:00:53. > :00:56.Hello and welcome to a very special Ski Sunday. This week we're in
:00:56. > :01:02.Schladming, Austria, where the best racers in the world have gathered
:01:02. > :01:07.to battle it out for global supremacy. Yes, that's right. This
:01:07. > :01:10.old mining town plays host to the 2013 World Championships. Here in
:01:10. > :01:20.Schladming, the fastest men and women on the planet will be looking
:01:20. > :01:30.to strike gold. And whoever unearths precious metals will be
:01:30. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:50.following in the footsteps of some Pirmin Zurbriggen. Bode Miller
:01:50. > :01:55.leads the way. Anja Paerson has stolen the gold medal. Pirmin
:01:56. > :02:05.Zurbriggen, a spectacular finish. The world championship, gold
:02:06. > :02:19.
:02:19. > :02:27.So who will be crowed the King and Queen of speed in Schladming? The
:02:28. > :02:32.big news is that Lindsey Vonn will play no part in the championships
:02:32. > :02:35.after a crash and suffering a fracture to her lower leg.
:02:35. > :02:39.Questions are being asked whether the race should have started in
:02:39. > :02:43.such marginal conditions. More but later in the show but we which
:02:43. > :02:46.Lindsey Vonn the speediest of recoveries. We will bring you the
:02:47. > :02:52.thrilling action from the men's world championship downhill, but
:02:52. > :02:56.it's not all likely and wax today. Later, you can experience what it's
:02:56. > :03:06.like to film with some of the best riders in the planet as they take
:03:06. > :03:10.
:03:10. > :03:18.There is undoubtedly gold in them there hills. So tell us to the
:03:18. > :03:24.prospectors are going to be for the men's downhill? You have Kroell and
:03:24. > :03:29.Reichelt. They live just down the valley. They will have a very vocal
:03:29. > :03:37.crowd behind them in Schladming. have the two German-speaking
:03:37. > :03:47.Italians. Paris and Innerhofer. They have won a two races this
:03:47. > :03:47.
:03:47. > :03:52.season. What about Axel? He started so well and then dropped away
:03:52. > :03:57.slightly. He did not defend his title. He will be looking to go
:03:57. > :04:02.better. World Championships, I'm putting you on the spot. Give me
:04:02. > :04:12.your top three. I would say, it's difficult. I would say Christof
:04:12. > :04:13.
:04:13. > :04:19.Innerhofer, Reichelt and Svindal. Now it's time to take a look at the
:04:19. > :04:25.course. The list of favourites his long and this race is wide-open so
:04:25. > :04:30.who will discourse sued the best? It doesn't have the length of some
:04:30. > :04:34.courses, but they have made it as tough as they possibly can buy a
:04:34. > :04:40.building these jumps. She is the first run, pretty much straight at
:04:40. > :04:50.the start. And then that you are straight into these rollers. You
:04:50. > :04:57.
:04:57. > :05:07.Just got to carry as much speed on the top part of the course as
:05:07. > :05:17.possible. Heading towards the I'm going to have to jump always
:05:17. > :05:20.
:05:21. > :05:30.Right, now, watched these big wide, sweeping turns, which suit the
:05:31. > :05:31.
:05:31. > :05:39.Now we're coming to the next to jump. This is where they have
:05:39. > :05:47.really used to the projection bath. It's very I see here. -- it is very
:05:47. > :05:53.icy here. You have got to fight to stay higher on the line. As
:05:53. > :06:00.smoothly as possible. These are the technical terms that you really
:06:00. > :06:08.have to do well. A nice little roller. And then hard on the skis.
:06:08. > :06:16.You come back towards this date. Really rough and bumpy. Across the
:06:16. > :06:23.line. Look at the crowd. What a stadium to come into. Just look at
:06:23. > :06:30.that. What a place to finish. The World Championships. And the course,
:06:30. > :06:35.really rough, really bumpy, you're going to have to have really good
:06:35. > :06:41.colliding skills. As well as superb technique on the lower part of the
:06:41. > :06:46.course. What a test. Another fascinating insight from the races
:06:46. > :06:51.perspective. Never gets any less impressive, does it? Now it's time
:06:51. > :07:01.for the big one. This is the blue Riband event. The one which will
:07:01. > :07:06.
:07:06. > :07:14.men's downhill with a host nation desperate for a gold medal. Can an
:07:14. > :07:21.Austrian racer turn himself into a living legend today? Romar from
:07:21. > :07:26.Finland on his way into the mist at the top. Visibility improves after
:07:26. > :07:31.a couple of hundred meters. Now he can see where he is going aided by
:07:32. > :07:39.the definition from the forest on either side of this course. Sporn
:07:39. > :07:43.is the current leader, 18.4, the interval, and Romar is 0.3 behind.
:07:43. > :07:53.A little bit scruffy of that Panorama jump. A decent flight
:07:53. > :08:15.
:08:15. > :08:25.decent line here, absorbing everything which comes his way. Now
:08:25. > :08:34.
:08:34. > :08:38.downhill by four-tenths. He was not quick at the top of the course but
:08:38. > :08:43.it shows how much time can be made on this very, very technical
:08:43. > :08:46.section down towards the finish. It's all about skiing that left-
:08:46. > :08:56.hander, and staying high, so you can carry the speed towards the
:08:56. > :08:56.
:08:56. > :09:02.finish. He made up a huge amount of time. David Poisson at on the start.
:09:02. > :09:08.The feisty little French man is a way. Good, aggressive skiing and
:09:08. > :09:13.skating at the top from Poisson. Just missed the podium in at
:09:13. > :09:22.Kitzbuhel. 4th there. Possibly France's best chance of a medal
:09:22. > :09:27.today. And he is in front. Poisson, really quick across the snow on
:09:27. > :09:36.these gliding sections. He is taking chances here. It is green
:09:36. > :09:43.all the way. 0.35 up at the last intermediate time. He has lost his
:09:43. > :09:48.pole. He is grappling for control. It has not affected his time. Four-
:09:48. > :09:55.tenths of a second in front. Nice line coming towards the finish. The
:09:55. > :09:58.noise levels enormous now at the foot of the course. Poisson has to
:09:58. > :10:02.get this final turn right. He's just outside of the blue racing
:10:02. > :10:07.Lane but has done enough to lead away. Terrific run it from the
:10:07. > :10:11.French man. Poisson is off the back of a good result in Kitzbuhel and
:10:11. > :10:16.approved he's got some technical ability as well. He came onto this
:10:16. > :10:19.tight finish Turner. He did really, really well. I didn't think he
:10:19. > :10:28.would have it in him to carry that speed to the finish but a good run
:10:28. > :10:37.from Poisson. Erik Guay is ready to race, the reigning Men's Downhill
:10:37. > :10:43.champion. He delivered back-to-back championships s success. Canada the
:10:43. > :10:48.first man to retain a downhill crown for 40 years? The Canadian in
:10:48. > :10:58.the start gate. He shaved his head in preparation for the big day. He
:10:58. > :11:18.
:11:18. > :11:22.of a second. Good top section from Erik Guay. The light improving very
:11:23. > :11:27.slightly for Guay's runner, a hint of sunshine, and he's got very good
:11:27. > :11:31.speed. It's getting better. Three- tenths of a second up. Slightly
:11:31. > :11:37.tense on that landing and he's off towards these bumps. A roller
:11:37. > :11:47.coaster section, which absorbs nicely. And it is still good. It is
:11:47. > :11:50.
:11:50. > :11:58.still green for Guay, the Canadian. just switched slightly towards the
:11:58. > :12:02.outer blue lane -- good lie. Oh, he's in trouble now. Guay it might
:12:02. > :12:08.miss the gate. He has managed to hold on, just, but he has gone into
:12:08. > :12:12.the red. And I don't know if he'd lost too much speed to pull it back.
:12:12. > :12:22.He's lost his concentration, certainly. Looking rather tentative
:12:22. > :12:27.it right now, Guay. 14 hundredths of a second behind. 139.10 is the
:12:27. > :12:33.next spurt from the current leader, David Poisson. Guay is more than a
:12:33. > :12:39.second behind. Really shaky run. And there will be no successful
:12:39. > :12:44.downhill title defence for Erik Guay, the Canadian. Aisle, and now
:12:44. > :12:54.he's got the breaks on. He has jammed the skis sideways and is out
:12:54. > :13:01.
:13:01. > :13:04.turn. He pitched too hard and he knew he made that mistake and he
:13:04. > :13:11.did not have it in his head mentally to get himself back
:13:11. > :13:16.together. He managed to miss the last gate. His chances are gone.
:13:16. > :13:20.The big Norwegian is next to go. Aksel Lund Svindal is a racer for
:13:20. > :13:27.the big occasion. A former world downhill champion and he won three
:13:28. > :13:37.medals at the last Winter Olympics. He and his girlfriend both took
:13:38. > :13:45.
:13:45. > :13:49.bronze. Can one half of the golden the week. Aksel Lund Svindal
:13:49. > :13:56.appears to have lasted the course. He did not like it when he arrived
:13:56. > :14:01.and it was warm and it was soft. It is harder and he is more at home.
:14:01. > :14:08.He has made a good start. Faster than David Poisson at the first
:14:08. > :14:18.intermediate. It is green all the way for Aksel Lund Svindal. Three-
:14:18. > :14:38.
:14:38. > :14:44.Half a second up. Bronze medallist at these championships. He got the
:14:44. > :14:50.bronze in Wednesday's Super-G. Terrific so far. His head bouncing
:14:50. > :14:57.around. Nearly relaxed over his skis. Nearly a second up. My word,
:14:57. > :15:07.this is a masterclass from Aksel Lund Svindal. Nearly home. He has
:15:07. > :15:08.
:15:08. > :15:18.not put a foot wrong. He has speed to near perfection. And the final
:15:18. > :15:19.
:15:19. > :15:25.10 is brilliant as well. He leads by 0.97. Catch me if you can!
:15:25. > :15:30.Lund Svindal bid a very interesting move. It was on the third last gate.
:15:30. > :15:35.He came in over the roller and then he put his skis sideways and he
:15:35. > :15:39.waited, drifting into the turn, then hammering on the edges to come
:15:39. > :15:43.out high across the Traverse. He had to smash the gate but that is
:15:43. > :15:49.OK. He stayed high, within the Blue Line, meaning he did not run too
:15:49. > :15:56.wide. He was quick at the top and at the bottom, which means it was a
:15:56. > :16:06.great run. Next is the Italian Dominik Paris. The death metal
:16:06. > :16:07.
:16:07. > :16:17.loving a rocky skied like a rock legend at Kitzbuehel. His run of
:16:17. > :16:18.
:16:18. > :16:28.form is continuing. Can he reached big star at home but they love him
:16:28. > :16:35.
:16:36. > :16:45.take something very tasty to deny Aksel Lund Svindal the gold medal.
:16:46. > :16:52.
:16:52. > :16:58.Paris is right behind him. Great Italian. Not 0.35 behind. There is
:16:58. > :17:08.a chance of snatching the silver medal. Possibly pushing David
:17:08. > :17:23.
:17:23. > :17:28.of The Mall at Kitzbuehel. That was his warm-up. -- of them all. He
:17:28. > :17:34.cannot beat the time to beat so he is second. Silver medal for Paris
:17:34. > :17:43.of Italy. I really feared that Dominik Paris was going to spin out
:17:43. > :17:48.of the course at the top of the finish. He came through the chicane,
:17:48. > :17:52.and his body was twisted as he hit the roller. He managed to stay so
:17:52. > :18:00.loose and that is one of the characteristics of his skiing. He
:18:00. > :18:06.got back on track and got a good second place. Hannes Reichelt is
:18:06. > :18:11.next. He was superb two weeks ago and just missed out on the podium
:18:11. > :18:20.place on Wednesday at the Super-G. This course requires skill and
:18:20. > :18:28.control and should suit his style. Possibly austere's best chance
:18:28. > :18:38.today. -- Austria's. They have the home advantage in turns of
:18:38. > :18:47.
:18:47. > :18:51.experience but this is a high Lund Svindal's time. Not bad. It is
:18:51. > :19:01.getting worse. His chance of winning a gold medal is drifting
:19:01. > :19:06.
:19:06. > :19:12.first training run. He has not to that gate flat and now his line is
:19:12. > :19:17.out of shape in this section. He is three-quarters of a second back.
:19:17. > :19:21.That was a lucky escape! Where is he going? He is not going to finish.
:19:21. > :19:25.That is a nightmare for the Austrians. There goes one of the
:19:25. > :19:30.home favourites and somebody that I tipped for the podium. He made that
:19:30. > :19:34.mistake on that little jump, the roller. He got his tips up and he
:19:34. > :19:44.was just lucky enough to land early enough. Otherwise he would have
:19:44. > :19:45.
:19:45. > :19:50.landed clean on his back. Hannes Reichelt is out. Next up, Klaus
:19:50. > :19:54.Kroll. The Austrians love to see him winning on the snow. It is 10
:19:54. > :20:00.years since their last champion. He will need at this key of his life
:20:00. > :20:10.on this course which is not really suited to his impressive style. --
:20:10. > :20:20.
:20:20. > :20:30.he will need their three of his life. Can he score Austria's first
:20:30. > :20:38.
:20:38. > :20:47.bit wide of the blue line. 96.9 through the speed gun. Read all the
:20:47. > :20:55.way. It is getting worse for Klaus Kroll. He will have to produce a
:20:55. > :21:02.miracle finish now to get himself in among the medals. Risky all the
:21:02. > :21:12.way. He is stiff and tight and his body language does not look totally
:21:12. > :21:13.
:21:13. > :21:16.relaxed over the skis. Collective groaning in the finish area. Klaus
:21:16. > :21:26.Kroll is the last chance of success and it is not going to happen for
:21:26. > :21:29.
:21:29. > :21:38.the Austrians who so loved skiing. He has made a mess of the finish.
:21:38. > :21:44.He is outside of the medals, only for off. -- only 4th. The last
:21:44. > :21:48.Austrian World Champion was 2003. Klaus Kroll really blew it on the
:21:48. > :21:53.lower part of that cause. If he had speak it well he could have knocked
:21:53. > :22:03.David Poisson out of third place, but Aksel Lund Svindal's run is
:22:03. > :22:18.
:22:18. > :22:28.looking stronger and stronger. I Private for his -- pride for his
:22:28. > :22:30.
:22:30. > :22:40.country? Swiss skiing has been in be something. Silvan Zurbriggen is
:22:40. > :22:40.
:22:40. > :22:50.OK but not spectacular in training. Some nervous moments for Aksel Lund
:22:50. > :22:59.
:22:59. > :23:04.Svindal, David Poisson and Paris at tidy. Good line. He is 1.26 behind.
:23:04. > :23:09.It has gone now. There is no chance of fighting back and getting
:23:09. > :23:17.himself a place on the podium. Top 10 would be a boost for the Swiss
:23:17. > :23:22.team. He is out of steam now. His legs have turned to jelly. He is
:23:22. > :23:32.just about holding on and he is in 6th place. Good result for number
:23:32. > :23:32.
:23:32. > :23:38.27, Silvan Zurbriggen. Aksel Lund Svindal gets gold, with Dominik
:23:38. > :23:44.Paris in silver and David Poisson with bronze. One a skier who failed
:23:44. > :23:54.to impress today, Christof Innerhofer. The Italian could only
:23:54. > :23:54.
:23:54. > :24:00.manage 14th place, two seconds off You have done it before. How much
:24:00. > :24:04.better is it to do It again? That is difficult to answer. It feels
:24:05. > :24:10.very good every time. Maybe the first time was the best. It is hard
:24:10. > :24:20.to beat this. 4000 spectators. That is a good feeling when you cross
:24:20. > :24:28.the finish line. I skied very easy, so I take not so strong on the snow.
:24:28. > :24:38.It was good. He savages the season with a glorious win at the World
:24:38. > :24:39.
:24:39. > :24:45.Championships. -- salvages. Was it a case of whoever made are the
:24:45. > :24:53.least mistakes that won? He skied within himself in the lower section
:24:53. > :24:58.but he was very fast all over. about Paris? He looked very
:24:58. > :25:05.comfortable. He was so loose and relaxed. Very exciting to watch. A
:25:06. > :25:11.good race for David Poisson as well, backing up a good performance at
:25:11. > :25:15.Kitzbuehel recently. Now it is time for our final feature on our
:25:15. > :25:20.journey through Alaska. We went up against the riders that pit
:25:20. > :25:30.themselves against the steepest slopes on earth. It was an
:25:30. > :25:31.
:25:31. > :25:35.emotional week for everybody During my trip through Alaska, I
:25:35. > :25:37.had come to realise why this place has long been regarded as the final
:25:37. > :25:42.frontier for back-country snow sport enthusiasts. And the ultimate
:25:42. > :25:45.proving ground for the elite skiers and snowboarders. Visiting at the
:25:45. > :25:50.end of last season, Alaska was serving up its final days of good
:25:50. > :25:56.snow conditions. So time was certainly of the essence in making
:25:56. > :26:00.the most of this last opportunity. And, for the final chapter of my
:26:00. > :26:04.trip, I had a very special assignment. I would be heading
:26:04. > :26:08.north via the town of Juneau to meet up with one of snow boarding's
:26:08. > :26:12.most respected film crews. An outfit renowned for capturing back-
:26:12. > :26:16.country snowboarding in its purest form. A team that is constantly
:26:16. > :26:21.pushing the boundaries. They work with the best riders in the world
:26:21. > :26:25.in the best locations in the world. And for the next few days, I'd be
:26:25. > :26:32.joining them. But what I couldn't know was the extreme danger that
:26:32. > :26:38.the team would face along the way which almost ended in disaster. It
:26:39. > :26:42.was set to be a very interesting couple of days. We're that far
:26:42. > :26:45.north, it's extremely light at quarter to six but there is a light
:26:45. > :26:51.cloud of haze, high cirrus cloud. It was clear last night but the
:26:51. > :26:55.windows are so, so short, so we have got to be ready to take it.
:26:55. > :26:59.It's about 20 minutes' drive up to the heli take-off point. Once we
:27:00. > :27:02.get there, a decision will be made. It was clear from the outset that
:27:02. > :27:06.the crew were very close-knit. Expertly led by renowned snowboard
:27:06. > :27:08.film-maker Justin Hostynek. A dedicated veteran of back-country
:27:08. > :27:14.cinematography, he's a perfectionist with an acute eye for
:27:14. > :27:16.detail. You're in very good hands with Justin because, obviously,
:27:16. > :27:23.it's what I would call the upper echelon of snowboarding,
:27:23. > :27:26.cinematography. I appreciate all the space he gives us to make
:27:26. > :27:32.decisions and I open my ears as wide as they'll go whenever he
:27:32. > :27:37.talks because he's an incredibly knowledgeable person. I'm trying to
:27:37. > :27:40.make a film for the riders that are in it. That's my ideal audience.
:27:40. > :27:50.That's who I'm trying to please because they are on the forefront
:27:50. > :27:53.
:27:53. > :27:56.of snowboarding. And they are the It's no frills. We've got to get up
:27:56. > :27:59.there and just film lines. That's the only purpose. There's no lunch,
:27:59. > :28:04.no messing around, no sightseeing. These guys are focused on one task,
:28:04. > :28:07.getting the last shot squeezed out of the season. As we made the
:28:07. > :28:17.ascent, and with the weather gods shining down on us, I got the
:28:17. > :28:28.
:28:28. > :28:38.feeling the stage was set for I don't know if I'm going to make
:28:38. > :28:43.
:28:43. > :28:53.This is the equivalent of having front row seats at the Nou Camp for
:28:53. > :29:20.
:29:20. > :29:30.a Champions League final. I'm about For me, personally, that was one of
:29:30. > :29:57.
:29:57. > :30:00.the best moments of live sport I've This morning when we got up it was
:30:00. > :30:04.anticipation but not too much nerves or anxiety. And the closer
:30:04. > :30:09.we got, I noticed you guys got a bit quieter and a bit more focused.
:30:09. > :30:13.That must be quite a difficult period to deal with. Until now,
:30:13. > :30:17.there is elation. You're getting relaxed again. But that build-up of
:30:17. > :30:21.pressure must be huge into the first run? You just know that
:30:21. > :30:25.you're going to go out and ride the biggest, amazing train. Biggest
:30:25. > :30:30.line of the year, maybe. Maybe the biggest line of your life. You're
:30:30. > :30:34.going to get dropped in from a helicopter, towed in. One ski
:30:34. > :30:39.barely dangling. You're going to jump out. There will be thousands
:30:39. > :30:42.of tons of pressure from the snow hammering down on you. The biggest
:30:42. > :30:46.line I've ever seen. You guys always make me feel comfortable
:30:46. > :30:54.getting out of the heli. He has no problem getting out on a kitchen
:30:54. > :30:58.table. The sheer drop of the backside, you know, the exposure.
:30:58. > :31:02.The first time we did, I saw him hop out and I thought that's how
:31:02. > :31:09.you do it. Hop out and stand there. Thumbs up. Give the thumbs up and
:31:09. > :31:12.take off. All right, here we are. Blair and Gigi seemed all most
:31:12. > :31:16.euphoric with relief at what they had achieved as we headed to the
:31:16. > :31:26.second location for the day. But, as the boys were about to make
:31:26. > :31:33.
:31:33. > :31:39.their runs, the mountain let out an What happened there, Justin? They
:31:39. > :31:43.had a bit of a release on the top of that thing. It looks like any
:31:43. > :31:53.part of that slope they touch will release too. So they are not going
:31:53. > :31:55.
:31:55. > :31:58.to want to ride into that. That's Lots of ups. A few downs. The risks
:31:58. > :32:03.in reaching these areas are all too apparent with weather fronts and
:32:03. > :32:06.avalanche a constant and unnerring threat. But with a hunger to push
:32:06. > :32:12.the snowboarding movie genre to places its never been before, these
:32:12. > :32:22.risks are an accepted yet unwelcome occupational hazard. Knowing your
:32:22. > :32:25.
:32:25. > :32:30.limits is something you often learn There is a big learning process to
:32:30. > :32:33.be able to thrive in these mountains. And it's pretty easy to
:32:33. > :32:39.get in over your head. It happens all the time. And, yeah, it's a
:32:39. > :32:42.humbling situation when that happens. I remember my first heli
:32:42. > :32:47.trip, looking out of the heli at the lines, thinking, "Yeah, I can
:32:47. > :32:50.get down there easy. Connect that." And then you get on there and
:32:50. > :32:53.you're like, this is way bigger than I thought! It's easy to say,
:32:53. > :32:57."Yeah, I got that. I'm going to ride that." But it's pretty
:32:57. > :33:04.difficult to say no and to pull out. And if something isn't right, you
:33:04. > :33:10.get a funny feeling. Being able to say no, even though you have four
:33:10. > :33:20.guys who have spent two hours getting ready for a shot.
:33:20. > :33:27.
:33:27. > :33:33.I had no control at all. And it's a feeling I don't really want to
:33:33. > :33:38.experience again. I got her. She's rolling. She's on top. You can see
:33:38. > :33:42.the fear in their eyes. That's something I watch for. If you see a
:33:42. > :33:45.lot of signs of fear, that means the confidence is not there. And if
:33:45. > :33:55.the confidence is not there, something is probably going to go
:33:55. > :34:02.
:34:02. > :34:05.Day two, 5.15 in the morning. It could be, by the sounds of it, our
:34:05. > :34:12.last day. The weather comes in really hard apparently at some
:34:12. > :34:16.point today. That's the forecast. So if it's out there, we've got to
:34:16. > :34:20.make the most of it. The waiting game had begun. An all too common
:34:20. > :34:25.trait in this most unpredictable of environments. Have you developed a
:34:25. > :34:35.routine for dealing with Alaska? You could say there's kind of a
:34:35. > :34:37.
:34:37. > :34:40.routine. One is having patience. Not to freak out. Probably the most
:34:40. > :34:50.overwhelming thing up here is, once you step out in your snowboard
:34:50. > :34:50.
:34:50. > :34:53.clothes, it's on. The really difficult part for them is to go
:34:53. > :34:57.from not knowing whether they are going to be snowboarding, to being
:34:57. > :35:04.on the mountain and laying it all on the line in a really short
:35:04. > :35:08.timespan. You know, going from zero to 100. It must feel like,
:35:08. > :35:11.immediately. And then that time eventually came as a clearing in
:35:11. > :35:18.the weather appeared later that day, but with fading light, time was
:35:18. > :35:28.against us. This was the last chance. Look at this. When Justin
:35:28. > :35:33.
:35:33. > :35:41.I've been watching the weather all day. An hour-and-a-half of light
:35:41. > :35:46.left to go fly. We just found out the helicopter isn't available
:35:46. > :35:50.tomorrow so this is our last hit. Gigi and Blair have got to get in a
:35:50. > :36:00.head space of riding that terrain. Al, the pilot, is going to fly back
:36:00. > :36:07.
:36:07. > :36:15.to Juneau tonight which means this We had an hour to do something that
:36:15. > :36:19.had never been done before. And we failed. We kind of knew, going into
:36:19. > :36:29.it, that we were not set up to come out of it with what we were hoping
:36:29. > :36:29.
:36:30. > :36:35.You know, we went to drop Blair off. I thought he was getting out onto
:36:35. > :36:39.the rock. The snow bridge collapsed and he fell in this hole. He went
:36:39. > :36:49.out of my view pretty quickly. A lot of it was maybe because we
:36:49. > :36:52.
:36:52. > :36:56.raced into it. It's a dangerous Blair fell through a chasm in the
:36:56. > :37:01.snow. He was very nearly killed. The team struggled desperately to
:37:01. > :37:06.get him back. I went to get out of the helicopter, I turned around,
:37:06. > :37:10.lowered myself down and held on to the middle bar. Put both of my feet
:37:10. > :37:13.and dropped straight through. was clear that he was in there. He
:37:13. > :37:18.was kinda on the rock side of a mountain, not the corner side, so
:37:18. > :37:21.that's where I would prefer he was. He was straddling this rock.
:37:21. > :37:25.Sitting like this and then the whole thing opened up and they flew
:37:25. > :37:29.off. I didn't have my board or anything. I just sat there. I knew
:37:29. > :37:33.he had to be just terrified because he was in a scary spot. Blair put
:37:33. > :37:41.his arm out to me and I had to grab his arm and just like put one foot
:37:41. > :37:43.on the step. They connected hands like that and then, on a head nod,
:37:43. > :37:47.basically he jumped into the helicopter grabbed his backpack and
:37:47. > :37:53.threw him over my lap into the other side of the helicopter and we
:37:53. > :37:59.flew away. I'm just happy that I'm all right. I almost fell off a
:38:00. > :38:06.1,500 foot mountain. Oh, Alaska. I'd be more than happy if that
:38:07. > :38:13.never happens again. Definitely quite a way to end the season. But,
:38:13. > :38:17.hey, I'm all right so... I'll try again next year. The team were
:38:17. > :38:20.clearly shaken after the incident. In their eagerness to capture the
:38:20. > :38:26.ultimate shot, and race against the weather and fading light, Blair
:38:26. > :38:30.came very close to not returning from the mountain. The risks in
:38:30. > :38:39.pushing the sport beyond previous parameters are well known. Although
:38:39. > :38:42.managing those risks at all times Having the opportunity to glimpse
:38:42. > :38:45.the extraordinary lengths these film-makers go to for only a brief
:38:45. > :38:47.moment within a movie was truly astonishing and gave me a new
:38:47. > :38:57.appreciation of what goes into delivering these images to the
:38:57. > :38:58.
:38:58. > :39:08.My time in Alaska had come to an end. But I know I will be back for
:39:08. > :39:19.
:39:19. > :39:23.more soon enough. Alaska, it's been The dangers of the mountains are
:39:23. > :39:27.never far from your mind when you are riding a not just in Alaska.
:39:27. > :39:37.Here in the Alps, too. No one is more aware of the many perils of
:39:37. > :39:39.
:39:39. > :39:45.this environment than Olympic champion. Ski racing is like no
:39:45. > :39:49.other sport. The risks are high and the margins for error are slender.
:39:49. > :39:59.You are competing against the clock, the mountain and all that it throws
:39:59. > :39:59.
:39:59. > :40:05.That was a really long day. We were sitting in the large, pretty much
:40:05. > :40:10.all day, getting ready to race. was hard, of course, to wait and
:40:11. > :40:15.conditions were difficult. After a while, a lot of us didn't think we
:40:15. > :40:19.would be racing but then, of course, the fog cleared miraculously and we
:40:19. > :40:29.are ready to go and that's how ski racing is. After a four-hour delay
:40:29. > :40:31.
:40:31. > :40:41.All eyes were on a 28-year-old American, the darling of downhill,
:40:41. > :40:59.
:40:59. > :41:05.hospital. She had torn her cruciate ligaments and fractured her tibia.
:41:05. > :41:09.Her season was over. Such a pity what happened to her. I wish her
:41:09. > :41:14.all the best that she will recover quickly and come back stronger.
:41:14. > :41:20.Afterwards, actually seeing the crash, it was really horrible.
:41:20. > :41:24.is a strong athlete and ensure she will manage to. Do you trust the
:41:25. > :41:31.organisers that the conditions are safe when you go skiing? It depends,
:41:31. > :41:35.it's not always so easy. The there was injuries, and the race was
:41:35. > :41:42.broken because it was dark at the end, so, for me, it was the wrong
:41:42. > :41:47.It goes without saying, we wish Lindsey Vonn the speediest of
:41:47. > :41:51.recoveries. The big question now, with just under a year to the
:41:51. > :41:56.Olympics, is whether she can make a full recovery. She will have the
:41:56. > :42:00.best medical attention. She's had a knee reconstruction, and it will be
:42:00. > :42:05.six months before your back on the snow, so she is looking at
:42:05. > :42:10.southern-hemisphere skiing. She will push it, definitely. Do you
:42:10. > :42:16.think that race should have gone ahead? They started a very late in
:42:16. > :42:20.the day. In marginal snow conditions. Lindsey Vonn crashed
:42:20. > :42:25.and in the end, they ran out of time and some of the races could
:42:25. > :42:30.not start, so the short answer, grown know. Pretty emphatic. Now
:42:30. > :42:33.it's time for the rest of the news from winter sport. Britain has
:42:33. > :42:37.pulled out to the World Championships after injuring
:42:37. > :42:46.herself in downhill training -- Alcott. She has been told to rest
:42:46. > :42:49.after a high-speed crash. Katie the summer haze recorded her best
:42:49. > :42:56.result with a silver at the World Cup event in Switzerland. More
:42:56. > :43:01.British success in the 1,500 short track speed skating World Cup
:43:01. > :43:05.yesterday. At the World Championships, the US beat he had a
:43:05. > :43:15.reason to smile again after sealing victory in the men's super-G on
:43:15. > :43:18.Wednesday. Germany got the gold in the women's Super combined. Plenty
:43:18. > :43:23.more World Championship action if you press the red button after the
:43:23. > :43:28.show, then you cannot highlights of the Womens Downhill on Ski Sunday
:43:28. > :43:34.Extra. And you can watch the remaining races on the red button
:43:34. > :43:38.and the website plus keep your questions coming on Twitter. Next