On the 22nd of March, Pavlek Levpist wrote alpine history. He is the first mountaineer to Zipflbob down Mount Everest. According to news coverage by the outdooractive Magazin (German), Pavlek and his brother managed to climb up to the base of Hillary Step, where they had to abort their summit attempt due to severe weather conditions.

However, this was only the start of their remarkable adventure. From the base of Hillary Step, Pavlek used his Zipflbob to slide down the icy 40 degree south face on the Lirpa 1 route. They succeeded in following their strategy to ascent and descent in a single push.

„Speed is your life insurance up there“ said Pavlek in an interview after their trip. They did not use bottled oxygen on their attempt. „Bottled oxygen is like doping – it’s just not our style. We like the idea of knocking-off the bastards by fair means. Many people suggested that we should use the plastic material body of our Zipflbob and fill it with oxygen – using the Zipf as a breathing tube – but this is just really not our idea of moutaineering.“

More images from the expedition can be found on the outdooractive news page and a video is also announced to be available on outdooractive in the next few days.

Asked about future plans, Pavlek said that he wanted to cross the European Alps on a special Zipflbob Transalp route. „Many people do a Transalp by foot, with skies or with a mountainbike, but I think that the most exciting experience will be to do this with a Zipflbob – as far as I know, no one has done this before and I like to explore new ways of doing things.“

News media are still waiting for feedback and opinions about this remarkable achievment from Reinhold Messner, Hans Kammerlander, Ueli Steck and the Huber Buam. All of them can be considered pioneers and legends in mountain climbing and each of them introduced a new distinct style and spirit. Now, Pavlek Levpist will join this heroic list.