were Davo Karničar's thoughts ahead of one of the biggest feats of his life.
This summer Karničar will try become the first to ski down the top of the second highest mountain in the world - K2 (8611 m). He is to pull off the feat with revolutionary Elan foldable skis. The 54-year-old alpinist from Jezersko talked to us about how strenuous it is in the last weeks prior to departure to organize such an expedition, how he trained, on what kind of slope gradients it is still possible to ski, what the biggest traps are and how expensive the whole project is.

You probably still have a lot of things to organize before leaving for the Himalayas. Is there a lot of nervousness?
A lot of phone calls, conversations, it does really make you a bit nervous. Thursday is the deadline for me to put all my equipment on the plane and take care of some other things as well, but my manufacturers have still not delivered their products.

What will you take with you this time, which you did not have on Mt. Everest in 2000?
The foldable Elan skis which enable a much easier ascent. Skiing on them is also great, as they're really stable on hard surfaces.

What is special about your feat is the extremely high altitude. You cannot train in such conditions, but you do have experience on how to function at above 8,000 meters.
Having an experience is positive. I've been in such conditions so many times before that I know how my body will react. Mt. Everest was an especially good experience for me. I felt well, but I am aware that you always have to be thorough in acclimating yourself and pay attention to the signs which signal that something is wrong with your body.

Four Pakistanis will climb with you on K2. Do you ever wonder how you will get along, as that too is an important piece in the puzzle?
How I will connect with them is also part of the riddle. I believe though that if you do find things in common with another man, that can serve as a good basis in developing good relations. Three of them have already climbed the route which I want to take to reach the top of K2. They have also reached the summit and have the right experience. If we put effort into it, we can achieve a good thing.

Where did you find information about the mountain?
Most of my information comes from my visit to K2 in 1993 with Viki Grošelj, with whom I spoke a lot. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, the fourth woman in the world to conquer all of the 14 eight-thousanders, also gave me some information. A lot of literature, recordings and opinions are also available and one can rely on that. But what the situation and conditions are like when you get there are of fundamental importance.

What was this year's winter like in that part of the Himalayas?
Abundant with snow, which is why my departure did not take place earlier. My initial plan was to set off at the start of June, but it would have been too demanding for the porters when crossing the Baltoro Glacier at the foot of the mountain. They would have complained about that. That's why we will set off on the 14th of June. The fact that the winter had plenty of snow is welcoming, but on such high altitudes, when it snows in freezing temperatures and winds carry snow, it doesn't mean a lot. Of course, I do hope that the cold will persist and that I won't be having a hot summer. The conditions on altitudes at around 6,000 or 7,000 meters are constantly changing and you can easily run into difficulties.

At what kind of slope gradients are you still able to ski?
I have a little device with which I can measure the gradients. Without that you can end up having different figures, depending on how scared the person giving the information is. Everything with a gradient higher than 50 degrees is impossible to ski the way we imagine skiing. You can only slide down such slopes and stay safe. And if it's even steeper it all depends on the conditions. I hope the snow will be in such condition that the ski edges will hold onto even on the most extreme slopes.

At one time you were a world cup ski technician so you know best how to prepare skis for skiing down K2. How sharp will the ski edges be?
It has to be a sustainable sharpness. They shouldn't be very sharp, because you'll be skiing for a longer period. My experience from Mt. Everest is very helpful. There was old water ice on which the wind brought tiny specks of sand, which quickly took away the sharpness from the edges. To sum it up, they're not as sharp as the skis on skiers competing in an icy slalom race, when ski technicians make the ski edges extremely sharp as the race is quickly over. I will have to make the edges sharp, but not in such an ultimate way.

How much will the whole project cost?
Every day brings new surprises. I hope that others will also join the project and see themselves in it, as around 15 thousand euros are still hanging in the air. In total, it will all cost almost 100 thousand euros.
Tomaž Okorn, MMC; translated by K. J.