Red Bull Air Force Team member Miles Daisher chose Petra, one of the Wonders of the World, as the stunning location to celebrate his 4,300rd BASE jump and make history.
The American legend, who has completed a staggering 7,200 skydives in his career as well, travelled to Jordan intent on becoming the first to BASE jump Petra with amazing scenery at the UNESCO World Heritage site. Thankfully for the Georgia native, the weather obliged to help make his BASE jump from the top of The Treasury in the depth of the Lost City that extra bit special.
The iconic Treasury dates back to first century BC and is perfectly hidden beneath high reaching mountains in the South of the Jordanian desert, positioned at the end of a main narrow route that no cars can access. Carved deep into a rose rock face and concealed in a high-walled ellipse of a valley, both the Bedouins and the mountains of Petra have protected it from wind and rain.
Setting up his early morning gear inside an opening of the mountain over The Treasury, Miles waited for the right blow and speed of wind to let go with the help of his teammate Andy Farrington. With no tourists in sight and the light yet to reach the top, Andy leaned over the edge on a rope and held Miles’ parachute to secure a static line for him to jump. Once they were happy with the conditions at 7am, Miles then said “See ya” to Andy and BASE jumped – a leap of faith that Indiana Jones would have been proud of. Thankfully, after going 32 kilometres per hour in a circular motion across the 100-feet wide space between the valley and The Treasury, he landed perfectly right in front of the doorway in less than 15 seconds.
The extreme challenge for Miles was in the short length and altitude of the jump along with the incredibly tight space that left him with little room to escape the walls of the limestone mountains.
Afterwards, Miles enthused: “My heart is coming out of my chest. The lowest I’ve ever BASE jumped over land! It took all of those jumps that I have done since the beginning to prepare me for this one.”
