SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An extreme skier died yesterday from injuries he sustained after jumping off a cliff for a scene in a documentary film.

Billy Poole was flown by helicopter from the backcountry of Big Cottonwood Canyon to University of Utah Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, hospital spokeswoman Vickie King said.

The 28-year-old Poole was sponsored by Salt Lake City-based Black Diamond Equipment, maker of ski and climbing gear. Chief executive Peter Metcalf described him as a rising star among big-mountain skiers.

"His stature was increasing. He was inspiring, outgoing, friendly, the perfect ambassador for a company like Black Diamond," Metcalf said. "He lived the life of big mountain skier on just enough money to support his habit.

"In this sport," the executive said, "death is part of life."

Poole cartwheeled through some rocks after jumping off a cliff in an area known as Wolverine Cirque, said Penn Newhard, a Black Diamond marketing consultant.

He was being filmed by crews for ski documentarian Warren Miller, said Jay Burke, a spokesman for Solitude ski area. Ski patrollers at Solitude were the first to reach Poole after the fall.