Mankind has just expanded its vertical empire thanks to Russian daredevil Valery Rozov, who earlier this month set a new world record for the highest BASE jump in history. Climbing to an icy perch on the southwest side of Cho Oyu in the Himalayas, the 51-year-old plummeted from a height of 7,700 meters (25,262 feet) above sea level, breaking his own record of 7,220 meters (23,687 feet), set back in 2013 at Mount Everest.
At just over 8,000 meters (26,250 feet) tall, Cho Oyu – which sits on the border between Nepal and China – is the sixth-highest mountain on the planet. It took Rozov and his team 21 days to complete their hike to the jump spot, including a seven-day delay once they reached their destination as bad weather meant it was not safe to attempt the death-defying stunt.
After finally jumping, Rozov free-fell for 90 seconds before opening his parachute and landing smoothly on a glacier some 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) above sea level. Thanks to the wonder of helmet-mounted cameras, you can now watch the jump from Rozov’s point of view, which should give some indication of just how terrifying BASE jumping is.
