The Norwegian who Challenged the World’s Steepest Mountain Walls

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The Norwegian who Challenged the World’s Steepest Mountain Walls

Tormod Granheim was the first ever to ski down from Mount Everest’s north face. When he became unsure whether the mountain is the world’s highest, he decided to set new height records. Learn more about the Norwegian who challenged the world’s steepest mountain walls.

Today, the adventurer Tormod Granheim (born 1974) who has taken part in several expeditions and performed extreme skiing, is a motivational speaker. With constantly falling rocks and ice to manage, climbing the Dent du Geant spire might have been one of the hardest, but most rewarding of the 4,000m peaks Tormod Granheim has challenged. 82 Alps were about the passion of being in the beautiful European Alps and climbing all of its 82 4,000-meter-peaks.

The Norwegian who Challenged the World’s Steepest Mountain Walls
Mount Everest north face. Photo: Wikipedia

Related: The Norwegian Off-Piste Skiing Destination That Rivals the Alps

In the winter of 2006, downhill skier Tormod Granheim was the first person in the world to ski down the north face of Mount Everest by the Norton Couloir, a 55 degree steep and nearly 3000 meter high mountain face. Photographer Fredrik Schenholm was the man who photographed the feat. But the price was also steep. Their mutual hiking companion Tomas Olsson fell an estimated 2,500 meters to his death when a snow anchor failed. Granheim skied alone to the North Col.

 

 

Related: The High Level Routes in Northern Norway

At Iceland’s Vatnajøkul, photographer and geologist Schenholm saw a way out of the grief. Inspired by the ice-covered volcanic landscape, he proposed a very special ski trip: To the top and back down on skis from ten of the world’s most active volcanoes. Two of them give Mount Everest competition for the title of the world’s highest mountain.

The Epic TV series ’82 Alps with Tormod Granheim is about the passion of being in the beautiful European Alps and climbing all of its 82 4,000-meter-peaks. “It’s not about being the fastest or being the first, it’s all about enjoying the challenge and the stunning beauty of this landscape and to share it with friends. It’s simply about following your dreams,” he says.

The Norwegian who Challenged the World’s Steepest Mountain Walls
Epic series 82 with Tormod Granheim

Related: The Adventure Capital of Norway

Tormod Granheim is the first climber from the nordic countries to conquer all summits higher than 4000 meters in the Alps according to the UIAA List of Alpine four-thousanders. The final summit was Weisshorn climbed August 29. 2016. This achievement won him the Adventurer of the Year award in Norway.

The Norwegian who Challenges the World’s Steepest Mountain Walls, written by Tor Kjolberg.
Feature image (on top) Photo: Talerlisten.

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Journalist, PR and marketing consultant Tor Kjolberg has several degrees in marketing management. He started out as a marketing manager in Scandinavian companies and his last engagement before going solo was as director in one of Norway’s largest corporations. Tor realized early on that writing engaging stories was more efficient and far cheaper than paying for ads. He wrote hundreds of articles on products and services offered by the companies he worked for. Thus, he was attuned to the fact that storytelling was his passion.