Ptor skiing the line before it all goes to s#$t!!
The table below explains the rather dismal ratio of Energy Units used per Skiing Pleasure Units enjoyed for expedition skiing. Much easier being a resort skier, or being a sponsored free-skier with helicopters to drop you off at the top of the mountain.
But Ptor and I got to make a bunch of turns. Some steep, some easy, some icy and some a little softer. And that’s all that counts. Making turns in the Southern Hemisphere where no one else has. Not many pictures though. As with the ratio above, so little time is spent skiing that very few ski photos emerge in this kind of terrain. Usually I get a couple good action shots per ski line, but since I was filming most of the time on the Canon 5D, I really didn’t get any ski shots.
Sarapo Glacier: The world's most dangerous terrain park
With both lines that we skied, weather was a huge factor. Clear mornings with clouds cycling in by noon or early afternoon. Limited by the fact that we were filming with loads of equipment and also due to a tight timeframe for our overall trip, our efforts were very ‘hail mary’ affairs. Waking up around midnight, navigating the labyrinthine glaciers as fast as possible, scoping the lines by early morning, and hopefully climbing and skiing them by noon. We did quite well with the glaciers but both times we got clouded out on the lines. Ptor would get to ski down with decent clarity, and then I’d get stuck in the fog and have to ‘sense’ my way down. Oh the sacrifices of the filmer!
Ptor looking a little worked after 18+hrs on the move.
In the end, skiing back down the glaciers created the most memorable memories. Some of the most interesting glacier skiing anywhere – straight out of James Bond.
