Wingsuit Flyer Records Astonishing Jump From the Top of Swiss Mountain
A wingsuit flyer has shared incredible footage of his flight through the Swiss Alps by taking advantage of an ultra-lightweight camera system.
Johannes Grasser’s video on YouTube has racked up 2.4 million views since uploading it last month. It begins with him and his friend Mario at the top of the 14,700-foot tall Täschhorn mountain and follows the stomach-churning moment as he turns to jump off.
“I believe it’s simple,” Grasser tells PetaPixel about the success of the video. “It gives you a close experience without music, ads, or edits, allowing everyone to imagine what the flight is like.”
Once Grasser has jumped, he then spends approximately two and a half minutes literally flying through one of Earth’s most spectacular landscapes, getting a view that was previously only available to birds as he glides agonizingly close to the top of mountain ridges. In total, he traveled 21,843 feet (6,658 meters) reaching speeds of 111 miles per hour (179 kilometers per hour).
Grasser says over email that he has been a wingsuit pilot for 13 years but this particular jump was a real challenge. Grasser, along with his friend Mario, had to climb for nine hours and spent one night at the Mischabeljoch Bivouac, a remote alpine shelter that serves as a high-altitude refuge for mountaineers and climbers, approximately 3,851 meters (12,634 feet).
“It was quite challenging leaving nothing behind and flying with all our equipment. We have to scramble five pitches to the exit point, belayed gear up.”
When it came time to jump at approximately 10.30 a.m., it was perfect conditions but Grasser described it as his “most brutal wingsuit flight ever”.
“I jumped without thermals and after 40 seconds of flying, my arms got really tired so I couldn’t hold the glide and had to fly steeper. Unfortunately, it was not getting much better and it was becoming a serious problem — I could hardly feel my fingers,” Grasser explains in the video description.
Despite the issues, he landed safely and so did Mario a while after. Grasser uses two GoPro Mini 11s with each unit weighing just 4.7 ounces (133 grams). They are both attached to his helmet with one facing forward and the other looking backward.
