1000 days after a life-changing skiing accident, Ortovox ambassador Chris Ebenbichler sets out on an inspiring journey back to the mountains.
Words :: Regina Mayer // Article sponsored by Ortovox.
Ups and downs, light and shadow, lines that are anything but straight—the view from the summit tells us a lot about the route we have to take to get there. About the little moments of triumph, but also about the challenges we face on the way. For some, getting through them is impossible. For some, it takes years. And for some, it takes exactly 1000 days.
1000 days. That’s how long it’s been since Chris Ebenbichler, passionate skier and trainer at Olympiazentrum Tirol suffered a serious accident. And now he’s standing here, back on a ski tour and on a “proper” summit. “This is how my athletes must feel after a big win,” is how Chris describes the experience of his very own success.
On a ski tour again—the impossible made possible.
On March 21, 2021, on what he calls a normal “Sunday ski tour”, Chris’ life abruptly changes. On his descent, he crashes full-speed into a tree. And breaks his lower left leg—but that’s not all. He tears every ligament in his knee and suffers major tissue damage that eventually requires transplants. In this moment, something also breaks inside of him. From now on, the person he once was no longer exists.
Difficult times follow. For more than a week, Chris lies waiting to find out whether his lower leg needs to be amputated. In the end, he keeps the leg. But all of his doctors agree: he’ll never be able to ski again. He spends weeks brooding, agonizing and constantly asking “why”. While his friends and acquaintances continue to post pictures of their ski tours on Instagram, Chris is lying in the hospital – a victim of fate.
During his treatment, the physiotherapist casually talks about their day of ski touring—to him, the man who the doctors have said will never again stand on skis. The man who, as a three-year-old boy, preferred spending the whole day skiing in the mountains rather than going to kindergarten. The man to whom the mountains “mean absolutely everything.” If he could do one thing all day and make a living from it, it would be skiing. The peace he feels when he skis is something he can’t find anywhere else. And now he’s missing that sense of peace. Now, when he needs it most. At this moment in the hospital, he is 100 per cent convinced that he will never again stand on a summit with his skis. Instead, Chris finds himself on the edge of his own personal abyss.
At this moment in the hospital, he is 100 per cent convinced that he will never again stand on a summit with his skis.
But he doesn’t give up. He slowly starts to accept his situation and focus his energy on rehabilitation. On moving forward, step by step. Into the unknown. But as he makes progress, his confidence grows. All of his knowledge as a qualified sports scientist and his experience as a trainer help him through this time. He trains himself—his body and, most importantly, his spirit.
And so now, exactly 1000 days after his accident, he is once again standing at the starting point of a ski tour. Together with fellow ski tourer Fabio Keck and a film team. Doubts cross Chris’ mind: “Am I up to this tour? What if I can’t do it?” But then he sets off. Puts one foot in front of the other. Telling himself not to look to the left or right, not to brood, not to get distracted from his path. Just to have trust.
With every step Chris takes, he grows more confident. Confident that he is up to the tour, that everything will be okay and it will be a great day. The glittering snow, the clear air and, at last, this sense of peace once again. It all boosts his self-confidence.
After 1000 days, he’s standing exactly where they never thought he would be: at the summit of a mountain—climbed on skis. It feels “surreal” and “unbelievable.” It’s Chris’ personal Olympic victory. What counts isn’t the number of vertical metres, the difficulty of the tour or the comparison. The only thing that counts is standing here, having made it. Despite all claims to the contrary. And with people you like.
What counts isn’t the number of vertical metres, the difficulty of the tour or the comparison. The only thing that counts is standing here, having made it. Despite all claims to the contrary. And with people you like.
Today, here on the summit—1000 days after his accident—Chris is another person. “Not as much of a jerk as before,” he says musingly. Or simply a man who has hit rock bottom and, step for step, always believing it would get better, battled his way out. Chris is convinced that this is the way to tackle every crisis in life. With the conviction that everything will go well and with the drive to take action. Just don’t stand still. Don’t ever turn around. Even if it gets hard.
Like today, when the most difficult part of the tour is still to come: the descent. The part during which the accident happened all those days ago. The part that abruptly changed his life.
Chris shoulders his backpack and gets ready.
“Ready, dropping in 3, 2, 1…”
A brief moment of hesitation.
“Hello? Are we going?,” asks Fabio.
“Yeah, we’re going,” says Chris—and sets off.
Into the white powder. And out of the dark thoughts about the accident and the “what if?”. And then, suddenly, everything is as it always was. “The descent just felt really good,” Christ remembers later. “And that moment I reached the bottom…I don’t have the words to describe it.”
“And that moment I reached the bottom… I don’t have the words to describe it.”
No words to describe it—a phrase that sums up Christ Ebenbichler’s entire story. The journey he went on in those 1000 days. The highs and lows of his achievements and knockdowns. Always picking himself back up, never giving up, motivating himself every day. Just what is possible if only you truly believe in it and give it your all.
To learn more about this story, visit Ortovox.com.
Biography: Chris Ebenbichler
Chris Ebenbichler (40) teaches at the University of Innsbruck’s Department for Sport Science and works as a trainer at the Olympiazentrum Tirol Olympic Center. When he was as young as three years old, he already preferred to ski than to go to kindergarten. Chris skied in the Austrian Ski Federation’s Ski Cross national team for several years before switching to the theoretical side to pass on his knowledge to professional athletes. In March 2021, he was involved in a serious skiing accident that almost cost him his left leg. What followed was a journey of self-discovery and, finally, an inspiring comeback on his first ski tour after the accident.
