After the avalanche on Wuchang’s Datudingzi Mountain, media outlets inside and outside Heilongjiang Province reported and republished the news, making “007” the first person in China’s skiing history to be caught in an avalanche.
Why has the death of a skiing enthusiast drawn widespread public attention?
For avid skiers, skiing is not just a sport, but also a way of life. During the snow season, they make friends through skiing and hit the slopes together. On days without snow, they intensify their long-distance running and use activities like rollerblading as alternatives.
Currently, there are nearly twenty active skiing clubs in Heilongjiang Province. They mainly organize events through forums, and some beginners have grown into expert skiers within these groups.
Alpine skiing, mountaineering expeditions, cave diving, BASE jumping, and wingsuit flying are known as the five extreme activities. Ski mountaineering combines two of them and represents the highest level of skiing. In Europe and America, ski mountaineering has a long history — in the Alps, mountaineering and skiing emerged almost simultaneously. The National School of Ski Mountaineering in France is the world’s first school dedicated to training mountain guides, ski instructors, high-altitude support staff, and rescue personnel, and it is directly supervised by the French Ministry of Sports.
Ski mountaineering is still in its infancy in China. There are currently no ski mountaineering schools in the country, and enthusiasts face challenges such as a lack of equipment and information. Skiing routes remain largely uncharted. At present, only about a hundred people in China are involved in ski mountaineering. There are no books on the subject, no domestic agents for avalanche rescue gear, and regular accident insurance policies do not cover ski mountaineers. The recent avalanche on Datudingzi Mountain, which stands at 1,690 meters above sea level, has also changed people’s perception: avalanches can happen on any snowy mountain, regardless of elevation.
In December 2009, Heilongjiang Province established the Heilongjiang Mountaineering Association, followed by the Heilongjiang Skiing Association in December 2011. Due to historical and geographical reasons, the responsibility of exploring ski mountaineering has fallen on the shoulders of the people of Heilongjiang. Extreme skiing enthusiasts in Heilongjiang have skied down Yabuli’s Erguokui Mountain, and in 2011, they tackled Phoenix Mountain. In January this year, they successfully skied down Datudingzi Mountain. They are forging a path for ski mountaineering that belongs to Heilongjiang, and to China. Though challenging, they continue to press forward.