These lists, right? The Top whatever. The best this, best that. Well this one’s a little heavier: this one’s a tribute to those who went huge this year and laid it on the line for our pure viewing pleasure. And honestly, we’re thankful they all came out clean. So thanks for entertaining us. And making our year better. Here are the four finest stunts of 2015.
BASE Skiing The Eiger
It’s one of Europe’s most formidable pieces of rock. The Eiger has long been a test piece of human skill. Well, JT Holms pretty much dumped that reverie on its head with Anderson Cooper and 60 Minutes, executing one of the gnarliest lines ever skied (with a parachute). Using what’s called a speed wing, he launched off the peak wearing skis, landed on an impossibly steep face above a cliff, mid-mountain, released the kite at approximately 40 mph, then launched off a ledge some thousands of feet above the valley below, letting his skis go before engaging his BASE chute to glide to safety. But he does it twice, and the second time is a seriously close call. Watch the full episode here.
Climbing Redwoods
In June, one of climbing’s best artists, Chris Sharma, pulled off an aesthetic gem when he put a route up a 253-foot Redwood tree in Eureka, California. He was working with two biologists from Cal Berkley who were studying the health of the trees during the state’s epic drought. To set the top rope and avoid setting gear that might deface the tree, Sharma went medieval, using a crossbow to shoot a nylon line over the top of the tree so he could then pull his rope over and secure it. He was surprised at how difficult the climbing was. “I’m always trying to do new stuff,” he says. “I can’t say I’m going to stop rock climbing and just climb trees but I wanted to create a (project) that would blow people’s minds and pay homage to trees and my California roots.”
Not Quite Barreled on a Bike
So this stunt wasn’t in the mountains but motorcycles are for trails and dirt. And Robby Maddison’s Pipe Dream, was just too big, and too weird, not to talk about. The Australian showed impeccable Internet timing when he released his video documenting his quest to get barreled on his motorcycle in Tahiti on a Sunday in August, the same day as the U.S. Open finals in Huntington Beach, Calif. It was the culmination of a multi-year project where Maddison modified his ride with a pair of custom, polyurethane skis for the wheels that increased the bike’s ability to plane and outfitted his rear tire with mini paddles on the treads, like a paddle boat, to increase propulsion. Then he used a 65-foot ramp mounted on a boat to build speed as he entered the water. Unfortunately, the project is still, essentially, a pipe dream, as he wasn’t able to get properly barreled. But he did take the beating of his life on a “west bomb” at Papara. “The wave picked me up from behind, spat me off and slammed me down and then drove the bike into me under water, knocking the wind out of me” he said. “I hit the bike three or four times, then got a breath and took four waves on the head. Finally, the jet ski grabbed me out of the water. I was physically and emotionally broken. I thought I was experiencing my own death.”
Line of the Century
Here’s a fact: Pretty much the entire Internet media landscape owes Candide Thovex a giant “merci,” because he’s been creating web traffic for everyone with his One of Those Days 2 all year. And the Frenchman’s video–which is on the doorstep of 18 million views–isn’t so much a stunt as it is just one fantastic line at Thovex’s home resort in France, where Thovex airs over just about everything at speed and throws a few double backs in for good measure. And sponsors picked up on it quickly. This fall, Audi released a rather brilliant spoof on One of Those Days with this video of Thovex shredding dirt harder than most of us ride snow. So please Candide, for the sake of all of us in the media world, keep making videos. Just like this one.
