Leap of faith: Amazing daredevil base jumping pic

Caters

This is the stunning image of a daredevil caught taking his life into his own hands as he leaps off a cliff with no reserve parachute.

This adventurer was one of four men captured in terrifying moments by Russian photographer Vadim Mahorov, who snapped the foursome throwing themselves off cliffs across Europe in nothing more than specialist suits.

Vadim, 23, and three of his pals, made their way across Europe as part of a two-week base jumping trip, stopping off in mountain spots in Italy, France, Switzerland and Greece to try out the local standards.

The popularity of base jumping has rocketed in recent years as wannabe daredevils try their hands at playing out scenes made famous in the likes of the James Bond and the XXX films.

Vadim's pal Ratmir Nagimianov fronted the trip after already racking up an impressive tally of 400 jumps.

While sky diving involves leaping from dizzy heights around 15,000 feet up from the side of a plane, base jumping see's brave risk-takers leap from static objects from a more tender 2,000 feet.

But the lower altitude means that jumpers have no room for mistake as there's such a short distance to get their chute opened and there's no time for a reserve chute.

A base jump qualifies as a jump from a building, antenna, span (bridge) or earth (cliff) wearing a specialist wing suit which quickly fills up with air so the jumper can glide until reaching a safe height to open their parachute.

Vadim told Caters News Agency: "Extreme sports are all about the adrenaline rush and nothing gets the adrenal gland working at its maximum more than the thrill that comes from base jumping.

"Most people say that base jumping doesn't end well and is very risky but we always ensure that we are as safe as possible.

"I find capturing these sort of jumps quite easy because you are at the highest points in the area so there is nothing to obstruct the view.

"It's a bit more difficult to capture these sort of jumps in cities because of all the other buildings so local sky walkers often end up helping out to get the best possible pictures."

Fancy an adrenaline-boost? Try one of these on for size:

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-151437%



Sign up to our weekly newsletterFollow us on TwitterBecome a fan on Facebook