last night i saw a documentary at the dft by mark obenhaus called "steep" about big mountain skiing. while i'm not a regular skiier (i've done it a few times, liked it, but hated being cold) it was still fascinating to see these human beings doing things our bodies aren't used to doing! these men and women search all over the world for the highest peaks, the most challenging mountainsides, and the best powdery snow. when their search has temporarily ended, they climb to the peak, ski down the mountain and revel in the feel of the powder hitting their legs as they perform a near supernatural feat.
the most amazing stunt was done by shane mcconkey who was dropped off onto a peak, skiied down the 50 degree angled slope and flew off the cliff while doing a somersault. he had a parachute on his back which he enabled and floated to the base of the mountain, 500 feet below the cliff. can you imagine the feeling of flying?
this is clearly a dangerous sport and many have died doing it, including doug coombs who was a main participant in the documentary. he died days after the completion of the movie. he is on film saying that he wouldn't want to die any other way.
2 comments:
that's crazy. that picture freaks me out just looking at it. and i'm not kidding. i wish i had 10% of the courage these people have!
my heart started beating crazy looking at the picture.
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