Toni Matt

Who was Toni Matt?

Anton Matt was a ski racer.

Matt's most renowned feat came on April 16, 1939, when in the third "American Inferno," a top-to-bottom race of Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, he simply schussed the steep and infamous headwall. His time for the 4-mile race was 6 minutes 29.2 seconds, with an estimated top speed of over 85 MPH.

Matt had moved from Austria to the United States in 1938. He entered the Inferno on April 16, 1939, only his second time on the mountain. His schuss of the headwall was unplanned; he intended to make a few turns and then tuck. However, visibility was poor that day, and he didn't realize that he had not yet reached the Lip, the steepest part of the approach to the headwall. By the time he realized his error, it was too late to turn. Years later, he said that when he reached the floor of the headwall, at the transition from steep to relatively flat, he felt lucky to be "nineteen, stupid, and have strong legs".

Matt was the US Downhill Champion in 1939 and 1941. He served during World War II as a lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division and was posted to the Aleutian Islands.