In an unprecedented event in the Middle East, Red Bull BASE jumper, Felix Baumgartner, pushed back the barriers of human endurance and fear as he conquered yet another challenge. This time the new adventure of the World Champion was the “Seating of the Spirits” in the Sultanate of Oman, the biggest cave in the Middle East and the second biggest cave in the world.
The jump was set at exactly 10:55 AM, the perfect timing where the biggest amount of sunlight can enter the cave. The moment has come and the countdown started: 30, 20, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Felix stepped off the edge and plunged into darkness. Just 6 seconds later he landed at the bottom of the cave, unhurt, and cheering and acclamations started as many of the mountain inhabitants gathered to watch this unprecedented achievement.
“It’s an amazing feeling; I became the first to jump in this cave. Some might think I’m crazy or an adrenaline junkie, but I’m someone who sets himself goals that no-one has ever set before and achieves them”, said “Fearless” Felix.
“It’s one of the biggest caves in the world, where no body ever BASE jumped. My jump only took few seconds but it came after tremendous efforts and extensive preparations for several months. I visited this location many times with my team to explore it, take notes, and define the necessary measures to set before the jump. The team illuminated the floor of the cave with flares marking out an arrow so that I could get my bearings and position myself as sunlight would not reach the bottom of the cave” said Felix.
The main challenge was not the jump itself but its execution method. The biggest apprehension was the precise moment to pull the ripcord of the specially designed parachute so that Felix can then change his direction as the cave is curved. “Seating of the Spirits” cave is situated on top of “Selma Plateau”; at an altitude of 1200m. Reaching the top of the plateau requires a 4WD car and a very careful driving on an extremely difficult and rugged road. However, the difficulties encountered on the way are not to compare with Baumgartner’s jump to the bottom of the “Seating of the Spirits” cave (around 120 m deep), a mission considered as absolutely impossible as the cave is filled with taboo stories and legendary karmas of haunted spirits.
Felix Baumgartner and his achievements
Felix Baumgartner was born in 1969 in Salzburg, Austria and is an adventure and challenge lover since then. As well as being a professional BASE jumper, Felix likes mountain climbing, boxing, motocross, and rallies.
He started his professional career in 1997 when he won the World Championship in BASE jumping. In 1999, the Red Bull sportsman registered a record number for the highest ever BASE jump from the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1479 feet / 451 meters). Then in the same year, he followed it up with the record for the lowest ever BASE jump (92 feet / 29 meters) from the Christo Redentor statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In 2003, Felix played a lead role in Man vs. Machine race, and was the main stunt at the Taurus World Stunt Awards in Hollywood. He also set a world record in being the first to cross the English Channel in freefall with a delta wing. In 2004, he continued with his favourite activity and jumped from the 193 feet /59m bridge on Greek Corinth Canal and into the Mamet Cave in Croatia (623 feet / 190 meters). He also set a world record in BASE jumping from the highest bridge in the world, the Millau Bridge in France. Prior to his Oman cave jump, Felix jumped last year from the highest building in Latin America, Torre Mayor in Mexico City and the highest building in Scandinavia, Turning Torso, Malmö, Sweden.
