Highest parachute jump ever

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

102,800 feet.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=81gn2oLeC_U

I don't like heights, hate the concept of the vast expanse of space.

Just watching the clip freaks me out but this man had testicular fortitude.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Why are you afraid of heights. It's one of the coolest things to me. The freedom of all that space.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Why are you afraid of heights. It's one of the coolest things to me. The freedom of all that space.

Some people are afraid of being outside, others of being squashed inside, others of spiders or snakes.

I have none of them and think they're stupid but I have a fear of heights and I also have megalophobia which is fear of massive things - like space, of the concept of planets and suns, of massive oil tankers, of ending up overboard next to the hull of a massive ship, of submarines, of whales up close, of hot air balloons.

Funny huh, but it's a real phobia and it freaks me out.

[The Kraig]

I'm afraid of heights, and would never parachute normally, but if I was THAT high, I don't think I'd be scared. Seeing fields, settlements, etc is scary, but looking down at the globe, continents, oceans...it would be quite pleasant, a sight to enjoy while it lasted.

Once jumping it obviously wouldn't be so pleasant and once close enough to the ground and able to identify cities and such, I'd be shitting a brick. I'm shocked he lived through it with the cold temperature and G forces hitting him at the start. Surprised he didn't puke as well. He seemed rather fucked up when they got to him and in pain. But that might have just been from the landing.

I'm glad no one's broken the record. It deserves to stand. He's quite the badass for trying it, when in all likelihood he would die either from the cold, lack of oxygen, a malfunction with his parachutes or passing out from the G forces altering his blood distribution. I'm surprised he's not more well known, his name seems familiar, but I never knew anything about him until now. He's still alive.

And fear of heights SUCKS. I remember looking like a pussy at the Eiffel Tower because I only went halfway up. And during a freefall challenge at an outdoor activities center in the Highlands, which I refused to do, despite going up and saying I would do it. They also had a MASSIVE zipline that went across rocky river rapids and you basically have to leap off the edge of a little runway and all that separates you from certain death is a rather weak looking harness. I still did it, but waited for the night time session, but you could still hear the massive roar below in the pitch black. But at least I retained some dignity. Although I did go last...so I still looked like a pussy, and everyone cheered me at the bottom. Pity cheering might actually be worse than ridicule.

It's just one of those things some folks have - you stand on the edge, looking down, and you have the sensation of falling even though you're clearly not. The sensation of falling makes you want to move, and that in turn causes you to lose your perfectly good balance, and puts you at risk of ACTUALLY falling. So yeah, acrophobia sucks. My mum has a phobia of doing down escalators. They make her dizzy and it's much like acrophobia.

Edited August 6, 2007 by The Kraig

[King Ellis]

Why are you afraid of heights. It's one of the coolest things to me. The freedom of all that space.

Some people are afraid of being outside, others of being squashed inside, others of spiders or snakes.

I have none of them and think they're stupid but I have a fear of heights and I also have megalophobia which is fear of massive things - like space, of the concept of planets and suns, of massive oil tankers, of ending up overboard next to the hull of a massive ship, of submarines, of whales up close, of hot air balloons.

Funny huh, but it's a real phobia and it freaks me out.

Wait a fucking minute here, a fear of spiders or snakes is stupid? You fear space and planets! What the fuck are they gonna do to you? I'd like to see Saturn bite you.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I'd imagine being hundreds of thousands of feet into space orbiting the moon would give him a heart attack. >_>

[Robsturgh]

I think Im very very slowly overcoming my fear of heights, I mean Id love to sky dive and I dont mind flying anymore, but when I go up the stairs to go on a waterslide or something, I usually absolutely shit myself. But each time the load seems a little smaller.

[Quom]

Heights fuck me up. I don't know if it's a fear though. My brain literally fucks up if I reach a tall enough height, my balance goes to shit and I can't focus properly (I have the same thing if I look straight up at the sky) as such heights freak me the fuck out.

[Guest mAXi]

I have a fear of spiders, snakes AND space and planets.

Space is #1 though, by far. It just creeps me out, it's not an enviroment you could actually live in and it's endless... imagine if there was such a place as a black world of nothing and a possiblity of something that would scare the shit out of you. That's what space is to me.

[The Quasi Juice]

I think afraid of heights can be helped. Isn't it simply: face you fears.

[Nerf]

Not for everybody. People can be very narrow-minded and often ignorant when it comes to phobias. Everybody is different. Sure, some people could overcome it from 'facing' it, but for others - it could just fuck them up even worse than they were to begin with.

Edited August 6, 2007 by Nerf

[The Kraig]

For me 'facing it' doesn't actually cure it. It's just highly uncomfortable and an unpleasant experiece. But I don't freak out like a spastic or anything. Same way some people have a high pain threshold, I suppose everyone has their own phobia threshold.