The National Weather Service defines jet streams on Earth as strong narrow bands in the upper level of its atmosphere. These winds can reach speeds as high as 250 miles per hour.Pretty interesting, but what’s really interesting is that Swiss skydiver Marc Hauser wanted to become the first man to JUMP into the jet stream.
Hauser, 49, began skydiving when he was 18. At 35, Hauser received special training from two members of the Babylon Free-fall Skydiving team. From there, it appears Hauser grew an appetite for even more adventures in the sky. Thus, you have his attempt to become the first man to jump into the jet stream.
If you watch the video above, you can see that Hauser completes the task he set out for himself. He sprang into the jet stream and became the first man to do so. The winds he faced exceeded 160 miles per hour, but the daredevil was still able to make it the ground in one piece.
If you have read any of my other articles here on Trill, you should know I am no stuntman. And for a man with a fear of heights, this is something I would never try in my life. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t think what Hauser did is out of this world.
I really can’t imagine the feeling Hauser had doing this. Obviously he had on plenty of gear, but winds that strong against his face must’ve felt like his skin was being pulled off.
And on top of that, Hauser knew that by jumping into the jet stream he could have contracted a disease called “hypoxia”. He could have died but he didn’t care: he wanted to push the boundaries of skydiving. Hauser definitely did that, and I know a lot of people wouldn’t have gone the lengths he did to to so.
Image courtesy of Carla Kell / Wikimedia Commons
