Video: Base Jumping off the World’s Longest Peak2Peak Gondola

Riding the new Peak2Peak Gondola that connects Whistler’s Blackcomb and Whistler Mountain summits, over 4.3km, must be exhilarating. But jumping off it is just insane.

Shortly after opening, these Two Red Bull sponsored lunatics rode a car to the mid point of the ride and jumped. That makes for a good preview of the fall, should one of these boxes full of 28 people ever fall out of the sky. (I couldn’t help thinking of this, I have a decent fear of heights.)

The Gondola itself holds records for its unsupported span of 3km between the two furthest towers, and for its rise, measuring over 400m above the ground at its highest point.

At 25 km per hour, it makes the traverse between the mountain tops, in 11 minutes. Contrast that with the usual ski down one peak, plus a drive to the base of the other, plus a number of gondola, chair and tow rides upward, which easily could take over an hour or three.

I’ve been to Whistler once before, and remember two things: a 45 minute run down blackcomb’s glacier to the village, and a Nintendo sponsored park. I guess I have yet another reason to go back.