 Poster: A snowHead
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In this article from the New Zealand Herald
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Horrific television images of Windle tumbling end-over-end down an Alaskan mountain two years ago during the world freeskiing championships were viewed by millions worldwide.
He was incredibly lucky to survive the horror fall.
"I pretty much fell down the whole mountain, a solid 500m with cliffs in the middle. I took time out of the sport after that because I was really rattled by the near miss and too scared to ski for a while. |
Now he's back with even more ambitious plans.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nutter! 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Mad 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Almost as stupid as this ? 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I am glad to see he is planning more than one insane trip. Still not convinced that Mont Blanc is much use in preparing for 8000m though...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Here's what happened on Mt St Elias the last time somebody tried it.
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kuwait_ian, great article...................what a bunch of ladies' front bottoms! At least the one in the article realised when he saw the other guys falling that it wasn't just him involved in this it was all their familes as well. Sounds like they were lucky to get off the mountain in the helicopter as well, putting all those guys at risk as well!
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| Mark Lehto wrote: |
| I am glad to see he is planning more than one insane trip. Still not convinced that Mont Blanc is much use in preparing for 8000m though... |
Not sure it makes much difference. You can't really train for 8000 meters, a major challenge is correct acclimatisation. I would have thought that Mt Blanc was as good a place as any to learn and practise the mountain and ski craft required for such a descent.
I have a friend who skied a 7,600 meter summit last year in China. As he was part of a self sufficient expedition with, I think, 5 members they had to carry their own kit so skied and climbed with heavy loads from base camp. Also ski and ski touring boots are no use for that sort of climbing so he skied on climbing boots... he told me that being an excellent skier was extremely important. He largely skis on the mountains around Grenoble which top out at 3000 meters. Of course my mate didn't feel the need to tell everybody about his trip... unlike Mr. Windle.
Okay there is a difference between 7,600 meters and 8,000 meters. Of course skiers (and not mountaineers) like Sylvain Saudan and Dominique Perret have gone above 8,000 meters before. I imagine if you asked Windle to ski on 220cm planks and rear entre boots used by Saudan on the 8062 Hidden Peak he probably think you insane.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The article seemed to indicate Mont Blanc was good for acclimatising. Which is what I was doubting - of course it IS good for the general mountain/skiing experience. You might get over-used to having a bar at the bottom of the hill though...
And well done your mate! Sounds most impressive (aka nutty - but impressively so).
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davidof, Congrats to your mate, and also more power for not making a big song and dance about it.
The proposed attempt sounds ill-prepared to me. People climbing Everest and K2 noramlly spend weeks at altitude and go up and down to various camps many times. Climbing Mont Blanc and then going to 8000m sounds more than a bit potty to me.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Dan wrote: |
| Sounds like they were lucky to get off the mountain in the helicopter as well, putting all those guys at risk as well! |
This is the main thing - personal risk taking should be just that. Getting others involved in life-threatening situations arising from poor preparation is not acceptable. It does not sound as though the preparation in terms of acclimatisation is anything like adequate for either of his proposed expeditions.
More high altitude stuff - skiing on Everest
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| easiski wrote: |
| Climbing Mont Blanc and then going to 8000m sounds more than a bit potty to me. :o |
I agree, if that is what he plans it sounds dangerous. As you know at L2A even at the top of the glacier there the air is thinner and some people react badly. I was climbing a lot at 3000+ meters this year and compared to sea level it is much much harder. I would hate to think what 8000 meters is like. Poor acclimitisation was one of the problems of the 1996 expeditions. The climbers not wishing to descend from base camp then climb back up again so then had trouble close to the summit when the oxygen ran out.
I was hoping Marco who did the climb in China would send me some more info and pics but he normally does a slideshow in his home in Grenoble and then he moves on to the next trip. He's in the Bolivian mountains now.
I do appreciate the people who take the trouble to publish their ski and mountaineering stories but, like you, admire people who ski for the moment.
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