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Skier Conquers K2 on One Ski

by Kraig Becker (RSS feed) on Apr 1st 2009 at 8:00AM

When it comes to the world of extreme skiing, there are few men as naturally talented as Lane Meyer. He's skied some of the most challenging mountains in the world, from the Himalaya to the Andes and everything in between. But even his most ardent fans felt that he had bitten off more than he could chew when he traveled to the remote Karakorum Range in Pakistan to ski K2, the second tallest mountain on Earth.

At 28,251 feet, K2 is just 780 feet lower than Everest, but is orders of magnitude more difficult to climb, and much more deadly. That didn't deter Meyer, who scaled the mountain, donned his skis and promptly dropped over the edge to ski the most dangerous mountain on the planet. Unbeknownst to him however, one of his ski bindings was damaged earlier in the day, and Meyer hadn't gone very far at all before the binding gave way, leaving him flying down the mountain on just one ski.

Mustering up all the training and natural talent he had at his disposal, Meyer managed to stay upright, and avoiding a number of obstacles in the process, managed to run the length of the mountain, coming to a triumphant stop at the bottom, to the cheers of onlookers, still on that one ski.

When asked about his amazing accomplishment, Meyer said "I was going to ski K2, even if it cost me my last two dollars. I'd be better off dead, then to come home without skiing this mountain."

Filed under: Skiing, Asia, Pakistan