Jan Fredrik Ericsson (14 March 1975 in

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

– 6 August 2010 at K2,

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) was a Swedish mountaineer and extreme

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International ...

. He grew up in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...

in the northern part of

, but spent most of his time in

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

, in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

History

During the summer of 2003, Ericsson climbed and skied the 7495 meters high

Ismoil Somoni Peak Ismoil Somoni Peak (; ) is the highest mountain in Tajikistan, as well as the former Russian Empire and Soviet Union before Tajikistan's independence. The mountain is named after Ismail Samani, a ruler of the Samanid dynasty. It is located in ...

(Peak Communism) in

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. In 2004, he became the first Swede to ski descend an 8000-meters peak when he skied from the central summit of

Shisha Pangma Shishapangma, or Shishasbangma or Xixiabangma ( zh, s=希夏邦马, p=Xī xià bāng mǎ), is the 14th-highest mountain in the world, at above sea level. The lowest 8,000 metre peak, it is located entirely within Tibet. Name Geologist Toni Ha ...

(8027 m) in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. In 2005, Ericsson and his Norwegian friend Jörgen Aamot made an attempt to ski the coveted Laila Peak (6069 m) in

, but bad conditions forced them to turn around at 5950 m. They were the first people who ever skied down the mountain. That same year they also skied from the summit of

Gasherbrum II Gasherbrum II (; ; ); surveyed as K4, is the 13th highest mountain in the world at above sea level. It is the third-highest peak of the Gasherbrum massif, and is located in the Karakoram, on the border between Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan and ...

(8035 m), Ericsson's second 8000-meters peak. Ericsson returned to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

in 2007 to attempt his third 8000er,

Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri, located in Nepal, is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country. It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapur ...

(8167 m) in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. Massive amounts of snow and dangerous conditions forced him to turn around at 8000 meters, from where he skied 3000 vertical meters down to base camp. Ericsson also skied in Turkey, Iceland, Sicily and Svalbard. He was featured in documentary films such as '' Skiing Everest'' and ski movies including ''Free Radicals 618'' and ''Kong Vinter 3''.

Death

On 6 August 2010,

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner (born 13 December 1970) is an Austrian mountaineer. In August 2011, she became the second woman to climb the fourteen eight-thousanders and the first woman to do so without using supplemental oxygen or high-altitude porters. ...

joined Ericsson and his partner Trey Cook on the way to the summit of K2, leaving Camp 4 (8000 m) at 1:30 a.m. Weather conditions included light snow, 100-metres visibility, 40-km/h wind, around −15˚C with a forecast for conditions to improve throughout the day. Between 6:30 and 7:00, just below the

Bottleneck Bottleneck may refer to: * the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle Science and technology * Bottleneck (engineering), where the performance of an entire system is limited by a single component * Bottleneck (network), in a communication network * ...

, Cook turned back due to cold hands that had been frostbitten weeks earlier while establishing the team's Camp 3. Ericsson and Kaltenbrunner continued up the Bottleneck and, while Ericsson placed a piton, a rock dislodged, knocking him from his stance. He fell and was killed. Kaltenbrunner aborted the summit attempt.

Ski descents

*In 2003, Ericsson climbed

Peak Somoni Ismoil Somoni Peak (; ) is the highest mountain in Tajikistan, as well as the former Russian Empire and Soviet Union before Tajikistan's independence. The mountain is named after Ismail Samani, a ruler of the Samanid Empire, Samanid dynasty. It ...

(

Peak Communism Ismoil Somoni Peak (; ) is the highest mountain in Tajikistan, as well as the former Russian Empire and Soviet Union before Tajikistan's independence. The mountain is named after Ismail Samani, a ruler of the Samanid dynasty. It is located in th ...

) and skied from the summit at 7495 m to 4500 meters. *In 2004, he climbed the central summit of

and skied down to 5600 meters. *In 2005, he climbed

(8035 m) together with Norwegian Jörgen Aamot and they skied from the summit to 5500 meters. Other significant ski descents include

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

, the Gervasutti Couloir on

Mont Blanc du Tacul Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the French Alps situated midway between the Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc. The official first ascent of Mont Blanc du Tacul was by a guideless party comprising Charles H ...

and the Y-couloir on

Aiguille d'Argentière The Aiguille d'Argentière () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif, Mont Blanc massif on the border between France and Switzerland. The second highest summit of the Aiguille d'Argentière is the prominent rock-tower ''Flèche Rousse'' () south ...

References

External links

Fredrik Ericsson's website

Article on orf.at

Fredrik Ericsson died on K2 (Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ericsson, Fredrik 1975 births 2010 deaths Swedish mountain climbers Swedish male ski mountaineers Deaths on K2 Accidental deaths in Pakistan Sportspeople from Sundsvall Skiers from Västernorrland County Mountaineering deaths