"It was just a three-hour drive from campus and my home drop-zone at the Malone Parachute Club. At the time, I'd been skiing for about seven years and skydiving on and off for three, with a total of 217 jumps under my belt. ParaSki sounded like trouble in the best possible way. I signed up without hesitation and headed out, unsure what to expect from my first skydiving competition-and my first ski race."
"These rescuers would parachute onto remote alpine terrain to reach injured climbers or stranded skiers, then ski down with their patients. The concept isn't all that different from American smokejumpers, who parachute into remote wildfire zones, suppress the fire, and hike out. From those mountain rescue roots, informal competitions emerged. Early events timed everything: the aircraft exit, free-fall, parachute accuracy landing, and finally a ski run down the mountain to the finish line."
A graduate student attended a ParaSki competition near Glens Falls, New York, in spring 1984 after several years of skiing and about 217 skydives. ParaSki combines parachuting and alpine skiing into a single timed competitive event. Participants include outdoor enthusiasts and year-round adrenaline seekers who pursue high-risk activities across seasons. The sport grew from 1970s European mountain rescue teams who parachuted onto remote alpine terrain to reach injured climbers or skiers and then skied down with patients. Informal competitions timed exits, free-fall, landing accuracy, and a ski descent. Early competitors sometimes deployed canopies dangerously low to save seconds, increasing risk.
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