First Fitz Roy BASE jump by Boris Egorov, Konstantin Jäämurd, Vladimir Murzaev

We spend time in Patagonia almost every season. In the past, we have jumped from Cerro Torre (from the middle of the south face), as well as from the summits of Mojón Rojo, Aguja de l'S, Guillamet, and Saint Exupéry. While the summit of Cerro Torre remains our primary objective, we always keep our minds open to other possible jumps.

This season, we waited a month in El Chaltén for the right weather window, which finally arrived at the start of January. Given the favorable conditions, we decided to make an attempt on Fitz Roy and chose the Royal Flush route on the east face, as it offered the most direct line to the intended exit point. This exit had been identified for us on a photo by Rolando Garibotti, to whom we are very grateful.

Our climbing and jumping team consisted of three members: myself, Vladimir Murzaev, and Konstantin Jäämurd. Konstantin had successfully climbed Fitz Roy about ten years ago via the route Matte y Porro, while I had previously made an unsuccessful attempt on the Franco-Argentine. On this new adventure, we were also joined by our friend Ilya Kull.

Early in the morning, before we started climbing, the two American climbers Will Fazio and Zach Dreher passed us and started up the same line. They aimed to finish the route in one day, but it turned out to be harder than both they and we expected. We met them at the end of the first climbing day, on a ledge after pitch 14. There, we decided to join forces and continue as one team. We shared our food and tent space, with them leading the pitches while we focused on hauling.

We spent a second day on the ledge, and on the next—our third day on the wall—we completed the entire vertical section. We went to sleep late at night, and the next morning, on 7 January, we woke up to the realization that we were exactly in the right place, very close to the exit, just about 15 meters from what we'd seen in the photo. We were about 300 meters below the summit, conditions were perfect, so we decided to jump.

While we jumped, Ilya, Will, and Zach continued their way to the summit before descending via the Franco-Argentine route and reaching base camp on the glacier in the middle of the night. Our friends carried down almost all of our important and expensive gear. It was a huge help—perhaps the first time we've jumped so comfortably, without all the gear under our suits. We also dropped some equipment in our handmade haul bag. Unfortunately, it was impossible to see where it landed. I searched for it with a drone after I landed but didn’t find it, so it may have fallen into a crack.

Konstantin and Vladimir flew in wingsuits and landed at the forest level. I jumped in a tracking suit and landed on the glacier, right at the base of our line. For a wingsuit flight, it represented one of the world's largest altitude differentials: 2 minutes and 40 seconds of flight, followed by about 2 minutes under the canopy. The jump was simply awesome.

To sum it up: a huge wall, a multi-day ascent, and a brand-new, stunning exit. A perfect setup. Real luck—earned through a lifetime of experience.

- Boris Egorov, El Chalten, Patagonia