“The Scariest Couloir in the World” – The King’s Gate on Senja, Norway. Video

Mountainwatch | Video

Five years ago, Norwegian freeskier and filmmaker Nikolai Schirmer and riding partner Krista Koplay made their way to the island of Senja off the northern Norwegian coast. It’s a spectacular and beautiful part of the world, the steep mountains rising straight out of the ocean, offering adrenalin-pumping and couloirs, like the aptly named The King’s Gate, the goal of this trip.

“It’s like a 60-degree drop into a mandatory air to this snaky tight section under the portal, which, unless you’re able to hammer that turn right after it, will shoot you straight into that wall,” Schirmer says.

It may indeed be the scariest couloir in the world, but either way it’s a radical line, no room for error on the way up or the way down and, once again, Schirmer and his crew have produced a killer short film. The question is why it’s taken so long to release it, Schirmer writing on his social media:

“This story sat on a hard drive in Switzerland for four years, before I finally got my hands on it last summer. It felt a bit like having forgotten the password to that bitcoin wallet you put $100 in back 2012. Still one of the best days l’ve had in the mountain, with one of my best friends. Glad to finally be able to share it.”

Nikolai Schirmer is a Norwegian freeskier and filmmaker whose films are renowned for their story telling, characters and self-deprecating humour. He is also a busy man and releases content  monthly this northern hemisphere winter – check them out on his You Tube channel