Watch 60 Minutes Capture JT Holmes As He Skis Off The Eiger
60 Minutes had a unique opportunity to film JT Holmes as he skied off the 13,020 foot Eiger – an iconic mountain in the Swiss Alps. The Taking On The Eiger crew was terrified, but JT Holmes pulled it off. It was spectacular and completely terrifying.
According to CBSNews.com, “The plan, as this week’s 60 Minutes story explains, was for Holmes to ski down part of the Eiger attached to a glider-like parachute called a speed wing, allowing him to sail over rocks and icy slopes too steep to ski. At a certain point, he would cut loose the speed wing and continue to ski at top speed off a cliff, dropping his skis and free-falling hundreds of feet before he opened his parachute and floated to the ground.”
The entire event took years to film and complete. Holmes called off two attempts in the past and finally pulled it off this time around. Once he safely landed, he chooses to skis off the Eiger again! Only this time his ski didn’t detach properly – reminiscent of the accident in the Dolomites that claimed the late Shane McConkey. Luckily, after a few hair raising moments, Holmes pulls it off.
JT Holmes is no stranger to danger. He’s an established “adrenaline enthusiast” – pro skier, wingsuit flying, speed riding, and BASE jumping. Read more about JT Holmes in Steven Kotler’s The Rise Of Superman.
Thanks to 60 Minutes we can all watch JT Holmes doing what he does best. All around impressive series of videos from 60 Minutes.
