Davo Karničar is an excellent skier, former competitor in alpine skiing and world cup, former world cup technician, outstanding mountain climber, extreme skier, ski teacher and trainer, alpine climbing instructor, mountain rescuer, and alpine skier. He founded the first ski school in Nepal, and is the first person to ski down an eight-thousander without ever taking off his ski (Annapurna). He is also the first man to ski down Mount Everest.

Only rare skiers can be engaged in extreme skiing. They must master top-level climbing and alpine skiing skills and combine them to form the perfect whole. In 2000, Davo Karničar was proclaimed the Laureus World Alternative Sportsperson and the Men's Journal magazine named him the best extreme athlete in the world.

He is the first Slovene to ski on a frozen waterfall (Sinji slap above Jezersko). He also skied down the most demanding Slovenian route: the Fritsch-Lindenbach climbing route on the northern side of Grintovec above Jezersko.

He wrote two books about his mountain and climbing experiences. The first was entitled Alpinizem, samoljubje, ljubezen (Mountaineering, selfishness, and love), and the second, Z Everesta (From Everest), with co-authors Tadej and Urban Golob.