Photo: Red Bull
Life isn’t always planned. There are times when the best course of action is to simply say a Hail Mary and JUMP.
And while Laso Schaller did, indeed, jump the 193 feet into a 26-foot deep pool (as well as the record books), his preparations involved far more than a Hail Mary.
Brazilian-born, Swiss-raised Schaller is actually a caynoning expert. And this isn’t his first time jumping into the record books: he has several first descents to his name.
Where did he go about this particular descent? In the Italian-speaking Ticino area of Switzerland. There his team “built a platform to give him a clean, controlled exit, with enough projection to clear the rock wall. Secondly, they explored the area with scuba gear – and set six tanks in the pool to aerate the water and soften the landing. Finally, they did a number of rock drops – timing the landing, seeing the fall line.” Yep, the crew was scientific about this jump.
The most intriguing breakdown of the jump was with regard to the depth of the landing. RedBull.com explains: “Surprisingly, higher speeds from higher jumps slow down faster. From 10m, you need about 3m of water for a safe landing. From 50m, you only need about 4m.”
Apparently the sound of his impact was astounding, “akin to a gunshot. He overshot the aerated water, landing in the harder water in the centre of the pool. His canyoning companion Jörg quickly rappelled down as others swam out to meet him. After just a couple of seconds underwater, he emerged triumphantly, then swam over to shore for a medical check. The landing, although clean, pulled his right leg out, possibly slightly dislocating his right hip for just a second or two. But after a quick lie-down on the stretcher, and an examination by the medic, a smile broke over his face and everyone knew he was all right – and that he’d just done something no one ever had before.”
Jeez louise. Congratulations?
We’re not sure we’d have a similar gung-ho let’s-go mentality. Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down… sheee-iiit.
