Red Bull top altitude: Valery Rozov jumps from Himalaya Peak

Redbull.com. by Jack Frost, Jun 5, 2012

Russian climber and BASE jumper Valery Rozov recently added another highlight to his incredible career in extreme sports by performing a wingsuit jump from the top of Shivling, a 6543m mountain in the Indian part of theHimalayas.

Valery Rozov is a superstar in the world of BASE jumping and wing suit flying, an extreme sport which involves jumping from objects such as bridges, buildings and towers. The 47-year-old Russian’s breathtaking feats, such as flying into an active volcano in Kamtschatka (2009) and jumping fromUlvetannaPeakin the Antarctic (2010), have made him famous the world over.

Thanks to his exceptional climbing skills, Valery recently took things to the next level by completing one of the most challenging BASE jumps ever performed.

After a 30-day expedition, including a six-day ascent, the ‘BASE climber’, as he calls himself, and climbing partners Alexander Ruchkin and Victor Volodin stood on the summit of Shivling in the Indian part of the Himalayas at precisely 13:30 on 25 May. After stopping to catch his breath, Valery found a perfect take-off spot at 6420mt. Just 90 seconds later, having hit speeds of 200km/h as he sped through the air, the Russian landed 2200m further down on the glacier.

The other expedition members took three whole days (!) to complete the descent.

“This was my first project in theHimalayas,” commented the two-time skydiving world champion after his record-breaking flight. “We had a few difficulties along the way, so I am really pleased that we were able to complete the jump successfully.”

By reaching the summit, Rozov, Ruckhin and Volodin also became the first ever Russians to successfully climb Shivling (literally the “phallus of Lord Shiva”, Shiva being the Hindu deity of destruction and transformation), a mountain renowned for its difficult and dangerous passages. Indeed, it was not until 1974 that the peak, which is often referred to as the ‘Matterhorn of the Himalayas’ due to its shape and is looming over the largest source of the Ganges River at Gaumukh, was conquered for the first time.