Patrick Vallençant

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Patrick Vallençant
Born	(1946-06-09)9 June 1946 Lyon, France
Died	28 March 1989(1989-03-28) (aged 42)
Medal record Representing  France

Patrick Vallençant (9 June 1946 – 28 March 1989) was a French alpinist/skier and pioneer in ski mountaineering.

He was a pioneer in ski mountaineering and leader of the French school of ski mountaineers. His motto was: "si tu tombes, tu meurs", translated as "you fall, you die". In addition to numerous first descents, he was responsible for the creation of the "Pedal-Jump Turn" and co-founded the Degré 7 ski apparel company.

He died on 28 March 1989, in a non-skiing related climbing accident as a result of a broken carabiner, while abseiling from the top of La Beaume Rouge, in France.

Vallençant became known for a number of first descents on skis within the French Alps that had previously been considered too steep to ski. To achieve this he developed a ski technique known as the "Pedal-Jump Turn". His feats required him to first climb the mountain in order to make the descent on skis, at the time it was uncommon to use helicopters to reach the top. His climbing and skiing partner for many of these first descents was Anselme Baud. In achieving this he took up the mantel of Sylvain Saudan ("Le Skieur de l'Impossible") (French Wiki, Sylvain Saudan) and was a contemporary of other French extreme skiers, such as Jean-Marc Boivin and Bruno Gouvy.

To cope with skiing the steep terrain (greater than 50 degrees), Vallençant developed a new turning technique, known as the "Pedal-Jump Turn" (also "Pedal Hop Turn" and "Pedal Step Turn"). The technique involved pushing off from the uphill ski, away from the slope and completing a portion of turn's rotation while in the air and then landing back on the downhill ski. With the advent of parabolic skis, using the uphill ski to initiate a turn is now a common technique for carved turns and racing. The key difference is in carving or racing the skier is traveling much faster, the terrain is not as steep and there is no need for such a dramatic thrust off the slope. The "Pedal-Jump Turn" was originally developed on traditional racing skis.

Patrick Vallençant founded the Stages Vallençant in Chamonix to teach extreme skiing and co-founded the "Degré 7" ski apparel company in 1983 with Iingrid Buchner, a stylist. He sold his share in Degré 7 in 1988.

• Ski Magazine (October 1980) – Patrick Vallencant and His Pedal-Jump Turn [1]
• Climbing Magazine – No. 106 – Vallencant Cover Photo by Noble [2]
• Ski Extreme, Ma Plenitude by Patrick Vallencant (Edité par Flammarion, 1992) (French Only, Ski Extreme, My Fullness)
• PisteHors.com – Biography of Patrick Vallencant [3]

• Degré 7 – Skiing Apparel co-founded by Patrick Vallencant
• Chris Noble – Photographed the Founders of Extreming Skiing
• Climbing Magazine Issue no. 106 – Patrick Vallencant skiing Pas de Chevre, above Chamonix (Photo by Chris Noble)
• French extreme ski legend Patrick Vallencant climbs and skis some serious stuff back in the 1970s on YouTube
• Snow News 2003 – "Mountain Mavericks: Patrick Vallencant"
• Steep, Without Risk There Is No Adventure – A history of big mountain skiing, includes archival footage of Vallencant