Video: Cliff Diving The Worlds Largest Waterfall - Victoria Falls
Aware of his relative inexperience in such extreme conditions, Paredes relies heavily on his mentor. “I trust Orlando a lot—he is a legend,” says the 26-year-old from Mexico. “I will do whatever he says. If he says, ‘Here is the place to dive,’ I will dive.” But the 41-year-old Colombian has a surprise in store. Although they will first attempt shorter jumps (69 feet, 72 feet and 78.7 feet), the ultimate goal is to pull off a 98-foot dive. Paredes himself has never jumped from this height before (dives in the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series are limited to 92 feet), and Duque hasn’t done it in almost a decade. The exotic location notwithstanding, the standard physics of high diving apply: The athletes will plummet at a speed of approximately 53 mph for three seconds, then plunge into the water to a depth of about 15 feet.
“THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES. BUT WHAT SETS THIS DIVE APART IS THE ANALYSIS YOU’VE GOT TO DO. IT’S NOT AS BLACK AND WHITE AS YOU THINK.”
ORLANDO DUQUE
Devil’s Pool, next to Livingstone Island, offers a heart-stopping view over the edge of Victoria Falls. But the usual risks—bruised ribs, fractured coccyx, concussion—are compounded by the murky Zambezi: If something goes wrong and the safety team of scuba divers lose sight of Duque or Paredes underwater, it will be difficult to locate them. (In fact, it’s not unheard of for those lost to the Zambezi never to be found.) Plus, for the 98-foot leap, the two divers will be launching from a spray-soaked ledge, literally in the shadow of Victoria Falls itself. Each diver faces his own challenges. Duque’s responsibility is to set the limits on their ambition, calmly guide the younger man and, of course, go first. The veteran is more than up to the task: He has been preparing mentally for months already, and he has the ability to completely block out all distractions at the critical moment. “I trust in my training,” says Duque. “I expect that if I have done all the preparation, things should work out. I cannot leave anything at all to luck or ritual. And it’s pretty cool that I can shut everything else out.”
“I TRUST IN MY TRAINING. I EXPECT THAT IF I’VE DONE ALL THE PREPARATION, THINGS SHOULD WORK OUT. I CAN’T LEAVE ANYTHING TO LUCK. IT’S COOL THAT I CAN SHUT EVERYTHING ELSE OUT.”
-ORLANDO DUQUE
Etched high against those primeval cliffs, the water crashing down from higher still, the vulnerability of the divers is painfully exposed. Slowly, gracefully, each salutes, arms drawn up above his head, before launching off his toes, out into space as he begins to fly, tuck into a somersault, then fall, body outstretched. Duque and then Paredes plunge into the Zambezi and burst back up again to the surface, slapping the water with joy and buzzing with adrenaline. They have nothing left to prove. But then… what about a tandem dive? Perhaps not from as high as 98 feet, though…
Source: The Red Bulletin
-Hymer