Born in 1962 in Zgornje Jezersko, a small village high in the Slovenian Alps, where his father ran a mountain hut, Davo Karničar was fated to a life spent in the mountains. As a young man, he competed as a mountain skier and worked on the World Cup skiing circuit as a technician. He later emerged as a supremely skilled mountaineer, making more than a thousand ascents, including some of the most challenging climbs in the Himalayas.
Always on the lookout for new challenges, Karničar decided to combine his skiing experience with his mountaineering skills. He began in the mountains of Slovenia, where he skied down from the top of the legendary Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak. In the 1990s, he moved on to Eiger and Matterhorn, making successful ski descents from both mountains, which have always been deeply respected by mountaineers.
In 1996, Karničar decided to embark on the ultimate challenge, something no-one had pulled off before: skiing down from the top of Mt. Everest. It was an extremely dangerous feat, and Karničar’s first attempt ended in failure. He was forced to turn back because of frostbite. Even though he made it back to base camp, he ended up losing two fingers.
Undaunted, Karničar decided to make another attempt in 2000. This time, his daring mission would be transmitted to the world via the Internet. The climb had to take place in the autumn in order to ensure a sufficient amount of snow all of the way to the valley – which made the feat even more challenging.
On October 6, Karničar made it to the top and spent the night on the summit. Early the following morning, he skied down the mountain’s south face, avoiding potentially lethal avalanches in the process. He skied down a notorious ice fall and arrived safely at base camp in the afternoon.
Karničar managed to do something no human had ever done before, but his thirst for adventure still wasn’t quenched. In the next six years, he skied down all of the legendary Seven Summits – the highest peaks of every continent. He made history in both skiing and mountaineering, and reminded the world that little Slovenia has always excelled in both.
