Murrysville man sets world record for oldest heli-skier at 91 years old

Whether he’s headed downhill while skiing the side of a mountain, or traveling in a circle back when he used to race Porsches, Stan Friedberg of Murrysville loves going fast.

That passion — and an unexpected invitation to a birthday party last year — led to Friedberg setting the Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest heli-skier this past April. At 91 years old, Friedberg made a run on the Cariboo Mountains in Blue River, British Columbia, while being documented by Guinness officials, who certified the record this summer.

“Being on a snow-covered mountain is a tremendous experience,” Friedberg said. “You have the majesty of the scenery, plus the exhilaration of skiing fast.”

FINDING A HOBBY

Friedberg, a World War II veteran and retired insurance broker who grew up in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, began skiing in the mid-1950s.

“When we were returning from (military service) in Japan, I remember going through Ogden, Utah, and seeing the mountains just covered in snow,” Friedberg said.

He went to Laurel Mountain to try out the slopes, and was hooked.

“I went every weekend after that,” he said.

In the 1970s, Friedberg took an interest in heli-skiing, where a helicopter serves as the ski lift, transporting skiers to unimproved slopes to test their mettle.

“I’d go to Canadian heli-ski areas mostly,” he said. “They really know their terrain and depending on the weather, they’ll take you to different spots.”

While heli-skiing is more difficult and demanding than heading down a manicured ski slope, Friedberg said the view is well worth the extra effort.

“The scenery is just fantastic,” he said. “Standing on top of a snow-covered mountain and looking down is incredible. It’s overwhelming.”

SCARES ON THE SLOPES

A heli-skier can’t let him- or herself become too overwhelmed and enamored with their surroundings, however: Friedberg nearly died in 1975 during a run at Canadian Mountain Holidays Revelstoke in British Columbia.

“I came to a stop near a tree, lost my balance and fell into a tree well headfirst,” he said.

“Tree wells” are areas of loose snow around the trunk of a tree.

“Normally, you die in a situation like that,” he said. “I felt like I was encased in wet cement. Luckily, I could see a little pinhole of light, so I knew I had some air, and our guide had a shovel to dig me out.”

Friedberg continued heli-skiing through the early 1980s, but hadn’t done it for quite some time when a chance meeting led to his current status as a world-record holder.

SETTING THE RECORD

During the winter of 2018, Friedberg was staying at his winter home in Vail, Colo., when an Austrian ski instructor he knew invited Friedberg to his birthday party.

“One of his best friends showed up, and it was this man Mike Wiegele, who operated a heli-ski business in Blue River,” Friedberg said. “He invited us to come ski for a couple of days for free. When I got back to my office, our office manager’s son, who follows Guinness online, suggested I try for the heli-ski record. The record holder at that time was 88.”

Friedberg had his concerns.

“I’m not as strong as I was,” he said.

But a longtime exercise regimen had kept him in proper shape over the years.

“I either lift weights, walk or jog six days a week,” he said. “Without that, I probably couldn’t have done it.”

Friedberg’s Austrian friend was originally going to accompany him on the record-attempt trip, but when he couldn’t make it, Friedberg decided to invite his son, his three granddaughters and a longtime friend along instead.

On the first day of the trip, the sky was overcast in what Friedberg called “flat light.”

“It makes it very hard to see the rolls and dips in the terrain,” he said.

Friedberg recalled one ski trip in his younger days where he felt the flat light wouldn’t hold him back.

“I skied right off a small cliff, and my face was all bloody,” he said. “I got myself cleaned up, stopped the blood, started back down and skied right off another one.

“I decided that was enough of that,” he said.

The second day of the trip, Friedberg did a few warm-up runs with ski guides Elias Ortner and Bob Rankin, before heading up in the helicopter.

“From the air, we were looking for the best possible snow to ski in,” said Ortner, who has worked at Wiegele Helicopter Skiing for the past 12 years. “If there’s any sort of difficult snow, that can make it tough for someone Stan’s age. But the area we skied was prime, boot-top, powder conditions.

“Bob went ahead and looked for the best places on the slope,” Ortner said. “Stan skied his own line, but he followed Bob, and I was following behind just in case. But he never fell during the entire trip.”

Friedberg said the conditions couldn’t have been more perfect.

“Once I got up there, everything fell into place,” he said.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.