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VIDEO. Tristan, urban parachutist: at La Courneuve, he jumps from an 80 m tower

2021-07-18T16:18:22.586Z


Tristan, 43, made an abandoned tower of La Courneuve his springboard for a rare parachute jump. Base-jump enthusiast, the Parisian


"It happens that I think of death or a serious accident but it is what also makes me realize that sometimes it is better not to jump", slips Tristan, a few minutes before climbing on the Entrepose tower, a mastodon 80m high, which overlooks the Six-Routes crossroads, at La Courneuve (93).

This seasoned parachutist is about to jump into the void.

22 stages of adrenaline with the only salvation of a parachute sail folded into a bag, which opens in a fraction of a second, just after the jump.

His sport: base-jump.

Instead of jumping from a plane, the followers launch themselves from a fixed point: a bridge, a cliff, a wind turbine, a crane or a fairly high building, as here at La Courneuve.

If the discipline is not inherently illegal, it is not necessarily authorized in urban areas, even less when athletes launch from places prohibited to the public.

"Entering a building that is not your property, it may not be illegal, but since we do not damage anything, or that we do not break anything, we are not attackable on the legal plan ”.

He has never had any problems with the police, despite 65 base-jumps in town.

"I still have this throbbing at my fingertips"

Here, the Parisian quadra is on familiar ground.

he has already thrown three times from this office tower abandoned since 2004. A perilous playground, planted in a dense and lively urban environment.

"I still have this throbbing at my fingertips and the fact of throwing yourself is always exhilarating", smiles Tristan.

Read also La Courneuve: the return of the mysterious graffiti of the Entrepose tower

The place and time of the jump are precisely selected.

The base-jumper studies each breath of the wind thanks to a dedicated application and can give up at the last moment if the climatic conditions change.

At the bottom of the tower, a small patch of grass will serve as a landing strip.

"It's big, there are places that are smaller".

The challenge: to avoid the vegetable garden, the road and a power line.

Before he can jump into the void, he must first sneak into the building through a hidden breach.

Then climb up a dark staircase and climb the 22 floors.

"I stay focused, I visualize my jump"

At the end of the ascent, passers-by, at the very bottom, can make out a black silhouette protruding from the roof, barely visible. As if a ninja had suddenly hung on this rusty skeleton. The young parachutist harnesses himself carefully. In front of him, a panoramic view of the greater Parisian crown. A corner of Georges Valbon Park protrudes on the left, the Romainville TV tower on the right. At the end of 40 minutes of preparation, the moment to fly is approaching: "You must not put pressure on yourself, breathe properly", he breathes, now bundled up in a black hood. "I stay focused, I visualize my jump, the terrain where I have to land, I mentalize to jump well in the axis".

Below, passers-by point their smartphones at this black mass leaning over the void.

Tristan throws himself down, falling at least three stories before his red and black parachute begins to deploy.

The sail spins for 17 seconds in the Dionysian sky, before finishing its course in a thick bush.

“I was a little surprised, I saw the power line and I thought I would land more slowly,” regrets Tristan.

During the previous jumps, he had negotiated a perfect landing in the lawn.

The challenge is now to fold the parachute without damaging it.

"Oh man, there are brambles", worries the base-jumper still hooded.

An unidentified breach in the web could cost him dearly.

But Tristan takes care of everything.

Without ever forgetting another characteristic of base-jumping: there is no emergency wing.

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2021-07-18

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