Preparation For a Himalayan Ski Expedition
How Hard is Skiing in the Death Zone Above 8000 Meters?
Swedish extreme skier Fredrick Ericsson's project called Ski The Big 3 starting in June 2010 is a great ski mountaineering challenge. Suite 101 spoke to Ericsson at his home base in Chamonix to learn what the winter held in store and his preparation plans for achieving his goals.
Skiing in the Death Zone Above 8000 Meters
“At 8000-meters (26 000 feet) the air-pressure is only a third compared to sea level”, explains Fredrik “that makes everything you do up there so much harder. Doing five turns at 8000-meters is like skiing 1000 vertical meters in the Alps.” Comparatively, the mountains in the Alps of France, Switzerland and Italy where Fredrik does much of his preparation top out at 4800 meters (15 750 feet) on Mont Blanc in France.
What is the Attraction of Skiing Big Mountains?
Fredrik has had experience skiing the mountains of Canada, New Zealand, the Alps and already several expeditions to the Himalayas. Due to their remoteness and size, skiing the highest mountains in the Himalayas are in a different league of difficulty.
“Since they are the highest mountains they are also some of toughest mountains to climb and ski which makes it a great challenge. The fact that K2 and Kangchenjunga hasn't been skied before makes it even more interesting.”
Several people have attempted to climb and ski off K2 before including Fredrik during an expedition in June 2009, but no one has so far managed to ski from the top.
Off-Season Training for Skiing in the Himalayas
While Fredrik does not have a specific training programme; before the ski resorts open he does something to improve his fitness every day. His physical activities include: running for endurance, mountain biking, lifting weights, ski touring (on glaciers with perennial snow) and rock climbing. His sessions at the gym four times per week focus on strength and cover legs, arms and core work.
Preparation for Skiing High Mountains
During the winter season Fredrik travels to various resorts accompanied by photographers that he regularly works with and sometimes a film crew. As well as keeping the body in good physical shape for skiing, together with the photographers and journalists he writes articles for magazines to gain coverage and increase his profile for his expedition sponsors.
His ski trips for the upcoming season include the unusual ski destinations of Greenland, Slovakia and Turkey. They will involve a mix of resort skiing and hut to hut ski touring. When asked if he had specific mountain objectives in these locations Fredrik replied, "no it's mostly for fun!"
More specific preparation includes steep skiing during the spring when the snow is in condition on the North faces and, acclimatisation. Fredrik's pre-expedition altitude training will involve several trips to Mont Blanc (climbing and descending on skis) during the weeks before he leaves.
Minimizing Risk on the Mountains
Fredrik thinks very seriously about the dangers on the mountain which are known in mountaineering terms as objective hazards. Risks include sudden severe storms, rock fall, ice fall and avalanches. In order to mitigate these risks Fredrik explains, "First of all choose a good route. Stay away from avalanche prone slopes, big glaciers or seracs (ice towers) that can fall down." In terms of avalanche hazard the rules are simple but the consequences serious, "When it comes to the snow, if there’s a lot of fresh snow you don’t go up. You wait until the snow has stabilized."
Subjective hazards refers to risk due to human error. To ward off these dangers Fredrik says, "I try to stay focused and really concentrate on what I am doing and not make any mistakes".
Read more about Fredrik Ericsson's skiing goals in another article in this series about professional skiers.
Fredrik Ericsson on Expedition at K2 Pakistan
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Fredrik Ericsson Skiing on K2 in Pakistan
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Fredrik Ericsson Skiing in the Alps
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