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KRISTOFFER ERICKSON MAKES FIRST SUCCESSFUL SKI DESCENT FROM AN 8000 METER PEAK BY AN AMERICAN MALE SKIER CHO OYU, TIBET -- October 1, 2002 -- After climbing the sixth highest mountain in the world, a Livingston, Montana man became the first American male to ski from the summit of an 8,000 meter peak. Kristoffer Erickson, a ski mountaineer and photographer, completed his ascent October 1, skiing from the Himalayan peak of Cho Oyu (26,906 ft.), situated on the border of Nepal and Tibet. Erickson, was part of a three-man team including American professional snowboarder-mountaineers Douglas Stoup (Boca Raton, FL), and John Griber (Jackson, WY). It was a bittersweet accomplishment for the team; Erickson was forced to continue without the other expedition members after Griber became seriously ill. Stoup accompanied Griber home. The attempt on Cho Oyu (GPS: 28°, 06' N - 86°, 39' E) required a month-long acclimitization process in which the climbers made gradual ascents and descents at progressively higher altitudes. It was at Camp 2 ( 23,400 ft.), Griber contracted High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), a potentially fatal condition. "The last four weeks above 19,000 ft. have been a rollercoaster ride of emotion," Erickson said, "but, it's an incredible dream to come true." |
