A young Italian man, Armin Senoner, has announced that he will be attempting to break the woprld record for Speedriding – the sport he loves, next season.
Speedriding is a combination of skiing and parachuting, a relatively new extreme winter sport which was invented in France and the current world record of 146.46km/h (91.006 mph) is held by Frenchman François Bon.
Together with his manager Bartolomeus Kohl, Senoner aims to fly from the 3859m high Königspitze situated in Italy’s Ortler Alps and reach a speed of over 150 km/h (93.206 mph)
Senoner , who hails from Val Gardena, has been training at the end of the 13-14 winter in the Ortler Alps ahead of his record attempt, the date for which is yet to be decided.
The speedrider needs to get used to the extreme conditions of the height and at the same time try to better understand the mountain and its weather conditions.
“This unique attempt from almost 4000m are requires enormous physical as well as mental strength,” said Armin Senoner.
“With efficient training both can be strengthen. The day of the record attempt, besides weather and snow conditions, the start will be crucial. Because from that point on there is no way back and I will have to try to make the best out of it. From that point on I will have to face it all alone.”
Olaf Reinstadler, mountain rescuer from the Alpine School Ortler, confirmed that the success of the attempt will depend not only on Senoner’s skills and ability, but also the mountain itself, which plays an important role, as the line of sight, snow, fog and weather are not under men’s control and good luck is needed there.
