If you dream about anything really and for a long time, it will certainly come true:

- 2002 – an ascent to Great Sail Peak (Baffin Island) as a member of the project “Big Walls- Russian Way” led by Alexander Odintsov. A jump from the top (after 16 days of ascent) and series of jumps from several neighbouring peaks.

- 2003 – a self-dependent expedition to Greenland to a Western wall of Nalumasartoq. A jump from the top after a 10-day ascent.

- 2004 – Pakistan, Amin-Brakk, 22 days of working on the wall! A jump from a pre-apical range. The altitude of the “exit” was 5700 meters. It was the first time when I found out that the wall that seemed to me as an alpinist to be vertical, with reference to the jump suddenly got a positive slope. Before the jump, throwing, as usual, stones, I understood that they were not falling for more than 5-6 seconds. If I jostled well and made the taking off in a proper way, everything would be OK, but all in all it was very unpleasant…

- 2006 – France, Chamoni region. The first BASE-jump from the legendary peak of the Alps – Grand Jorass. It was considered not to be possible to jump from for many years. The secret was in very narrow sector and in the vertical part that was not longer than 250 meters. However, I jumped from there in wing suit. I will make no secret of the fact that it was very pleasant to do the first jump from such a peak, especially in the country where there are a lot of native wonderful mountaineers and basers.

All these jumps I made climbing the same wall as an alpinist preliminarily, in other words by the line of my future falling. Certainly, it’s much more difficult and takes more time than making a detour but you can be sure that sooner or later you will find yourself on “exit” . If there is an opportunity to jump straight from the top you can use an easier route. But if there is several pitches of descent and long steep traverses after the top, this decrease your chance of success of all he project. Surely that during the difficult ascents your success supplies all the group. All my jumps I made in wing-suite. After a long ascent I’d like to fly for as much time as possible! And on the whole it is more safe. The relief of the wall and wind near it stop playing a decisive role for you.

I’m sure that parachute jumping in big mountains will get the popularity. And in the nearest future all the people that consider themselves to be professionals in mountaineering will have to become familiar with this new for them discipline.

In Chamoni I met young people (20-25 years old), that go to mountains, ski on mountain skies and snowboarders and at the same time are not bad in BASE-jumping. They have grown up when jumping from rocks have already been a reality. They don’t regard it with admiration to impossible. For them it is one more opportunity of spending time in the mountains. They get up in the morning, look at the weather and decide to go climbing – or jumping. It is absolutely natural and right for this generation!

Something about the name of the occupation…
Personally I prefer to call it “BASE-climbing”. I don’t know where it came from, may be it was composed by Glen and his friends before their jump from Trango, may be it had existed before them… But I think that this name reflect the main idea more exactly than the name offered by the French - “paraalpinizm”.

Good Luck! See you!