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Rossignol News, 1989-90

Rossignol News, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1989-90 - King, John, "Jimmy Katz" Taking Adventure to the Extreme"

This promotional brochure was released for the 1989-90 season and contains information about Rossignol products. The back page has an action photo and interview with Jimmy Katz, with observations on extreme skiing and risk. Some excerpts:

"I don't consider myself an extreme skier. I'd say I'm an adventure skier. My definition of extreme skiing is the kind of situation where if you fall, you die. Most of the people in the U.S. who call themselves extreme skiers have mohawks and jump off cliffs. But to me, that's stunt skiing, not extreme skiing."

"The idea of risking your life appeals to people, expecially risking your life for a sport. That's very decadent and very bourgeois. If I wanted to risk my life, I would do it for something a little more socially significant than skiing a new route."

[...on choosing nordic skis...] "It's a much greater challenge than doing a route on alpine gear, and this way I can do less steep terrain with less objective danger and still really challenge myself."

"The real challenge in backcountry skiing over the next couple decades will be to find routes and ski descents which challenge the skier but which are not dangerous...so that skiing is kept a sport, rather than a death defying feat."

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