Kestenholz was snowboard world champion in 2000 and 2001. He was one of the first-ever recipients of an Olympic medal in snowboarding (bronze) at the
1998 Winter Olympics (giant slalom). He was a two-time gold medalist at the Winter X-Games in
snowboard cross (also known as boardercross). After his third Olympic Games, at Turin 2006, Kestenholz quit the World Cup circuit to focus 100% on freeriding. Besides freeriding on a snowboard, he became one of the pioneers of
speed flying and speed riding in Switzerland. In May 2009, he made the first speedriding descent of the
Matterhorn. Together with Mathias Roten, he produced
PlayGravity, an award-winning multisport-movie, showing their speedriding descent of
Eiger,
Mönch, and
Jungfrau in one day. Kestenholz died at the Spital Sion in
Sion on 11 January 2026, after an avalanche accident in the
Valais Alps. He was 50. ==References==