What’s the world record height for cliff jumping? Oh, who cares, neither you nor I are going to break it. Just kidding, Laso Schaller, we care! We care because what you did earlier this month in Maggia, Switzerland, is certifiably badass: 193 feet, flawlessly executed, and calm as can be.
Schaller is Brazilian born, but raised in Switzerland and he’s spent most of his life exploring its canyons. This waterfall, Cascata del Salto, is one of the crown jewels of the 150-plus defiles north of Lugano. And as you can tell by the platform, lots of preparation went into the jump, including exploring the landing pool with diving gear and using bubbles from six scuba tanks to aerate the water and make it softer.
As for Schaller, it was NBD: “Once you get above 80 feet, everything starts to look and feel the same,” he says. “The only difference is the airtime.”