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Mario Richard dies during Dolomites BASE jump

Yesterday morning the BASE jumper Mario Richard died during a BASE jump off Sass Pordoi in the Dolomites. The expert pilot was married to American climber Steph Davis.

Planetmountain

August 2013

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Mario Richard beginning his jump off the Tofana di Rozes (Dolomites)

arch. Steph Davis

Tragedy struck in the Dolomites yesterday morning as Canadian-born Mario Richard died during a wingsuit flight off Sass Pordoi in the heart of the Italian Dolomites. The 47-year-old was an expert BASE jumper having carried out over 7000 skydives and more than 2000 BASE jumps all over the world. Resident in Moab, USA, Richard was well-known in the Dolomites for having carried out the first leap off Tofana di Rozes in 2011 together with his wife, Steph Davis.

After having carried out a series of flights in the Dolomites such as Torre Trieste and Monte Agner, yesterday morning Richard and Davis took the cable car up to Sasso Pordoi together with friends to make a wingsuit flight off Sass Pordoi. During the flight though something went terribly wrong and Richard hit the rocks close to the Piccolo Pordoi towers. All rescue operations were in vain.

Richard's death is a great loss for the global community of BASE jumpers that is still getting to grips with the loss of another absolute reference point, 42-year old Mark Sutton who died last week during a wingsuit flight at Martigny in Switzerland.

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