On 12 July, Valery Rozov became the first to successfully complete the highest BASE jump in South America—jumping from Huascarán in Peru, which stands 6,768 metres above sea level.
Climbing the south summit, known for ice and snow avalanches, is both technically difficult and dangerous. It took Rozov and his crew five days to climb to the take-off point, doing much of his ascending during the night in cooler temperatures when the ice congeals.
He took off 50m from the absolute peak, landing at an altitude of 4,800m. After free-falling in his wingsuit for one-and-a-half minutes, he dropped some 2,000m into the valley and safely landed.
This successful BASE jump was part of Kozov’s quest to leap from the highest suitable peak on every continent on the planet. He officially conjured up the idea of the Seven Summit project in 2015 but is only now just making it public.
Speaking to Red Bull about the project, he said:
The idea of the Seven Summits project popped into my head right after my 2015 jump off Mount Kilimanjaro. So, I keep working on my idea to BASE jump from the highest points of all the seven continents. Every jump is, above all, a challenge to me.
In 2015, he jumped from Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and last year took off from the 7,700m high Cho Oyu, Asia’s biggest suitable BASE-jumping peak. However, in sorts, his project began way back in 2009 with a jump from Elbrus in Europe followed by one from Ulvetanna, in Antarctica, the following year.
To complete the magnificent seven, Rozov still has BASE jumps to tackle in Australia and North America.
Base jump heights:
2009 — Elbrus / 4,650 m (Europe)
2010 — Ulvetanna / 2,650 m (Antarctica)
2015 — Kilimanjaro / 5,460 m (Africa)
2016 — Cho Oyu / 7,700 m (Asia)
2017 —Huascarán / 6,725 m (South America)
Featured image: Denis Klero/Red Bull Content Pool
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