Snowboarding Down Everest

Mount Everest

Is Stephen Koch extremely brave, extremely stupid or a bit of both? Whatever he is, the guy snowboarded Mt. Everest!

Stephen Koch - History of Madness

You may think Stephen's little boarding expedition sounds totally nuts - but danger and extreme adventure are nothing new to this guy. Stephen has been snowboarding down dangerous mountain peaks for nearly 20 years. When he was 19, Stephen tried snowboarding down Mount Owen, near his home in Jackson, Wyoming. Stephen was near the summit when an avalanche came rolling along and sent him flying down over rocks and cliffs. He was thrown 2,220 vertical feet in 30 seconds! When it was all over, Stephen was coughing up blood, had a broken leg and two fractured vertebrae.

Stephen Koch - Reaching New Heights

In 2003, Stephen Koch set his plan to climb to the top of the world's highest mountain and jump on his snowboard in action. The goal was to ride 9,000 feet down the north face of Mt. Everest. If that doesn't sound dangerous enough, Stephen also decided to make his attempt during the middle of monsoon season, when Everest gets hit with heavy snowfalls and the threat of avalanche is high.

Stephen Koch - Man on a Mission

Things didn't go exactly to plan but that didn't stop Stephen from following his love of mountain climbing and snowboarding. The bad weather conditions forced Stephen to snowboard a run lower down on the mountain but after some serious perseverance, he became the first person to successfully snowboard down the highest mountains of all seven continents.