Base jumping in the Grandes Jorasses??
Earlier this month, Moscovite Valery Rozov, trainer of the Russian parachute team and three times World Sky Surfing Champion, swooped (literally!) into town to add a Chamonix base jump to his impressive 6500 repertoire. His four strong entourage climbed for 3 days, high into the Grandes Jorasses where he found a launch spot on a rocky outcrop with sufficient vertical drop into which to plummet. Equipped with a combination parachute and a very fetching “wingsuit”, he launched himself like Superman into the 1400m abyss, falling headfirst towards the rocky cliffs and crevasses below. After 55 seconds of freefall, he popped his parachute and landed close to the Refuge de Leschaux, much to the astonishment of the guardian there!
Not content to stop at that, Rozov intends to beat the base jumping world record by jumping from a height in excess of 6500m. In fact, he intends to make his attempt on Mount Pamir in Russia from 7400m. Clearly he has spent too much time in thin air!!
