Valery Rozov: A new world record for the Russian legend

There are people who like the comfort of their living room – and then there are people who just can't help but break world records, over and over again. Skydiving and BASE-jump legend Valery Rozov definitely falls into the second category.

A new world record for the Russian legend

On October 5, 2016, after a 21-day expedition on the sixth-highest peak in the world – Mount Cho Oyu on the Chinese/Nepalese border – Rozov stood on the edge of his chosen exit spot at 7,700m and leapt into thin air, breaking his own record from 2013 by 500m.

It was my dream and my goal for the last three years.

Valery Rozov

Climbing Cho Oyu is no small accomplishment on its own, let alone BASE jumping from the top of the south-west wall. The expedition itself wasn’t so easy for the group of climbers.

A recent dump of fresh snow and a few days of very bad weather meant the group were unable to reach the exit spot at the first attempt. They had to wait a full week before being able to make another attempt. But once they saw the weather clearing up and allowe a little time for the snow to melt a bit at the exit spot, it was go time.

 Valery Rozov climbing his way up Mount Cho Oyu in the Himalayas

After 90 seconds of pure freefall, Rozov opened his parachute and kept flying for another two minutes before landing safely on the glacier below, at 6,000 meters above sea level.

For the Russian legend, boundaries are made to be pushed and limits are made to be exceeded: nothing seems to be too much of a challenge for him.

The 51-year-old athlete is no stranger to breaking record with a combination of mountaineering and BASE-jumping. In early May of 2013, he set the previous world record for the highest BASE jump by leaping from an altitude of 7,220m from Changtse in the Everest Massif.

http://www.redbull.com/en/adventure/stories/1331825478086/new-record-highest-base-jump-rozov