Rule #114: Save the Ice for Cocktails

Ice clogging our rod-guide arteries can kill a good day of fishing, but most of the time we will live. Xavier de la Rue takes icy punishment to the level of mega burl, straightlining a 50-degree pitch into a 60-meter ice-fall ending.

From The Adventure Journal: “Jack of all trades, master of gnar Xavier de le Rue gets after it big time in this short film, with some hairball line selection that shows why he’s three-time champ of the Freeride World Tour. De le Rue deals with some heart-pounding sluffs and goes for a ride or two, including in the ridiculously steep Couloir Copt on Aiguille Dorees. His routes down these peaks are incredibly bold and thrilling to watch.

“But bold lines don’t necessary demand bold technique. Indeed, in many ways, the bolder the line the more prudent the approach, and that’s a lesson de le Rue hasn’t seemed to have learned. He talks a good game about respecting the mountains, but after going for a huge ride in a massive avalanche in 2008 (see video below) and then watching him tumble down that sketchy ice line, he doesn’t appear to have made any adjustments.”

Video after the jump.

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