Slovenian Skis Nonstop Down Mount Everest

K A T M A N D U, Nepal, Oct. 9 -- A Slovenian ski instructor has become the first person ever to ski nonstop down the steep slopes of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, mountaineering authoritiessaid today.

It took Davo Karnicar, 38, of Jezersko, Slovenia, five hours on Saturday to ski from Everest’s 29,035-foot summit to its base camp, which is at 17,500 feet. He took only a few breaks and never removed his skis, according to the Nepal Ministry of Tourism.

“It is something that was in my head for a long time,”Karnicar said in an interview posted on his Web site.(See web links).He said he did it without getting frostbite.

Karnicar had a camera attached on his helmet, capturing images of him maneuvering down the snowy slopes of Everest, which is an icy grave for nearly 200 climbers, who fell to their deaths.

His first attempt to ski the slopes of Everest, in 1996, was thwarted by a snowstorm.

Meanwhile, the ministry said that Andrej Markovic of Ljubljana, Slovenia, died Friday when he slipped and fell at least 3,300 feet while attempting to climb Janak Himal mountain.

In another accident, a Sherpa guide identified as TsulbimGylzen, 35, was swept away by an avalanche on Oct. 2, whileclimbing the 26,950-foot Mount Dhaulagiri with a Japaneseexpedition. His body has not been found.