Video: Sean Leary's Passion For Base Jumping

This past weekend it was discovered that climber and Base jumper Sean Leary had died in an accident in Zion National Park, where he was attempting to wingsuit off some of the impressive cliffs found there. For Sean, Base Jumping and wingsuit flying were some of his passions, and that shows through in the video below from EpicTV, in which he and fellow pilots Charley Kurlinkus and Jeff Shapiro, were plotting out some big jumps in North America, where the sport is still trying to get a foothold.

My condolences go out to Sean's friends and family. He will be missed.

Video: Highlining Between Two Hot Air Balloons

I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of highlining, only because it looks like an activity that would scare the sh!t out of me. But this video is kind of the ultimate in that activity as a brave soul walks a tight rope between two hot air balloons. Obviously he's wearing a parachute to help keep him safe, but still, this looks pretty crazy to me.

The Balloon Highline from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

Wingsuit Pilot Intends To Jump From Summit Of Everest

A wingsuit pilot has announced his intention to make the ultimate BASE jump later this year. American Joby Ogwyn says that this spring, he'll attempt to summit Mt. Everest and leap from the highest point on the planet while wearing a specially designed wingsuit. And if that wasn't daring enough, the Discovery Channel says they want to air the entire stunt on live television.

The network is currently filming some preliminary shows that will give viewers a look at Ogwyn training for his climb, and subsequent flight. Those episodes will air first in order to get the audience ready for the main event. In order to pull of the daring flight, the California man will first have to successfully summit the mountain. Once there, he'll leap from the summit with an array of cameras attached to his suit. Those cameras will presumably beam the live images back to the rest of the world, who will be able to watch it unfold as it happens. This same technique was used to great effect by Felix Baumgartner on his historic skydive from the edge of space.

Obviously, Discovery hasn't announced when the flight will take place yet, only mentioning that it will occur in May. They'll have to wait to see if, and when, Ogwyn actually reaches the summit. His health, strength and acclimatization process will all factor into the schedule, and as always on Everest, the weather will have a say as to when he can make a summit bid.

We're clearly in that time of year that leads up to the start of the spring climbing season where we begin to hear about all the crazy stunts that people have planned for Everest. We're about six weeks out from the first climbers starting to arrive in Kathmandu, so of course some of them are now attempting to gain a little attention ahead of the start of the season. I have to say, this climb and jump has me intrigued, as I'd love to see what kind of footage his cameras capture as he buzzes down the Khumbu Valley. This really is the ultimate flight for any wingsuit pilot, and I'm a bit surprised that no one has tried it before.

Expect to hear more about this expedition as the spring grows nearer. It should be one of those events in the adventure world that bleeds over into the mainstream press.

Video: Climbing and BASE Jumping in the Cirque of the Unclimbables

The Cirque of the Unclimbables is a region of impressive rock towers located in Canada's Northwest Territories, where climbers and BASE Jumpers Tim Emmett and Sean Leary went to try their luck on a peak known as the Lotus Flower Tower. Their aim was to both climb and fly from the top of that mountain. The video below chronicles that expedition and gives us a glimpse of this spectacular, but seldom mentioned, climbing area.


The Cirque of The Unclimbable's from Chad Copeland on Vimeo.

Video: Falling and Flying - A BASE Jumping Review Of 2013

This video holds the appropriate title of "Falling and Flying" as it follows filmmaker Charley Kurlinkus on a years worth of BASE jumping activities that includes wingsuits, paragliding and giant rope swings in some fairly impressive settings. It isn't intended for those who have a fear of flying. Or falling for that matter. Proceed with caution.

2013 Falling and Flying from Charley Kurlinkus on Vimeo.

Video: Paragliding Video Will Make You Believe You Can Fly!

The sensation that comes along with flying is one of the allures of paragliding for sure. But if you're not sure you could ever actually take up the sport, this video may be the next best thing. It gives us some great shots of paragliders doing what they do best, often with some great scenery for the background.

Video: Climbing And BASE Jumping Fishers Towers Near Moab

Ancient Art is the name of one of the Fishers Towers, a rock column located not far from Moab, Utah. The face is about 400 feet in height, and as you'll see in the video below, a challenging climb. Recently Hayley Ashburn and Marshall Miller made the ascent and then BASE jumped from the top. The entire adventure is chronicled in this video and shot on GoPro of course.

Video: Insane Base Jumping - Falling With Style

This video is a bit of a stealth commercial for Ford vehicles but it also mixes in some fairly great scenes of BASE jumpers doing what they do best, which is to say falling with style. They leap from a tall bridge and later a hot air balloon, as they let gravity do its thing. Great camera work and some very cool shots of these crazy daring men and women flying through the air with the greatest of ease.

Video: Wingsuit Pilot Makes Water Landing Without Parachute

It seems that a lot of wingsuiters are really pushing the envelope these days in terms of what they are attempting to accomplish. Case in point, checkout the video below which features pilot Raphael Dumont making a landing on Lake Garda in Italy without using his parachute. He simply glides in and touches down much like float plane. I was holding my breath even as I watched. Amazing stuff.

Video: The Life Of A Wingsuit Pilot

The video below is a short documentary about wingsuit pilot/BASE jumper Espen Fadnes. In the film he talks about the evolution of the sport and his transition to becoming a professional extreme athlete. Of course there is also plenty of good footage of people falling from unbelievable heights as well. Interesting stuff.

OUTLINES from Goovinn on Vimeo.

Video: Jeb Corliss Threads The Needle On Heaven's Gate At Tianmen Mountain

In September of 2011, wingsuit pilot Jeb Corliss made history by flying through Heaven's Gate on Tianmen Mountain in China. The "gate" is actually a narrow cave which he passed through at 75 mph (120 kph), something that had never been done before at that time. The video below gives us a behind the scenes look at Jeb's historic flight and mixes in some great footage from other wingsuiters who came along for the ride. The mountain scenes make a fantastic backdrop for these daredevils who seem to have little fear when they sail off into open space.

GoPro: Jeb Corliss Flies Through Tianmen Cave from GoPro on Vimeo.

Video: Wingsuit Proximity Flights

We're overdue for a good wingsuit video and I came across this one this morning on YouTube. It features some great flying but more impressively, the wingsuit pilots are getting very close to some dangerous objects. There are all kinds of scenes of the person buzzing through trees, carving the side of a mountain or zipping between towers or other man-made structures. At 17-minutes in length its a little long, but considering how adrenaline inducing it is, you'll probably exhausted by the time you get to the end. This is a great compilation of some excellent wingsuit flights.

Video: BASE Jumper Leaps Off Bridge From A Moving Van

I guess BASE jumping from impossibly high places isn't enough of a challenge any more. The guy in the video below – one Sam "I'm Crazy" Hardy – decided a moving van would make a better launching pad for his leap off of a 460-foot tall bridge. He was certainly successful in making an already scary activity even scarier.

This video kicks off a new series from EpicTV called eleMENTAL, which seems aptly fitting. Episode 2 promises more craziness, so stay tuned.

Video: BASE Jumper Leaps From Everest

Everest is the gift that keeps on giving this year. Just when I think I'm about to put an end to the stories from the Himalaya, something new gets on my radar and I just have to share it. In this case, it is the video below which features Russian BASE jumper Valery Rozov, who jumped from an altitude of 23,687 feet (7220 m) on the North Side, claiming a record for the highest altitude BASE jump ever. He then proceeds to glide for a bit, hitting speeds in excess of 125 mph (201 km/h) while enjoying the ride in his wingsuit, before eventually opening his parachute and gliding safely to the ground. Wild stuff. I now expect someone to find an even higher place to leap off of soon. The BASE jumping Altitude Wars have only just begun.

Video: Precision Wingsuit Cave Flight

There is no question that wingsuit pilots are getting more daring and precise with their flights. Don't believe me? Then check out the video below of Alexander Polli zipping through a narrow cave opening in the Roca Foradada Mountains in Montserrat, Spain. Polli makes a couple of warm-up jumps first to get his timing down, but on his third flight he blasts through the small opening in the rock face at a blistering 250 km/h (155 mph).

This one will definitely leave you holding your breath. Wow!

Video: Urban Wingsuits Over Rio

Lets start the day out today with a little adrenaline rush. This video was shot using GoPro cameras as wingsuit pilots Ludovic Woerth and Jokke Sommer fly into Rio de Janeiro. The highlights from this clip include that they launched their flight from motorized paragliders and they managed to buzz between two towers on their descent, before coming in for a landing in a small park in the middle of the city. Crazy stuff, even with a fogged over lens.

Felix Baumgartner Named Nat Geo People's Choice Adventurer Of The Year!

Skydiver Felix Baumgartner, aka The Man Who Fell To Earth, has been named the winner of the National Geographic 2013 People's Choice Adventurer of the Year. The award is given as a result of an online poll conducted of visitors to the National Geographic website over a two-month period running from November to January. Baumgartner edged out nine other very worthy candidates to earn this distinction after making a historic skydive last fall.

Felix gained worldwide attention last October when he rode a specially designed high altitude balloon up to the edge of space. When his capsule was approximately 39 km (24 miles) above the Earth, he stepped out and proceeded to free fall through the atmosphere. On the way down, he managed to become the first person to break the sound barrier with out an aircraft, reaching speeds in excess of 1357 km/h (843 mph) in the process. He also set a record for the highest ever skydive with his jump starting at an impressive 38,969 meters (127,853 ft).

As impressive as this feat was, Baumgartner did have some good competition for the title of People's Choice Adventurer of the Year. Some of the other candidates included kayaker Steve Fisher, who completed the first descent of the world's largest rapids on the Congo River and climber David Lama, who free climbed Cerro Torre along the 1097 meter (3600 ft) Southeast Ridge. Ultrarunner Lizzy Hawker was also amongst the finalist for her fifth win at the famed Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc and explorer Mike Libecki received the nod for this efforts to continually fill in blank spots on the map.

I have to say that I'm not surprised that it was Felix that went home with the title. After all, he probably received the most press of any of the candidates. His skydive, which was broadcast live over the Internet, held us all spellbound and it was amazing to watch him fall from such great heights. Congratulations to him and his entire support team for earning this honor. Definitely well deserved.

Don't Forget To Vote For The 2012 National Geographic Adventurer Of The Year

In early November, National Geographic announced their selections for the 2012 Adventurer of the Year, bestowing that honor on ten outdoor athletes and explorers who pushed boundaries in the past year. At the same time, they also opened voting to the general public, allowing us to weigh in on who should win the People's Choice Adventurer of the Year. Now, the time is running short to cast your votes, with the deadline coming next week on January 16.

There are a number of worthy candidates to choose from when selecting who should win this honor. Some of the options include BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from the edge of space a few months back, and kayaker Steve Fisher, who ran some of the toughest rapids in the world on the Congo River. They're joined on the list by explorer Mike Libecki, who traveled the globe in pursuit of his adventures, and ultrarunner Lizzy Hawker, who won the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc an impressive fifth straight time.

To cast your vote for your favorite adventurer, click here. You can vote once day, every day until the competition ends next  Wednesday.

Pakistan 2012: Game Over On Trango Towers

One of the few teams still in Pakistan this summer is the Trango Air Wall squad. The four person group that consists of Liv Sansoz, Tim Emmett, Jérome Blanc-Gras and Manu Guy have been attempting to climb the Great Trango Tower, a 6286 meter (20,623 ft) granite spire and then BASE jump from the top. Updates to their website have been few and far between, although there have been status reports on their Facebook page where today we learn that they are abandoning the climb.

The news actually comes via an update by Trey Cook on the EpicTV Daily. Trey reports that he spoke directly with the team while they were still on the Tower and they said that they were successful in their climb but poor weather was preventing them from reaching their exit point. The team spent 12-14 hours scaling the Great Tower but rapidly deteriorating conditions were preventing them from actually making the jump. So, with that in mind the four climbers were preparing to descend in the usual fashion then return to Base Camp before starting the long journey home.

This is just another example of how fickle the weather has been in the Karakoram this year. Aside from a short weather window at the end of July, it has been nearly impossible for anyone to climb in the region this summer. Thankfully some of the teams were able to achieve their goals when that window opened or it would have been an awful season indeed. The question is whether or not 2012 is an anomaly or if shifting global weather patterns are giving us a glimpse of what to expect in the future as well. At this point there is no answer to that and we'll just have to wait and see how things play out next summer.

Congratulations to the Trango Air Wall team on a successful climb. It's a shame they didn't get the chance to BASE jump, but job well done none the less. Hopefully everyone will descend safely and get home in one piece.

Pakistan 2012: K2 Polish Debrief, Few Updates

The Pakistan climbing season is slowly grinding to a halt with just a few teams still active in the region. Unfortunately, there have been few updates over the past week or so as climbers continue to proceed with some major climbs.

K2 remains a focus of course with Al Hancock still on the mountain. In his last update, which came over a week ago, Al indicated that his team had been up as high as Camp 2 and that they were back in Base Camp, resting and preparing for a summit push. Since then there has been no word on the team's status and we can only assume that they may have started their ascent. For now we'll just have to wait for Al to re-emerge and fill us in on the expedition.

One climber who did successfully top out on K2 last week was Polish mountaineer Adam Bielecki who made the ascent without the use of supplemental oxygen. Adam has posted a debrief on his climb on PolishWinterHimaism.pl in which he shares some details on the climb and some great photos as well. Bielecki notes that July 31st was an unprecedented day on the mountain with 28 climbers reaching the summit. For K2 that is an unbelievably high number and gives us a good indication of how good the conditions must have been during that ascent. Thanks to ExWeb for sharing the link to Adam's debrief and be warned. If the link to the Polish website set off the malware warning in my browser. I'm not sure if the site will cause problems or not, but be aware before you head over to read the update.

Finally, the Trango Air Wall expedition should be proceeding on schedule as well, but there haven't been any updates on their progress either. The team did post the video below however which gives some insights into what they are hoping to accomplish on the climb and how the four members came together to make an attempt on the 6286 meter (20,623 ft) Great Tower which they hope to BASE jump off the top. Hopefully we'll get more news on their progress soon as well.