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Fredrik Ericsson Dead on K2

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This post by WildSnow.com blogger  

Ericsson accident details released.

    Fredrik Ericsson

    Extreme Skier Fredrik Ericsson

    I am grieved this morning to hear Swedish ski alpinist Fredrik Ericsson has fallen to his death on K2.

    It appears from reports that Ericsson fell while doing a summit attempt with Austrian female alpinist Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner.Reports indicate an unexpected storm hit the pair and Ericsson fell while climbing, not while skiing. Ericsson was on K2 in an attempt to be the first person to completely ski the mountain.

    Kaltenbrunner is unharmed.

    Last year Ericsson’s climbing partner Michele Fait died while skiing on K2 with Ericsson, and the mountain is known for taking scores of lives. It may be the most dangerous mountain on earth for those seeking the summit. Thus, I was incredibly worried over past weeks about the outcome of Ericsson’s quest, so sad to have those worries realized…

    Condolences from the WildSnow tribe to Ericsson’s family and friends, he always sounded like a wonderful man with a huge dose of alpine spirit.

    Ericsson’s website.

    Chamonix insider.

    K2 Blog (primary source).

Posted by Lou Dawson on August 6, 2010 | Filed Under 8,000 Meter Skiing, Eulogies, News Backcountry 

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Comments

17 Responses to “Fredrik Ericsson Dead on K2”

  1. Ptor August 6th, 2010 8:08 am

    Schiesse minelli! I was hoping he’d pull it off.

  2. Eurob August 6th, 2010 8:09 am

    Tragic indeed. Hard to make a living of climbing these days.

    Kaltenbrunner is Austrian btw (married to a German).

  3. Jesse Peterson August 6th, 2010 9:17 am

    A tragic loss for the ski mountaineering community. Watching videos of Fredrik ski gave me goosebumps. He had honed his craft well, and it is a great shock to hear this news. “A huge dose of alpine spirit,” indeed. I’m going to go ski some August snow in his memory.

    Jesse Peterson
    Alma, CO

  4. Clyde August 6th, 2010 9:38 am

    Sad news indeed. I had a bad feeling about how this season was going. Worried about my friend who is still up there.

  5. Tim M. August 6th, 2010 11:28 am

    Terrible news. Were is your info coming from Lou? Attribution would be helpful.

  6. Caleb Wray August 6th, 2010 11:45 am

    Really sad to see this. That mountain carries a very dark cloud over it. The best to his many friends and family.

  7. Mike Traslin August 6th, 2010 11:54 am

    Sad news…..

    Thanks for sharing….

  8. Lou August 6th, 2010 12:03 pm

    Hi Tim, I added another link, best source is actually German news media but the translations are always so funky I hesitate to link to those…

  9. Colin in CA August 6th, 2010 1:37 pm

    RIP. A titan.

  10. Lou August 6th, 2010 1:48 pm

    More news out, see link at top of blog post.

  11. Jon Jay August 6th, 2010 6:39 pm

    RIP. He was taking ski mountaineering to the next level, to say the least.

  12. mattski August 6th, 2010 9:36 pm

    who next some one should ski it :wink: :sick:

  13. From Jerry Jäder and family August 7th, 2010 11:42 am

    We think of if its Fredrik Ericsson who has been i Hedemora sweden?
    adventure and also ride longboard?
    If it is he so rest in peace You put a huge memory on our heart other wise we also say He did a huge work on the K2 his adventure hope hi have fun before
    A thougt to his family and friends..
    Curige he has to climb a montain and hope they whos left come down hole when they are ready…..

  14. Mark W August 7th, 2010 10:15 pm

    Such a shame, but anyone like Fredrik who has the tenacity to take on such things is truly in a league by himself.

  15. Lou August 10th, 2010 10:18 am

    A memorial was held for Fredrick yesterday:

    http://k2bottleneck.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/memorial-for-fredrik-ericsson-held/

    A lot of people are stunned by his death. I think it makes it harder knowing his partner died during his previous attempt on K2, and now Fredrick. It’s all too much sometimes… Folks are also stunned about just how dangerous trying to ski K2 must be. It was all glorious and even sounded fun, especially with the exciting blog reports coming in and easily found on the web. But then.

    Our heartfelt condolences to all involved.

  16. ski jackets August 10th, 2010 6:27 pm

    Horrible news. Prayers go out to the family.

  17. Ski holidays August 14th, 2010 9:30 am

    I’m not sure I’m that stunned but it is very sad news. Any extreme sportsman is putting his life on the line whenever they undertake a challenge.

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Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information opinion website and e magazine. Lou's passion for the past 45 years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country news and information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

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