THREE SOLDIERS COMPLETE BASE JUMP FROM ALPINE MOUNTAIN - Community Newswire

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THREE SOLDIERS COMPLETE BASE JUMP FROM ALPINE MOUNTAIN - Community Newswire

THREE SOLDIERS COMPLETE BASE JUMP FROM ALPINE MOUNTAIN Community Newswire Base jumping is the sport of parachuting from fixed objects, and the team had to propel themselves into freefall and fly their bodies away from the cliff ...

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by Google BASE Jumping News

[mknutson]

Three members of the British Army leapt thousands of feet from the Eiger in the Swiss Alps to raise money for injured servicemen and women.


Major Alastair Macartney, Warrant Officer Class One Spencer Hogg and Corporal Deane Smith completed the base jump on Friday morning in aid of charity Help for Heroes.


Base jumping is the sport of parachuting from fixed objects, and the team had to propel themselves into freefall and fly their bodies away from the cliff face, in order to carry out the jump.


Corporal Smith, a Royal Engineer, who recently served in Afghanistan, said: "This was the biggest accomplishment in my life so far.


"My legs were trembling, stood on the edge, but once we exited I was purely focused on the task in hand, flying my body away from the cliff and piloting to a safe landing in a clearing on the side of the mountain."


Major Macartney, the current National Skydiving Champion and part of the Royal Logistic Corps, added: "Base jumping from the Eiger, one of the six Great North Faces of the Alps, controlling ourselves in freefall to literally fly away from the dominating cliff face and then conducting a safe landing was hugely demanding but extremely exciting.


"Doing this to raise money for Help For Heroes is the least we can do to support our wounded soldiers."


Warrant Officer Hogg, who recently returned from Afghanistan with the Commando Logistic Regiment, said: "This was amazing. Having never made a base jump before and now having jumped from the Eiger is the most fantastic feeling ever. The challenge was immense."


After training for the challenge last month in Norway the team travelled to Switzerland where they had been conducting training jumps in difficult weather conditions at heights up to 2,000 feet. As soon as a small weather window opened up the team immediately got started and completed the challenge.


The team have raise more than £1,500 for Help for Heroes so far and their fundraising target is £25,000.


To sponsor the men visit Alastair Macartney is fundraising for Help for Heroes - JustGiving. For more information about the challenge visit www.jump4heroes.com.


Help for Heroes provides practical direct support to servicemen and women wounded in the line of duty in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For further details on the charity visit Help for Heroes - A charity for the wounded in Britain’s current conflicts.
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