Former Royal Marine becomes first base-jumper to leap from Scottish mountain

Former Royal Marine Tim Howell became the first person to leap from An Telleach mountain.

Base-jumping in the U.K. is particularly difficult because there are only a few suitable elevations with adequate landing spots. Howell jumped from Lord Berkely’s Seat, a 1,032-meter pinnacle on An Teallach mountain in Scotland.

A short clip shows Howell’s full descent. On a foggy day, Howell lept from the peak in a blue wingsuit with a parachute. GoPro footage shows his perspective as he navigates a rocky mountainside and lands, eight seconds later, on a patch of grass.

“Before the jump I was just trying to calm my nerves,” Howell told the Guardian. “Knowing that the calculations added up and my training and experience was enough to make this flight with a big enough margin. You have to be confident without being over-confident and relaxed.”

One of the challenges was having to fly through a gully and then having to make a turn. Another was the clouds. Howell got into positive five times before he could actually jump. When it was time to leap, he had to push his body far enough to get passed the rocks but not hard enough to distort the form of the wingsuit. In the end, it all worked out.

“It’s the challenge, doing something that has not been done before,” Howell told the Guardian. “I’m so happy it went smoothly. It’s one thing to pull something off but it’s another to pull it off with enough of a safe margin — that’s what I’m most happy about.”

These are the best tech gifts under $100:

If you enjoyed reading this article, check out this elite group of all-women skydivers jump in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment.

More from In The Know:

Toddler gets caught rejecting aunt’s FaceTime calls while watching cartoons

These super sleek sustainable white sneakers are stain and odor-resistant

Barbershop puts on show to soothe toddler’s haircut nerves

Under-$25 suncare brand Everyday Humans is like skincare for sun protection

The post Former Royal Marine becomes first base-jumper to leap from Scottish mountain appeared first on In The Know.