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 Shaun White  www.shaunwhite.com Category: People |
| Karina Hollekim’s scariest moment - and how she lived to tell the tale |
| Friday, 01 August 2008 00:00 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Norwegian B.A.S.E Jumping and Free Skiing superstar Karina Hollekim has always thrived on pushing herself to the limit but a B.A.S.E Jumping venture on the edge of the Sahara desert in 2005 proved to be extreme in more ways than one. It was also an experience that shook her to her core and made her confront the dangers of a lifestyle that many admire but few would have the courage to pursue. This is her story. “The Hand of Fatima,” which previewed in Munich in June, documents how Karina had to endure three weeks of 45 degree temperatures, a sand storm, two bouts of heat stroke and a broken hand and tail bone at the location that is spiritually important as well as offering world famous spectacular rock formations.  “It was a great feeling to leave,” Karina reflected. “I really wasn’t sure if I was going to get out alive. It was the scariest moment of my career but it’s a great feeling when you give everything mentally and physically and still manage to survive. I definitely had a feeling of having conquered Le Main de Fatima when I left the place and I learnt a lot about myself, my reactions, my head and how it worked. I feel like a real, true person now with a greater value on life at all times.” Le Main de Fatima (the Hand of Fatima) soars to 1155m and reaching its summit is the exclusive province of experienced climbers. Its unique formation of five finger-like boulders is in a remote area just outside the village of Hombori, 700km north of the capital Bamako. Making an impressive display amid the barren African landscape, it is a magnet for tourists and climbing enthusiasts who are prepared to meet the joint challenge of extremes of topography and climate. This is ferocious heat, sand, thorny undergrowth and extremes of temperature that push body and mind to the limit. It is an environment that makes absolutely no concessions. Months of meticulous planning and preparation for the extreme conditions were not enough to prepare Karina and her team - a producer, three cameramen, two paramotor pilots and a photographer – for what Le Main de Fatima was about to deliver. Conditions, both physically and logistically, were worse than they could ever have imagined. Mali’s cool dry season broke its promise, unleashed blinding heat and turned the venture into a nightmare. The planned 10-day trip to allow Karina to complete a successful B.A.S.E jump became a relentless, almost tortuous 18-day saga. They were whipped by a vicious sand storm, the team’s precious water supply proved limited and then, when conditions finally permitted a jump, Karina broke her hand and tail bone when the wind turned against her and forced her into some dangerous boulders during her landing. Perhaps the Gods that watch over Le Main de Fatima were angry. “There were times I wondered if we were meant to be doing it,” Karina now admits. “There were so many things going wrong for us and there was a lot of soul searching. We had traveled so far, so we were thinking we must do it.” But with so many factors against them and having to face such adverse conditions, she now realizes the experience bonded the team and tested its unity. There was the blinding heat, the sandstorm, the climb and then of course, the inherent dangers of the jump itself.  Throughout it all, Karina remained steadfastly true to herself and her high ideals. “I would never go and try something I couldn’t do. I always believe I can do it. Of course there are factors I can’t control, but before I jump I make sure the conditions are ok. We climbed down from the rock on the first attempt because the sandstorm made the conditions so appalling. I like to push myself, but not in those conditions.” Pushing herself to the limit is nothing new for Karina. She grew up in a one child family in Oslo, Norway and from an early age recognized the thrill of launching herself into space. It seemed that she had been born to enjoy the adrenalin rush of skiing the demanding peaks, launching herself off snow-covered cliffs and jumping off dizzying heights. “I’ve always loved high cliffs and edges. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always liked climbing and jumping off things,” she concedes. Living on the edge brings with it the logical consequences and Karina’s injury list is extensive. Already testing traditional male territory at the tender age of eight, Karina ended up concussed after an off-piste ski jump. A year later she broke both arms after falling off the roof of her father’s two storey house. Then four years ago she tomahawked (cart wheeled) after skiing into an old avalanche in Courmayeur, Italy. It was a low point in her adrenalin-charged life that put her out of action for 18 months, but it did not deter her from chasing her dream. It’s testament to Karina’s courage and skill that she has become one of the world’s most popular B.A.S.E jumpers and Free Skiers. The 29-year-old is Norway’s only professional B.A.S.E jumper, her film career is in full swing and out there, waiting for her are any amount of new challenges. “I can’t visualize a life without B.A.S.E Jumping or Free Skiing. Whenever there is an urge inside, it needs to be filled. While doing the jump there’s a restless feeling inside but then afterwards there’s a calmness. I really enjoy feeling small in a big environment, it’s so peaceful and beautiful, and I take it all in. I also love the visuals and I take the location into consideration.” Are there limits for this Norwegian adventurer? “The only moment I will stop is when I start a family. I don’t want my child not to have a mum. It means so much to me,” she says, conceding that she would discourage her children from following in her footsteps. She also admits that out there, pushing herself to the limit can be very lonely. “There’s too much at stake and one loses too many friends,” the Systems Developer graduate conceded. “It can be a lonely life traveling around from location to location. Sure you have a team with you but the team changes with every venture.” Since Mali, Karina has extreme skied in Austria, Canada and the U.S.A. She returned to her home base in Oslo in June for the first time in five months to recharge her batteries ahead of another grueling six months of filming. Karina is not only talented and adventurous; she also has the kind of classic, athletic freshness of a real Scandinavian beauty so it was not surprising that 2005 was a breakthrough year for her. After four years of free skiing, B.A.S.E jumping and filming mostly in Europe, Karina has now made her mark on the US market. Her charisma, alluring looks and penchant for the extreme have made the right impression as she considers ways of extending her chosen career. Now, the world of film is opening the right doors at the right time for a woman who has plenty of balance in her life, no matter how precarious the edge she is standing on. 
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Comments (5)
Arik
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... Dear Karina. i just saw the film. it's really touched me . I'm a security guy from Israel and i'm interesting to speak with you !! warm regards Arik This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
Stephanie
said:
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... It's more than how it makes you feel. What it does for others that get to watch you, your films... touching! It's the Kiranas of the world that show us what we're capable of. That show what we humans can do. For if we don't know what we're capable of, we have no will for the fight. Thank you! Stephanie |
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