Monthly Archives: January 2016

Pedra da Gavea – Mikolaj Twin

Pedra da Gavea – Mikolaj Twin

Pedra da Gavea, Rio de Janeiro

Mikolaj Twin Wingsuit Base Jump in Brazil

Pedra da Gávea is a mountain in Tijuca Forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Composed of granite and gneiss, its elevation is 844 metres (2,769 ft), making it one of the highest mountains in the world that ends directly in the ocean. Trails on the mountain were opened up by the local farming population in the early 1800s; today, the site is under the administration of the Tijuca National Park.

The mountain’s name translates as Rock of the Topsail, and was given to it during the expedition of Captain Gaspar de Lemos, begun in 1501, and in which the Rio de Janeiro bay (today Guanabara Bay, but after which the city was named) also received its name. The mountain, one of the first in Brazil to be named in Portuguese, was named by the expedition’s sailors, who compared its silhouette to that of the shape of a topsail of a carrack upon sighting it on January 1, 1502. That name in turn came to be given to the Gávea area of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Differential weathering on one side of the rock has created what is described as a stylized human face. Markings on another face of the rock have been described as an inscription. Geologists and scientists are nearly in agreement that the “inscription” is the result of erosion and that the “face” is a product of pareidolia. Furthermore, the consensus of archaeologists and scholars in Brazil is that the mountain should not be viewed as an archaeological site.

Great wingsuit base jump of Mikolaj Twin from Pedra da Gávea in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Pryce Brown EuroTrip

Pryce Brown EuroTrip

Pryce Brown EuroTrip

BASE jump, Speedfly – Lauterbrunnen area, Switzerland

The second installment of the Euroland canopy adventures takes place mainly in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. Sloppy aerials, wingsuit flights, waterfall speedflights, and (dis)tasteful male nudity all occurred in spades. I’m forever thankful to my “special” friends for helping me seem normalish. Also, a shout out to Freeboern Air Sports and EraThr3 for enabling my summer silliness.

Music:
Son of a Gun (Yuksek remix) – Oh Land
Morning Glory – Poldoore

Flying Dagger – Jeb Corliss

Flying Dagger – Jeb Corliss

Jeb Corliss

A Wingsuit documentary about Jeb Corliss directed and produced by Iiro Seppänen

January 2012, Jeb Corliss, the world’s most recognized wingsuit pilot, miraculously survived a terminal velocity wingsuit accident at Table Mountain, South Africa. For the first time ever, you will get to hear what really happened and witness never-before-seen angles from this tragic accident.
Because of his accident, Jeb endured painful operations and physiotherapy in order to get to his next mission: to fly through a narrow crack in the Jianglang Mountains in China’s Zhejian Province, which is only 60 feet (18m) wide at the top and 15 feet (4.5m) at the bottom. “Flying Dagger” gives an up-close and personal insight into the career and achievements of Corliss in the lead up to this spectacular flight. This film is an inspiring story about redemption, a man’s journey to face his demons, to fulfill his dreams and strong determination to make them a reality.

Jeb Corliss – One of the world’s foremost and best known BASEjumper / Wingsuit pilots, Jeb Corliss has dedicated his life to “Human flight”. With over 1,200 jumps under his belt, he has hurled himself off of spectacular venues including from the top of the Eiffel Tower, The Golden Gate Bridge and The Petronas Towers in Malaysia, to name a few. Jeb Corliss is also a motivational speaker, Stunt Artist/Advisor (most recently on the set of the new Point Break film) as well as special appearances in film, television and live events (Including Super Bowl XXXVIII).

Winter Base Jumping in California

Winter Base Jumping in California

SoCal Winter B.A.S.E. Jumping & Other Aerial Shenanigans

California, USA

A compilation of the fun times I’ve had while BASE jumping in Southern California. Using my local cliff as a training ground, I’ve met a ton of great people and had some awesome experiences in my first Californian Winter as a jumper.

The cliff used in this feature has 3 exit points that I’ve used ranging from a mere 160 feet to around 220 feet. All offering marginal time for correcting errors, off-headings, and occasionally less than forgiving landing areas. Jumps like this should be done with extreme caution and a respect for one’s own comfort level an experience.

All of these jumps were done using a static line method of jumping where a jumper will tie-off his pilot chute and attached bridal to a point on the object being jumped. When the jumper exits the object his or her force and the rigged pilot chute act as a deployment method for extra low jumping. Once the jumper reaches line stretch the main parachute begins to inflate and the pilot chute will detach from the object by breaking two loops of 80 pound break cord and freeing the jumper from the object completely. At this point it is up to the jumper to manage the opening and control any canopy surge while flying towards their intended landing area, if possible.

Other highlights of this season included a few hot air balloon jumps using a tracking suit made by Phoenix-Fly. On these jumps I was honing in on my terminal exits and openings, while also trying to improve flight times and gradually lower my opening altitude to something reasonable for wearing a BASE rig. Although these specialized setups allow you to open lower it is also important to be able to have enough altitude to deal with any potential malfunctions that could happen and still safely make it to a suitable landing area.

Another site appears in a small coastal area of Mexico where an abandoned construction site lays way for a very sketchy jump over a beautiful coastline of polished rock beach and green-blue waters. On this outing I actually decided not to jump after climbing the entire way up. For me the winds were too high and it was not worth the risk for me. I did get some great footage of the guys though.

It’s been a fun winter in California!
Chris Buffalino

Sponsors:
LifeProof
Liquid Image Co.
Six Feet Deep Clothing

Music by Atmosphere