All photos by T. Hynd
It's not a bird or a plane. It was the Go-Pro Bomb Squad skydivers in wing suits launching from a helicopter high above Fernie this afternoon. The Go-Pro Bomb Squad has travelled all over the world to places like Norway and Italy to skydive and base jump. Today the five men flew up with Ascent helicopters while the KAVU helicopter filmed near by.
The challenge today was the low ceiling of cloud as is common in ski towns said skydiver Marshall Miller. They jumped 4800 feet from the helicopter to the ground in their wing suits. The large crowd craned their necks to watch the two helicopters gain elevation high above the Fernie Secondary School field.
Suddenly five dots appeared, shooting out from the silhouette of one helicopter. The skydivers eventually pulled their parachutes at 2000 feet above the ground with orange smoke trailing behind them. They sailed down into the snow covered field landing one by one in front of the cheering crowd.
The weather cleared enough for them to jump today but it was definitely much colder than what they are accustomed.
“We usually jump in board shorts and t-shirts,” said Miller. “It was freezing.”
The five men live in Salt Lake City. It was their first time travelling to Fernie and all enjoyed the last two days skiing in the fresh deep powder, Miller saying they could have been two of the best ski days of his life.
The athletes signed autographs and met many curious kids and parents. The KAVU event is continuing into the evening with an after party at The Northern.
All this was part of a big launch; Lance Edwards of Elevation Industries and Elevation Showcase has taken on the Canadian distributor ship for KAVU, an outdoor gear and apparel line based out of Seattle. KAVU derives its name from the aviation acronym CAVU or “clear above visibility unlimited”, popular with the para-gliders as it represents a fun day.
KAVU sponsors extreme athletes and events, including the Go-Pro Bomb Squad team. http://www.kavu.com/team-kavu.html.
Video footage of their jumps around the world are famous on the web with fans from around the globe watching and waiting for their next adventure. For more information, go to www.goprobombsquad.com or www.elevationindustries.com. More photos will be posted on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GoProBombSquad early this week and video in a couple of weeks.