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But skiers Stefan Ager, Andreas Gumpenberger and Fabian Lentsch enter peacefully; a trio seeking to achieve a world first.
Their goal: Zeppelin-ski.
"We saw a Zeppelin spinning around the sky," recalls Ager after a light reflection that led the rash to board their airship from Friedrichshafen, Germany. "In joking, we just said:" Let's do Zeppelin-ski. "
Two years later, as they rappelled down a 50-meter rope on the summit of the Kleiner Valkastiel, which rises to 7,326 feet at the top of the Austrian mountains, a wire was getting closer and closer. more; the ambition – to hit the pristine alpine slopes of the summit.
According to Ager, according to the trio's own research, these slopes had never been skied before, although skiing was a child's play compared to a fall at the top of the Kleiner Valkastiel.
"It was the biggest challenge we have ever faced," Ager told CNN. "Skiing, which is normally the most difficult aspect, was the easiest part this time – it was probably 20% of the challenge.The rest was to get the licenses, to get the l? agreement of the company Zeppelin, to obtain the legal rights. "
Even for a group of freeriders whose previous expeditions included hot-air ballooning and a perilous trip to Pakistan to conquer a 6,000-meter peak, traveling in an airship provided a rare thrill.
"You can not get rid of your smile because it's so surreal," recalls Ager. "The feeling is somewhere between a hot air balloon and a helicopter.A helicopter can go anywhere, and it's already cool to fly.
"A ball is cool because it's almost silent. But the Zeppelin is so unreal, and it's a crazy feeling, even sitting inside – it's such a small cabin. You look out the window and you can see the rear propeller at 60 meters from you. "
During the first half of the 20th century, these floating aircraft – some of which measured more than two football fields – crossed the world's oceans. The largest airship – the Hindenburg – had a berth for 72 pbadengers, a dining room, a lounge, a bar and a boardwalk. (Compare this comfort to airlines today.)
When the Hindenburg was flying in the 1930s, people were so convinced that airships would dominate air travel, so that the top of New York's Empire Empire Building Building was equipped with a mooring mast to which the airships could fix themselves.
"The airship is just beautiful," said Ager. "It's so majestic.You're impressed when it's right there in front of you.This is not normal.Most people do not even know that they still exist."
Two years of planning were needed to plan the trio's adventure – flight tests in the fall of 2018 failed to overcome the gigantic height of the peak due to warm temperatures.
"Our fear was whether we would be able to gain height," said Ager. "He [the Zeppelin] is supposed to go up to 1,000 meters above sea level, but we needed it to climb higher in order to bring it to the mountains. It is not built for that.
"Throughout the flight, on the way to the top, we did not know if we would be able to gain height." At the approach of the mountain, it was really the first point of relief, because it was the first time we knew we would be able to pitch.
"We had to save every kilo we could save, which meant there was no director on the airship, no photographer, just a cameraman and us skiers.
"Because it was weather-dependent, it had to be very cold, windless, on a clear day, in good skiing conditions and as light as possible." It was almost impossible to find a suitable day for the height . "
Finding a time when the Zeppelin was not adorned with branding also proved delicate. Finally, a period of three weeks was reserved for adventurers.
His colleague, Gumpenberger, added: "It was more than a simple rappelling of a giant zeppelin, the airship cabin had to be slightly modified and the pilots were at their limits at the altitude and the range of the airship. "
Facing danger, however, is at the heart of every extreme athlete's constitution. It is not so much that the risks are not taken into account, but simply that they are taken into account and minimized.
"We think it's more dangerous to send SMS and drive than to ski to Zeppelin," laughed Ager. "We plan it in as much detail as possible, and once you've done that, you do not think about the risks anymore, because there's no risk left in your head."
"The biggest risk is to go down and even that's what we do all year. For us, it's not dangerous. We do things like abseiling, skiing and paragliding.
"We try to minimize the risks to five per cent, the five per cent can not be calculated in any sport or activity, it is more dangerous to drive to work than to ski Zeppelin."
The major danger here, however, was not so much the risk that the Zeppelin would give up too much – the pilot did not allow that, but the ultimate possibility that after more than 700 days, that dream would die of anticlimatic death.
"The danger was simply that we would not be able to gain height and that we would end up having to turn around and go home," Ager told himself.
What future for Ager, Gumpenberger and Lentsch?
"There are no other flying objects we can do," he chuckled. "I guess there's the drone-ski, where we're clinging to an army of drones! We're not sure what's going to happen. Without a doubt, that's the craziest thing." we have never done. "
Indeed, when the freeriding trio finally landed on a pristine carpet of virgin snow, it was the culmination of an outrageous dream, both extreme sports and planning.
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