TOKYO -- An American professional snowboarder fell to his death after losing his balance while sliding down the rail of a spiral staircase in central Japan early Sunday.

Jeffrey Anderson, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., was trying to slide sideways on his rear down the rail of the hotel staircase at about 3:15 a.m., a Nagano police official said.

After starting out on the fifth floor, the 23-year-old snowboarder lost his balance on the fourth and fell 50 feet to the first, the official said on condition of anonymity. Anderson was taken to a hospital by ambulance but was pronounced dead due to injuries he suffered from hitting his head.

Anderson was in Nagano to compete in a snowboard competition Saturday and Sunday.