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Extreme skiing is performed on long, steep (typically from 45 to 60+ degrees, or grades of 100 to 170 percent) slopes in 
The key North American skiers who popularized the sport include:
Extreme skiing is performed on long, steep (typically from 45 to 60+ degrees, or grades of 100 to 170 percent) slopes in mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
ous terrain. The French coined the term 'Le Ski Extreme' in the 1970s. The first practitioners include Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
skier Sylvain Saudan
Sylvain Saudan (born 23 September 1936 in Lausanne, Switzerland) is an extreme skier, dubbed "skier of the impossible." He is noted for skiing down large and steep mountains, including those in the Himalayas. In 2007 he survived a helicopter crash ...
, who invented the "windshield wiper" turn in the mid-1960s, and in 1967 made the first descents of slopes in the Swiss, French and Italian Alps that were previously considered impossible. Saudan's 'first descent' in America was at Mt. Hood March 3, 1971. Early American practitioners include Bill Briggs, who descended Grand Teton
Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Grand Teton National Park, in Northwest Wyoming, and a classic destination in American mountaineering.
Geography
Grand Teton, at , is the highest point of the Teton Range, and the second highest peak in t ...
on June 15, 1971. The Frenchmen Patrick Vallençant
Patrick Vallençant (9 June 1946 in Lyon – 28 March 1989) was a French alpinist/skier and pioneer in ski mountaineering.
He was a pioneer in ski mountaineering and leader of the French school of ski mountaineers. His motto was: "si tu tombes ...
, Jean-Marc Boivin
Jean-Marc Boivin (6 April 1951 – 17 February 1990) was a French mountaineer, extreme skier, hang glider and paraglider pilot, speleologist, BASE jumper, film maker and author. The holder of several altitude records for hang gliding and paraglid ...
and Anselme Baud and the Italians Stefano De Benedetti and Toni Valeruz were among those who further developed the art and brought notoriety to the sport in the 1970s and 1980s.
The key North American skiers who popularized the sport include: Doug Coombs
Doug Coombs (September 24, 1957 – April 3, 2006) was an American alpine skier and mountaineer who helped to pioneer the sport of extreme skiing, both in North America and worldwide.
Early life and education
Coombs was born in Boston and gr ...
, Shane McConkey
Shane McConkey (December 30, 1969 – March 26, 2009) was a professional skier and BASE jumper. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and eventually based himself in Olympic Valley, California. Due to an itinerant childhood, he never identi ...
, Seth Morrison, David W. Kraft
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, Glen Plake
Glen Plake (born September 9, 1964) is a US National Ski Hall of Fame skier. He grew up in Lake Tahoe, skiing Heavenly Valley. He is known for his appearances in ski films such as Greg Stump's ''The Blizzard of Aahhhs''. Plake has been named ...
and Scot Schmidt
Scot Schmidt (born July 21, 1961, in Helena, Montana) is a professional extreme skier.
Schmidt began ski racing in his hometown of Helena, Montana. He moved to Squaw Valley in 1979 to pursue a dream of making the U.S. Ski Team., and started ski ...
, known as The Extreme-6 and all considered among the top extreme skiers in the world during their prime.
Because of the extremely long, steep slopes, and dangerous terrain, single mistakes at the wrong moment by some extreme skiers have led to them being seriously injured or killed.
Extreme skiing in the U.S. took off in the mid-1980s after the movie ''Maltese Flamingo'' came out in 1986, and John Cummings’ book, ''Hallowed Be the Extreme'', documented the lifestyle of extreme skiers.
References
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