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Fast-paced on Telemark skis: Catherine “Kasha” Rigby
Photo: Per Breiehagen / Getty Images
American extreme skier Catherine “Kasha” Rigby died in an avalanche. The 54-year-old was traveling in the Kosovo ski resort of Brezovica and died there on February 13, as her fiancé Magnus Wolfe Murray confirmed to the AP news agency. "We were going to get married in September," Murray said. He was devastated.
The two were skiing together off-piste when they were hit by an avalanche. According to a report in Ski Magazine, the weather conditions were difficult. It was a relatively small avalanche, but it knocked Rigby into a tree. She is said to have succumbed to the impact of the collision within seconds, despite Murray's efforts to resuscitate her.
Rigby was considered one of the best telemark skiers in the world. She competed in telemark and extreme ski competitions worldwide. She was also the first to ski down some well-known peaks. She was one of three Americans to ski down an 8,000-meter mountain in the Himalayas. In Kosovo she was part of the “Tour de Piste”, a project in which experienced skiers ski unknown slopes in popular ski resorts.
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Considered one of the best telemark skiers in the world: “Kasha” Rigby
Photo: Per Breiehagen / Getty Images
Rigby was born in 1970 in the US state of Vermont. As a child, she discovered telemark, a special type of skiing in which the verse is not rigidly attached to the binding, like cross-country skis. The telemark style was known for elegance rather than daring and speed - until Rigby changed the sport with her fast-paced riding style that would shock even "the boldest snowboarders," as Outside magazine wrote in 1996.
mlb/AP