Skier passes tallest test - Everest

Oct 10, 2000

seattle times staff: the associated press

KATHMANDU, Nepal - A Slovenian ski instructor has become the first person ever to ski down the steep slopes of Mount Everest without having to remove his skis, mountaineering authorities said yesterday.

It took Davo Karnicar, 38, of Jezersko, Slovenia, five hours on Saturday to ski from Everest's 29,035-foot summit to its base camp at 17,500 feet. He took only a few breaks and never removed his skis, according to the Nepal Ministry of Tourism.

"It is something that was in my head for a long time," Karnicar said in an interview posted on his Web site.

Karnicar said he started the final ascent about 10 p.m. Friday, timing when there was the least wind toward the summit.

His team arrived at the summit about 6 a.m. Saturday and after a rest, he began his ski descent at about 8 a.m.

Karnicar used oxygen on the climb and descent.

Ed Viesturs, a Seattle-based mountaineer who has summited Everest five times, called the feat "quite amazing."

"Right off the summit it's not too bad," Viesturs said of the slope. But the terrain is pure "no-fall zone," in the parlance of extreme skiers.

"You're on a very sharp ridge in places, with 10,000 feet of exposure on every side," Viesturs said.

Karnicar's five-hour descent was far from the fastest, however. In 1988, extreme-sports pioneer Jean-Marc Boivin descended from the top in 11 minutes, using a paraglider.

Karnicar, the father of three, said he was able to negotiate well-known obstacles, such as the Hillary Step, a cliff near the summit, and the Khumbu Icefall, a 2,000-foot tumble of unstable seracs the size of boxcars that climbers usually descend using ropes and ladders.

Autumn is the best time to attempt a ski descent because the bare rocks of spring are covered with snow, but the treacherous summer monsoon season is over, Viesturs said.

After dropping through the top's most dangerous sections, Karnicar attached a 6-pound camera to his helmet, capturing images of him maneuvering down the snowy slopes of Everest, where nearly 200 climbers have died. He said he skied past at least one body on the way down.

His first attempt to ski the mountain from the north face in 1996, was stopped by a snowstorm. He lost two fingers to frostbite.

Viesturs, while admiring Karnicar's achievement, wondered if the crown of "first-to-ski Everest" wasn't splitting hairs a bit.

The most successful attempt previously was in 1992, when Frenchman Pierre Tardivel skied down from about 300 feet below the summit, skipping the Hillary Step.

In 1996 Hans Kammerlander reached the summit solo and without oxygen, but could ski only the top 600 feet of the north side because of insufficient snow.

In one of the more absurd attempts, Yuichiro Miura in 1971 tried using a parachute to slow down a descent from the South Col, with little success. The resulting book and movie, "The Man Who Skied Down Everest," should have been called "The Man Who Fell Down Everest," Viesturs said.

Skiing attempts in the Himalayas also have been fatal.

On Oct. 5 last year, a mountain climber whom Outdoor magazine called the best in the world was killed by an avalanche while ascending 26,291-foot Shishapangma.

Alex Lowe of Bozeman, Mont., was in an expedition that planned to film him skiing down the mountain. A cameraman, Dave Bridges of Aspen, also was killed.

Meanwhile, the tourism ministry said that Andrej Markovic of Ljubljana, Slovenia, died Friday when he slipped and fell at least 3,300 feet while attempting to climb Janak Himal mountain.

In another accident, a Sherpa guide identified as Tsulbim Gylzen, 35, was swept away by an avalanche Oct. 2 while climbing the 26,950-foot Mount Dhaulagiri with a Japanese expedition. His body has not been found.

Details on Karnicar's feat can be found at www.everest.simobil.si.

Seattle Times staff reporter Chris Solomon contributed to this report.

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Link to video

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