June 12, 2025

Disaster Strikes! The Haunting Descent: Marco Siffredi's Obsession with Everest's Greatest Line | E 169

27 minutes

In 2002, 23-year-old French snowboarder Marco Siffredi vanished without a trace while attempting to snowboard down Mount Everest's treacherous Hornbein Couloir. This gripping episode of Disaster Strikes explores the tragic story of an elite extreme athlete whose deadly obsession with conquering Everest's most dangerous descent route led to one of mountaineering's most haunting mysteries.

Discover Marco's meteoric rise in the world of extreme snowboarding, his groundbreaking first successful descent of Everest, and the fatal final expedition that turned him into a legend. Host Kaycee McIntosh examines the thin line between calculated risk and deadly obsession in this cautionary tale of ambition, skill, and nature's ultimate indifference.

00:00 Introduction to Case Knives

00:20 Welcome to Disaster Strikes

01:00 The Story of Marco Sidi Begins

01:50 Marco's Early Life and Influences

03:21 Marco's Rise in Extreme Snowboarding

06:56 The First Everest Descent

08:45 The Obsession with Hornbein Couloir

11:20 Ruff Greens

12:28 The Final Expedition

17:20 The Mysterious Disappearance

22:16 Legacy and Lessons

26:33 Conclusion and Reflection

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Primary Sources and Comprehensive Accounts

Books:

Evans, Jeremy. See You Tomorrow: The Disappearance of Snowboarder Marco Siffredi on Everest. Falcon, 2021. ISBN 978-1-4930-5303-2. [The most comprehensive English-language account of Marco's life and disappearance]

Chandellier, Antoine. La Trace de l'Ange: La vie de Marco Siffredi. Editions Guérin, 2005. ISBN 2-911755-83-9. [French biography]

Original Magazine Feature:

Cook, Trey. "The Disappearance of Marco Siffredi." TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine, Volume 19, February 2006. [Original definitive account of the disappearance]

Online Articles and News Sources

Comprehensive Articles:

Serena, Katie. "How Marco Siffredi Vanished Without A Trace While Snowboarding Down Mount Everest." All That's Interesting, December 15, 2024. https://allthatsinteresting.com/marco-siffredi

"The Disappearance of Marco Siffredi." TransWorld SNOWboarding, September 8, 2013. https://www.snowboarder.com/gear/the-disappearance-of-marco-siffredi

Rue, Hayden. "Marco Siffredi: Disappearance of the Snowboarder on Everest." Hayden Rue Blog, September 1, 2023. https://haydenrue.com/mountaineering/marco-siffredi/

Funnell, Rachael. "What Happened To Marco Siffredi? The First Person To Snowboard Down Mount Everest." IFLScience, December 5, 2024. https://www.iflscience.com/what-happened-to-marco-siffredi-the-first-person-to-snowboard-down-mount-everest-79487

Renda, Matthew. "The Unsolved Case of Marco Siffredi." Tahoe Quarterly, April 23, 2021. https://tahoequarterly.com/best-of-tahoe-2021/the-unsolved-case-of-marco-siffredi

"Snowboarder's disappearance shrouds Mount Everest." Men's Journal, December 5, 2019. https://www.mensjournal.com/travel/snowboarding-mystery-shrouds-mount-everest

Bocco, Diana. "Inside Marco Siffredi's Bizarre Daredevil Mt. Everest Death." Grunge, March 10, 2023. https://www.grunge.com/1128610/inside-marco-siffredis-bizarre-daredevil-mt-everest-death/

Recent Everest Ski Attempts:

"American Skiers to Attempt Everest Descent." Gripped Magazine, September 17, 2024. https://gripped.com/news/american-skiers-to-attempt-everest-descent/

"The American Everest Ski Project Aborts Hornbein Couloir Attempt." Sports Illustrated, October 6, 2024.

"Americans Abort Attempt to Ski Everest's Hornbein Couloir." ExplorersWeb, October 6, 2024.

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By Kaycee McIntosh, Julie Henningsen, Bleav

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