Slovenian Davo Karnicar skied from the summit of Mt. Vinson in Antarctica this week, thus becoming the first person to do complete ski descents of the Seven Summits. Karnicar, 44, was the first and only person to make a complete ski descent of Mt. Everest, on the south side, in October 2000. He also has done a complete ski descent of Annapurna. American Kit DesLauriers was hailed last month as the first woman to ski the Seven Summits. But in the mind of most purists, her two-day ski from the summit of Everest, while laudable, can't be counted as a ski descent of the mountain. DesLauriers earned headlines and interviews across the country. Karnicar? A search of Google News this morning revealed not a single story.
It's all about how you market yourself. Thomas Edison didn't invent the electric light and Alexander Graham Bell didn't invent the telephone, but they marketed themselves better than the actual people who came up with these ideas. The flip side is maybe you don't care if people recognize your accomplishments and are just in it for the experience.
ReplyDeleteKarnicar wasn't averse to marketing: A look at his sponsor list shows that. And I think DesLauriers actually showed huge restraint: She didn't announce anything about her attempt on Everest until after she'd already done her ski. It's just an interesting commentary on what American readers find interesting. Pretty American skiers: yes. European guys with funny-sounding names: no.
ReplyDeleteI guess it just comes down to people wanting to read about things they can identify with. Go team america, or something like that.
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