"The 3,000 vertical-foot downhill is about as competitive as it gets, racing against the clock at the brink of a severe blow-up. And although the Euros take it pretty fucking seriously, it's usually the best runs I have every season, out there battling it out with my bros." Still, it's after the contests end and the hype mellows, that serious
freeriding begins. "Goodness, how I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning ... it smells
like victory I " That's the mechanic's phrase as he pumps his plane-a 1954 DeHaviliand Beaver-full of high-octane gas. The Beaver has been retrofitted with ski skids to enable the pilot to land in deep glacial snow. But planes cannot land on steep terrain, which is the proving ground here. If you exhibit some skill and competency on the mellower runs, then you're ready for the real deal: helicopters. Landing zones can be so precarious that pilots only get one skid down
and must keep the throttle cranked to hold it on the peak. Sometimes, getting out of the heli is as hair-raising as the run itself-jagged peaks and razorback ridges leave you exposed to precariously balanced cornices and vertical rock cliffs on the backside.
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