Sylvain Saudan, skier of 'impossible' mountain slopes, dies at 87

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Sylvain Saudan, skier of ‘impossible’ mountain slopes, dies at 87
For two decades, the Swiss skier tackled some of the most difficult mountain faces around the world. “If you are afraid,” he said, “it’s over.”



Sylvain Saudan in 1970. (RDB/Ullstein Bild/Getty Images)

By Brian Murphy
July 24, 2024 at 5:46 p.m. EDT

In September 1967, a skier looked down on a narrow chute of snow between the saw-toothed ridges of the Mount Blanc massif. No one before had dared to ski the Couloir Spencer, which sheared off at a 55-degree angle at some points on the French peak Aiguille de Blaitière.

When word spread that a Swiss mountain guide had successfully made the run, skeptics demanded proof. The Couloir Spencer had been considered impossible to ski: too steep, too rocky, too perilous. The next morning, a small plane flew over the site.
There, below, were the tracks made by Sylvain Saudan, who went on to become one of the ski world’s most celebrated extreme sportsmen over the next two decades. He hunted never-before-attempted ski routes — sometimes skimming over rockfalls — on ranges including the Himalayas and famous peaks such as Kilimanjaro. … “ Fear has no place,” said Mr. Saudan, who died July 14 at age 87. “If you are afraid, it’s over.”

Mr. Saudan had once been the skiing equivalent of a big-wave surfer or free-solo climber in constantly seeking greater challenges and testing new methods. His conquests gave him the nickname “Skier of the Impossible” and led to innovations in ski equipment and techniques to handle gradients so steep that his back brushed against the mountainside.

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By Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy joined The Washington Post after more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press in Europe and the Middle East. Murphy has reported from more than 50 countries and has written four books. Twitter

[CentralMass]

1. RIP