Skip to 7:00 for South Face run.
Andreas Frannson’s feat on the South Face of Denali as well as his upper body shattering were the inspiration for my post: Is Extreme Skiing Even Fun?
Dropping into Denali’s South Face looks a bit intimidating?
Video has now surfaced of that gnarly ski descent of the South Face of Denali that Chris Davenport called:
“The baddest unskied line in North America”
Andreas’ route down Denali’s South Face. Check out what that descent involved below.
The South Face was a 10,000 Vertical Foot Descent that Involved:
1. Skiing crappy conditions above insane exposure
2. Walking a sketchy traverse above insane exposure
3. Skiing above more insane exposure
4. 5 rappels down said insane exposure
5. Skiing above a whole other zone of exposure
6. Hiding underneath an overhang while rocks whiz by for a few hours below insane exposure
7. Holding onto hot water bottle for an hour waiting for light so you can ski a man eating icefall
8. Skiing an icefall labyrinth and some how finding the way thru
9. Passing out on backpack for 6 hours while people continually check on you to see if you’re alive
10. Climbing back up to basecamp and resting for a bit before climbing one of the hardest routes on Denali, the Cassin Ridge
A direct quote from Andreas about life & society:
“Society has an absurd general belief that life is about hanging on as long as possible. So people [are] often hanging on for the sake of hanging on and not for really living … I can go on for days about this, but the important things in life are unsayable, so let’s just live it out and see what we find behind the curtains in front of the big game we are all playing.” -Andreas Fransson