Everest has been in the news quite a bit recently, with
Digital Journal reporting on the first Saudi woman to reach the summit and also the
80-year-oid Japanese man who is the oldest to conquer the mountain.
Well, now the mountain sees fame from a different sport, as Russian extreme sports star Valery Rozov performs worlds highest BASE jump, off the north face of Everest.
Wikipedia describes BASE jumping as follows:
BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E. jumping, is an activity where participants jump from fixed objects and use a parachute to break their fall. "BASE" is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antennas, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
48-year-old Rozov jumped at a height of 7,220-metres (23,687-feet) above sea level - which is the highest BASE jump ever completed.
Apparently Rozov spent more than two years preparing for the Everest jump. This also included a considerable amount of time and effort in developing a special new Wingsuit.
Valery Rozov, extreme sports star, performs the world's highest BASE-jump from the summit of Mount Everest.
YouTube
Rozov and his team, which included four sherpas as well as photographers and a camera crew, spent nearly three weeks in the Himalayas before the jump.
Apparently the initial moments were the most critical phase of the jump, as Rozov needed more time than usual in the freezing, thin high-altitude air to transition from freefall to flying.
Valery Rozov, extreme sports star, performs the world's highest BASE-jump from the summit of Mount Everest.
YouTube
Not for the faint-of-heart, the jump can be viewed in
the video above, captured on Rozov's helmet camera.
Fortunately we get to see him parachute down and land safely.
To mark the 60th anniversary of the first ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary, Russian daredevil breaks world record for BASE-jumping from the summit of Everest.
YouTube