Russian legend Valery Rozov recently accomplished something that no man before has ever done by becoming the first man to ever BASE jump from Mount Kilimanjaro -- the highest freestanding mountain in the world.
According to Redbull.com, Rozov, 50, recently returned from Tanzania, Africa, where he became the first man to complete a successful wingsuit flight off of Mount Kilimanjaro, which stands at an elevation of 19,341 feet.
Rozov, a Russian BASE jumper, leaped from the highest point in Africa (5,895m) and then jumped from the Western Breach Wall, (5,460m), which was the nearest and most suitable exit point, Redbull.com reports.
"I prepared for this jump for one year," he told the website, "so it's a special feeling when you're successful, as you can imagine. I'm very excited to have made it. There's no other mountain around so it attracts clouds on the summit. The only window we had was early in the morning."
Rozov also said that there was a technical issue prior to the jump, but he was happy to successfully complete the feat.
"The main problem in searching for the ideal jumping spot was that the wall was not vertical," Rozov said. "We spent a whole day looking for it. After missing the opportunity to jump, we spent the night in the crater of Kilimanjaro at 5,750 meters. The next day, it was too windy and cloudy, so we managed to jump only on the third day."
Upon leaping, Rozov spent a minute in free-fall before landing safely at Barranco Camp.
Rozov had previously BASE jumped from Mount Everest in 2013, and he said after his leap from Kilimanjaro, he drew a large crowd.
"When I landed there were hundreds of people to meet me," he said. "The locals had heard what I was up to and were pretty impressed."
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