Discovering an poorly known Extreme Skier

While many experienced skiers have heard of Sylvain Saudan, Patrick Vallençant, Anselme Baud, or Jean-Marc Boivin, few have heard of André "Dédé" Anzévui, a mountain guide and ski instructor from Arolla, Switzerland.

That said, comparing all these "extreme skiers" who fascinated us all during the three decades spanning from the 60s to the 80s is the normal thing to do, and the following table will give those who don't know these folks too well an idea of ​​each one's place in ski history. 

Dédé Anzévui became famous for making the first ski descent of the north ridge of the Matterhorn in 1989, a feat that has never been repeated since. This descent, made in a fuchsia-colored jumpsuit, very narrow 2-meter Lacroix skis, in fact, the uniform of the extreme skier of the 80s, was the result of meticulous preparation and a passion for melding skiing and mountaineering. 

The north face of the Matterhorn was steeper and less accessible than the east face descended by Boivin who had introduced the "ski-that-really-feels-scary" when he descended the east face of the same Matterhorn, in June 1980. Anzévui's descent included many technical sections with slopes reaching 55 degrees, making it extremely demanding. 

Unlike Boivin, Anzévui had been dropped off by helicopter. Before this, Dédé Anzévui had made the first ski descent of the Dent-Blanche in the 1980s. I really discovered Dédé in a Swiss documentary (narrated in French) that you can watch below.