Matthias Giraud also known as "Super Frenchie" ( born on September 24, 1983) is a professional skier and B.A.S.E. jumper. He was born in

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

, France and grew up skiing at St Gervais-les-Bains/ Megeve, France. His first highly publicized accomplishment was the first ski B.A.S.E. jump off Mississippi Head on

Mount Hood Mount Hood, also known as Wy'east, is an active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range and is a member of the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It was formed by a subduction zone on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast and rests in the Pacific N ...

, Oregon. Matthias Giraud started as a competitive ski racer, but moved on to freeskiing and later on big mountain skiing. Matthias Giraud is known for combining

BASE jumping BASE jumping () is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend to the ground. BASE is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antenna (radio), antenna ...

with

skiing 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 S ...

and completed several first descents and ski BASE jumps across the globe including the first ski BASE jump off the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

in Switzerland. He is also known for escaping an avalanche off

Aiguille Croche The Aiguille Croche () is a mountain in the Beaufortain Massif in Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. In 2009, Matthias Giraud was the first person to descent and ski BASE jump BASE jumping () is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed ob ...

in Megeve, France while performing a ski BASE jump with his friend Stefan Laude. Matthias Giraud currently lives in Bend,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. The 2021 documentary Super Frenchie follows Giraud's career over the past decade, starting with his first ski base jump at Oregon's Mount Hood and leading up to a near-fatal accident in 2012, just days before his son was bor

Career accomplishments

* 2023: First person to ski BASE jump off the Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey in Italy. *2019: World record highest ever ski BASE jump. *2011: First person to ski BASE jump off the

, Switzerland - First Wingsuit flight from the State of Washington, USA to the State of Oregon, USA * 2010: Ski BASE jump off the

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends ...

West wall into the North face, Switzerlan

First ski BASE jump off Ingram Peak, Telluride, Colorado, USA. * 2009: First Descent and ski BASE jump off Aiguille Croche, Megeve, France; First person to ski BASE jump off Ajax Peak, Telluride, Colorado, Telluride, Colorado, USA * 2008: CNN Headline News - Video segment Voted “Best of Year”; First person to ski BASE jump off

, Oregon, USA; First descent and ski BASE jump off Engineer Mountain South Face, Colorado, USA; First BASE jump while wearing a 360 camera with Miles Daisher. * 2007: Cover of SKI magazine; 7th Stihl Colorado Freeride Series (

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population ...

, USA); Semi-finalist US Extreme Freeskiing Championships (

Crested Butte Crested Butte is a prominent mountain summit in the Elk Mountains range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The peak is in Gunnison National Forest, northeast by east ( bearing 59°) of the Town of Crested Butte in Gunnison County, C ...

, Colorado, USA); Forerunner US Freeskiing Open (Telluride, USA)

Publications and media coverage

* ''CNN Headline News'' * ''ABC - Good Morning America'' * National Geographic TV * Weather Channel * Fox News * ABC News * NBC News * ''Ski Magazine'' * ''Skiing Magazine'' * ''The Ski Journal'' * ''Backcountry Magazine'' * ''Skydiving Magazine'' * ''Ski Canada'' * ''Ski & Board'' (UK) * Skipass.com * SBC Skier * ESPN Freesking * WIDSIX TV

References

''CNN Headline News'' - Best of the Year

''Good Morning America'' 2008

Smith Optics The Lounge

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giraud, Matthias 1983 births Living people American male alpine skiers French male skiers 21st-century French sportsmen