Stefan Gatt from Austria: Everest Summiter in 2001 without oxygen, First climber to snowboard down from the summit of Everest.

Dr. Stefan Gatt studied sports-science, economics and psychology in Vienna. Since 1990 he led more than 15 expeditions to the highest peaks in South America and Tibet. During his last expedition he realized a personal dream by descending from the top of Mount Everest on a snowboard, the first in the history of Mt. Everest.

In his “normal” life he is leading a management-training company with a team of consultants and facilitators. Dr. Gatt has professional experience in the field of consulting, coaching and training since 1992 and trained more than 7.000 people.

In spring of 2001, Marco left with Himalayan Expeditions for Everest. A few days ahead of him was Dr. Stefan Gatt from Austria, an experienced rider/Alpinist with his own successful snowboard descent of Cho Oyu. Although Gatt chose to climb without the assistance of Sherpas or supplemental oxygen (making the outrageous attempt infinitely more difficult), the two riders shared the same goal, and it would be a race to see who would become the first person to score a snowboard descent of Everest.

…

Back at Base Camp, the team was already on the satellite phone, and it was only a matter of minutes before the amazing news spread to every corner of the snowboarding universe. Although Gatt had summited less than 24 hours ahead of Marco, he had taken his board off and down-climbed past 100 meters of the steepest terrain. Because he rode all the way from the summit back to Advanced Base Camp, Marco’s historic descent was recorded as the first continuous snowboard descent of the world’s highest mountain.

He (ed: Marco Siffredi) wasn’t the first, however, to glide down Everest. In 2000, Davo Karnicar of Slovenia became the first person to ski nonstop down the mountain. The day before Siffredi’s 2001 descent, Austrian Stefan Gatt descended most of the mountain on a snowboard without oxygen, but ended up walking one section. And at present, according to www.mounteverest.net, there are two snowboarding teams currently in the Himalaya, both of which plan to snowboard down Cho Oyo.