon, between Solitude and Brighton ski resorts, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. He was flown by helicopter to University Hospital, where he died about 1:30 p.m.

Poole was filming in the area with Warren Miller Entertainment, based in Boulder, Colo.

"Billy was an exceptionally hard worker and an exceptional skier," Jessica Kunzer, a spokeswoman for Ski Utah, told the Deseret Morning News. "This is a huge blow to our local ski community. He was a really great

guy."