How to Get Down the Steepest Slopes of All – Extreme Skiing in the Back Country
We must define exactly what we infer by extreme skiing so that there is no doubt!
This is about recreational skiing down a steep mountain side with snow on it; it’s not about leaping off rocky outcrops and doing a face plant after a three hundred foot drop. (He was fine when he spoke from his hospital bed).
See this amazing ski extreme video of how not to do it!
Let’s have a look at a form of extreme skiing that any good skier with a smattering of nerve can try for fun. This is the typical sort of skiing on high mountain terrain above the trees and among the rocks that Sylvain Saudan, a Swiss skier from Lausanne, pioneered in the 1970s. We’ll come back to Sylvain Saudain at the finish of this piece.
The slopes we ski on as holiday skiers generally range from 20 to 30 degrees gradient, but occasionally we may come accross a black run that reaches 45 degrees. It is difficult to measure the gradient of a slope accurately and there are different standards in Europe and the US for the usual measurements of green, the easiest, through blue then red to black, the most difficult.
Accept all slopes above 45 degrees as extreme skiing; they will also be off from the beaten track as trail grooming machines don’t like going up and down hills of this gradient – neither do most skiers! Snow can form a base on anything up to 70 degrees depending on the rock base below it and the weather conditions. Above that and it will usually drop off.
Before you try any extreme skiing be aware of the avalanche risk because there may not be anyone to come and rescue you in an emergency. Ask a local about the mountain you propose to go on and accept his advice. Be aware that on most steep gradients there will nearly always be some avalanching of the top layer of the freshest snow – this may be acceptable but it depends on the weather conditions – but ensure that you don’t set an avalanche off above one of your own group.
Don’t go alone into the back country unless you have told someone where you intend to go and when roughly you are going to come home. In case you need rescuing carry a mobile with a keyed in emergency number.
Learn more about avalanches and off piste conditions – Ski Extreme
The ski extreme theory takes into account the steepness and in certain areas the width available to ski on. The steeper a slope, the more you need to slow yourself down at the end of every turn, and because you will probably be skiing between rocks down a couloir, there may not be much width of snow space to turn on. The best way is to keep really low and stick the pole in way down the hill. All you can do, especially on the narrowest places is to do jump turns with your skis braking at ninety degrees against the slope.
Back in the seventies Sylvain Saudan was in the habit of wearing out quite a few skis by doing jump turns on loose stones during the summer months preparing for his next extreme skiing escapade. In his time he skied the highest and steepest mountains in the world, including Mount McKinley, the Matterhorn and Kilimanjaro. He now flies helicopters carrying skiers in northeast India aged 72.
Get a better idea of how to ski the steep from - Ski Extreme.