World Extreme Skiing Championship

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The World Extreme Skiing Championships (WESC) was an extreme skiing competition held from 1991 to 2000 in Valdez, Alaska. It was brought back for one year in 2011 but was discontinued for lack of athlete interest. [1] Co-founder Karen Davey Stewart died in September 2015. [2]

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Extreme skiing is performed on long, steep slopes in mountainous terrain. The French coined the term 'Le Ski Extreme' in the 1970s. The first practitioners include Swiss skier Sylvain Saudan, who invented the "windshield wiper" turn in the mid-1960s, and in 1967 made the first descents of slopes in the Swiss, French and Italian Alps that were previously considered impossible. Saudan's 'first descent' in America was at Mt. Hood March 3, 1971. Early American practitioners include Bill Briggs, who descended Grand Teton on June 15, 1971. The Frenchmen Patrick Vallençant, Jean-Marc Boivin and Anselme Baud and the Italians Stefano De Benedetti and Toni Valeruz were among those who further developed the art and brought notoriety to the sport in the 1970s and 1980s.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Céüse</span> Mountain near Gap, France

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freeriding (winter sport)</span>

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References

  1. World Extreme Skiing Champs returns, ESPN.com
  2. "Associated Press News".