Man of Extremes, Longest Ski Descent

  • 14 years ago
An extreme mission—Austrian ski mountaineer Axel Naglich decided to be the first man ever to take on the longest ski-run in the world, that is, Mount Saint Elias in Alaska. It’s nearly 5,500 meters high and is hit by the most severe and suddenly changing weather.

[Axel Naglich, Ski Mountaineer]:

“I have increased the whole skiing issue—the hillsides got steeper, the mountains got bigger, and eventually we ran out of ski-lifts.”

The first attempt to ski down Mount Saint Elias was in 2003. But it ended in tragedy when two Americans, of a four-man team, lost their lives.

[Axel Naglich, Ski Mountaineer]:

“The moment when you panic you lose control, this must not happen by any means, and you’ve got to stay in control to such an extent until you can swallow the panic. Everyone has his own way of doing this, and I also have my own way.”

With so many risks involved, Naglich explains why he does such extreme things.

[Axel Naglich, Ski Mountaineer]:

“There’s a little bit of addiction to the whole thing, because if you are successful in doing something like this, or after you overcome such a thing, then you will feel unbelievably good, the feeling of happiness is enormous. This sensation will last a while and then it fades away. Then you will think of a new project because, among other things, you want to have those sensations again.”

After climbing up and skiing down Mount Saint Elias, it's a wonder what Axel Naglich might do next.

NTD, Austria.

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