Patrick Vallencant

Patrick Vallencant (June 9, 1946 - March 28, 1989) was a French alpinist/skier and pioneer in ski mountaineering.

Vallencant was born in Lyon. He is recognised as a pioneer in ski mountaineering and as leader of the French school of ski mountaineers, whose motto was: "si tu tombes, tu meurs" (which translates as "you fall, you die"). In addition to numerous first descents, Vallencant was responsible for the creation of the "Peddle Step Turn" and co-founded the Degré 7 ski apparel company.
Vallencant died on March 28, 1989, in a non-skiing related climbing accident, as a result of a broken carabiner, while abseiling from the top of La Beaume Rouge, in France.

Early life

Skiing

Vallencant come to prominence as a result a number of first descents on skis within the French Alps that had previously been considered to steep to ski. To achieve this he developed a ski technique known as the "Peddle Step Turn".
His feats where defined by him both climbing the mountain in-order to make the descent on skis. His climbing ethic did not include the use of helicopters to achieve his first descents.
His climbing and skiing partner for many of this first descents was Anselme Baud.
In achieving this he took up the mantel of Sylvain Saudan ("Le Skieur de l'Impossible") (French Wiki, Sylvain Saudan) and was a contemporary of other French extreme skiers, such as Jean-Marc Boivin and Bruno Gouvy.

Peddle Step Turn

To cope with skiing the step terrain (> than 60 degrees), Vallencant developed a new turning technique, known as the "Peddle Step Turn" (also "Peddle Hop Turn" and "Peddle Jump Turn"). The technique involved pushing off from the uphill ski, away from the slope and completing a portion of turn's rotation while in the air and then landing back on the downhill ski. In moderns times with the advent of "parabolic" skis, using the uphill ski to initiate a turn is now common technique for carved turns and racing. The key difference is carving/racing the skier is traveling much faster, the terrain is not as steep and there is no need for such a dramatic thrust off the slope. The "Peddle Step Turn" was originally developed on traditional racing skis.
The "Peddle Step Turn" was popularised as a result of an article in the US magazine "SKI" (or was it "Skiing") XXX (reference required).

Professional

Patrick Vallençant founded the Stages Vallençant in Chamonix to teach extreme skiing & co-founded the "Degré 7" ski apparel company in 1983 with Iingrid Buchner, a stylist. He sold his share in Degré 7" in 1988.

Trivia

There is some irony in that most photos of Vallencant show him in rough and tumble tweed shirt attire, that appears to be de-rigor for new breed of "extreme" freeskiers, while the Degré 7 clothing line was highly fashionable and colourful.

External links

"Degré 7" - Skiing Apparel co-founded by Patrick Vallencant [http://www.degre7.com/]
Chris Noble - Photographed the Founders of Extreming Skiing [http://www.noblefoto.com/resume.php]
Climbing Magazine Issue no. 106 - Patrick Vallencant skiing Pas de Chevre, above Chamonix (Photo by Chris Noble) [http://www.climbing.com/photo-video/gallery/80s/index6.html]
YouTube - "French extreme ski legend Patrick Vallencant climbs and skis some serious stuff back in the 70's" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhvdLYSNVTY]
Snow News 2003 - "Mountain Mavericks: Patrick Vallencant" [http://www.williamhambevan.com/z13.html]
Steep, Without Risk There Is No Adventure - A history of big mountain skiing, includes archival footage of Vallencant [http://www.sonyclassics.com/steep/]

References

Skiing Magazine - Peddle Step Turn (How to Article) (reference needed)
Climing Magazine - No. 106 - Vallencant Cover Photo by Noble [http://www.climbing.com/photo-video/gallery/80s/index6.html]
Ski Extreme, Ma Plentitude by Patrick Vallencant (Edité par Flammarion, 1992) (French Only, Ski Extreme, My Fullness)
PisteHors.com - Biography of Patrick Vallencant [http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wiki/Bio/Patrick-Vallencant]