Jamie Pierre Cliff Jump Article

http://www.jacksonholenews.com/DailyStory.html

January 28-29 story

Skier hucks world record

By Angus M. Thuermer Jr.
Jackson Hole Daily


Salt Lake City skier Jamie Pierre claimed a world-record cliff jump at Grand Targhee Resort on Wednesday, flying 245 vertical feet off the back of Freds Mountain.


Pierre, 32, said in a telephone interview from his home in Salt Lake City on Friday that he made his record-breaking jump as a vehicle to spread the Christian word. A veteran cliff jumper who had dropped 180 feet previously, Pierre said his feat was calculated and his landing spot probed for perfect snow.


“It wasn’t just some yahoo stunt,” Pierre said. “I chose to do it so it would open up doors so I could witness my faith in Christianity.”


Pierre said he had looked at the cliff for at least seven years before determining his ability and the conditions were right for the jump. He said observers with Teton Gravity Research, a filmmaking company that specializes in radical ski feats, measured the distance from the cornice takeoff to the landing hole with a range finder used for parachute BASE jumping to confirm the world record.


Such jumps are not without peril and a spokeswoman at Grand Targhee was quick to issue a warning against attempting to duplicate or mimic Pierre’s huck.


“This is nothing that an average recreational skier or snowboarder should consider doing,” Susie Barnett-Bushong said Friday. Even for elite and prepared skiers “we would never recommend anybody try this,” she said.


Attempting smaller jumps than Pierre’s has killed one skier in Jackson Hole. In January, 2005 valley skier Brent “Newt” Newton, 39, died after jumping a 50-foot cliff at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Pierre himself said his jump was dangerous. “I’m lucky I’m still alive,” he said. “I’m lucky I didn’t get hurt.”

The father of a two-month-old daughter, Pierre said he took grief from his relatives. “My wife was not impressed,” he said. His parents also took him to task, Pierre said.

A Minnetonka, Minn., native who moved first to Crested Butte, Colo., and then Salt Lake City to ski, Pierre said practice, preparation and patience were key. “I waited and waited and waited,” he said of the time spent anticipating the perfect snow conditions. Asked if he ever had second doubts, he responded quickly “absolutely not.” Five photographers and three cinema shooters recorded the event, said Josh Nielsen of Teton Gravity Research.

“It was a really, really heavy and intense experience for all of us,” he said. The event was managed by Pierre, he said; “We were kind of along for the ride.” Observers were solemn and quiet before and during the jump, he said, and Pierre said a prayer before taking off.

He clocked four full seconds of air time, Nielsen said. Some 100 feet into the jump he said Pierre could not keep his skis under him and went upside down. He landed head first and blew a hole six feet deep in the snow. Photographer Adam Clark rushed in and dug him free, Nielsen said. “Jamie pretty much walked away with a cut lip,” he said.

Pierre said he doesn’t make enough money as a skier to sustain himself. He works with his father as a custom furniture maker and also on lawn irrigation systems. He said his landing was in the perfect spot; “I hit the nail on the head,” he said. “The fact I came out unscathed and landed where I planned - faith played a role in it,” he said.