Tormod Granheim
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Tormod Granheim (born September 17. 1974 in Trondheim, Norway is a Norwegian adventurer and motivational speaker involved in expeditions and extreme skiing. May 16. 2006 he made the first ski descent of Mount Everest North Face by the Norton Couloir.
[edit] Skiing Mount Everest
Tormod Granheim, his Swedish partner Tomas Olsson and photographer Fredrik Schenholm approached Everest from the Tibetan side spring 2006. Granheim climbed the mountain from Advanced Base Camp (6400 meter above sea level) to the summit (8850 m) in a continuous 24 hour effort, meeting Olsson en route, who spent two days covering the same ground. The route they followed, known as the Mallory route normally takes climbers five days to complete. The pair then skied into the North Face by the Norton Couloir, a 55 degree steep and nearly 3000 meter high mountain face. Near the top Olsson’s ski broke, adding extra tension to the already complex task . A cliff intersecting the couloir forced the two to make an abseil, as the anchor pulled Olsson fell an estimated 1700 meters to his death. Granheim skied alone to the North Col.
The accident lead the team to arrange the first helicopter rescue on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest.
