This week came the sad news of the death of Sylvain Saudan. 87, heart attack. A proud age! Whether extreme sportsman or academic. In light of the news, I read through the interview from back then. A lot has changed in the world of steep face skiing since then. New protagonists have emerged and popularity has spilled over from freeride back into alpinism. Ten years ago it was a niche, today it's back in fashion. Just like when Saudan popularised a type of skiing that was previously unknown. Skiing itself had only just become popular as a leisure activity for the normal population.
Saudan was named one of the 50 most important adventurers of the last 200 years - in the 1980s, when his career was already over. But the definition of adventure must be clear: an endeavour that no one has ever attempted before and whose outcome is completely uncertain. Real adventure is not about higher, faster, further. It's about exploring the unknown. And that's what Sylvain Saudan did with his skiing.
His career was well thought out. At least from the second stage. The first was born out of a beer mood. During a visit to Chamonix in 1967, he and friends talked about the possibility of skiing down the Spencer Couloir on the Aiguille de Blaitière. "Impossible!" said some. Sylvain, who had already seen and heard a lot as a ski instructor all over the world for over ten years, countered: "Yes, it's possible! Come with me, I'll show you!" At the time, he was a ski instructor and lorry driver who earned his living in Europe in winter and in Australia in summer.
Said. Done. Done it. Back in the valley, a journalist from Paris Match happened to be there. In Germany, this is roughly equivalent to Sport Bild. The woman didn't believe a word Saudan and his friends said. It was only when she was flown up in a helicopter and saw the ski tracks herself that she made a big story out of it. And it was a hit. Adventure! A (relatively) young, good-looking guy with a lot of charm pushes himself to the limit. One article follows another and Sylvain Saudan, the farmer-smart Valaisan, senses the chance of fame, success and, above all, money.
He plans his career: Like the great alpinists, the following descents should build on each other. Steeper and steeper, higher and higher. And always accompanied by the media. A total of nine major descents. He started in the Alps and finished in the Himalayas with the first ascent of an 8000 metre peak. He found well-paying sponsors who remained loyal to him for 25 years. He produced films, gave lectures and sold books. Worldwide. Sylvain Saudan found a business model for a sport that had never existed before. And he was good at it: he raced through the Alps in a red sports car. Quite unlike almost everyone else who did something similar. Heini Holzer, for example. The South Tyrolean, chimney sweep, Messner's rope companion, who achieved fame in the scene with his over one hundred steep face descents, but continued to climb on house roofs for a living. Fifty years ago, Saudan showed how you can be financially successful from a niche with a little luck, thought, planning, attention to detail, a lot of tenacity and a willingness to take risks and go your own way.
He established a principle for this career. He is and remains a skier. For him, this meant that he did not use any mountaineering equipment for his descents. No ropes, no crampons, no ice axes, not even a backpack for emergencies. After the ascent, he always turned into a skier. With ski boots, sunglasses, without a backpack and often without a cap. What was not feasible was not a ski descent. As soon as he could afford it, he simply flew by helicopter to the desired starting point of his descent. The strict alpinist definition of steep face skiers, which takes into account the clean, self-made ascent, did not yet exist at the beginning of his descents. It was Anselme Baud and Patrick Vallençant, who coined the term "ski extrême", who first laid down the rules (which Saudan would never have adhered to anyway).
