03.55 am, Tuesday February 14 2012

Aussie daredevil makes BASE jumping history

11:00 AEDT Thu Feb 4 2010
By Henri Paget, ninemsn
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Lucky Chance launched himself off the 'Death Swing'.
Lucky Chance launched himself off the 'Death Swing'.
The rope swing in the Blue Mountains. (Josh Caple)
The rope swing in the Blue Mountains. (Josh Caple)

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A young Aussie thrill-seeker has made BASE jumping history with a breathtaking launch off a rope swing in the Blue Mountains.

The 26-year-old man has even captured his amazing feat on camera: using a 30m rope, known as the 'Death Swing', to launch himself off a mountain cliff top and perform a graceful double-backflip before opening his parachute just 150m from the ground.

The young Sydney resident, who goes by the adopted name Lucky Chance, said he had prepared for the jump for nearly a year and was thrilled with his success.

"I grew up in the Blue Mountains and I knew this spot was awesome," Mr Chance told ninemsn.

"To be able to swing out and just let go … there's nothing like it."

But Mr Chance said taking the jump was not as smooth as it seemed on camera.

"On the day of the video it was atrocious conditions, really windy … I hit the ground pretty hard and thrashed my hands and ankles."

Mr Chance, who changed his name while working for a circus, performed the stunt one day last month after hiking 5km to the jumping point through a trail with photographer Josh Caple.

The 'Death Swing' is a rope swing attached to a peak at a secret location in the NSW Blue Mountains National Park.

Most daredevils who ride the swing use a harness to keep them secured to the rope; Mr Chance is the first person to ever let go.

He also believes he is the first Australian to ever perform a rope swing-to-BASE jump.

"It was just amazing to watch," Mr Caple told ninemsn.

"Lucky's been doing crazy things for a long time but this is probably one of the craziest."

Mr Chance, who also is an expert rock climber, began BASE jumping four years ago during a trip to Europe.

"I haven't been doing it very long but I know it's what I want to do," he said. "It gives me a purpose in life."

Although Mr Chance admits park rangers might not have been happy with his latest jump — he said he believes he has done nothing wrong.

"Taking into account my ability, and the safety precautions I took, it was safe," he said. "I wasn't doing anything wrong and I wasn't hurting anybody."

A NSW Blue Mountains National Park spokesman told ninemsn the use of the 'Death Swing' was "not an approved activity within the park at all".

"The 'Death Swing' is an activity that is more dangerous and less controlled than either climbing or abseiling and requires specific permission to be carried out," the spokesman said.

"People who are doing this activity are placing themselves at risk as well as emergency personnel who have to retrieve them when something goes wrong."

The spokesman also said other high risk pursuits such as base jumping, hang gliding and bungee jumping are not permitted in the park due to "the great potential for personal injury".

But for Mr Chance, who works as a window cleaner in Sydney's CBD, his latest feat is only the beginning.

"I want to keep pushing the limits … I want to do a quadruple backflip next time."

MORE PHOTOS: Lucky Chance on Josh Caple's blog

 
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