Sebastián Álvarez, the first wingsuit jumper to enter the crater of a volcano 2:33
(CNN) -
There are people for whom even the word "reckless" does not do justice for the impressive feats they perform.
Sebastián Álvarez is one of those people.
Last month, the former Chilean Air Force pilot completed what he describes as "the most extreme flight" of his career: flying in and out of the crater of an active volcano.
Only Álvarez wasn't on a plane or helicopter, but was wearing a wingsuit suit.
Not surprisingly, he is the first person in history to have attempted such a feat and says that the achievement has taken him a lifetime of preparation.
"It all started because I had a dream of flying," says Álvarez.
"Since I was a kid, I just wanted to fly ... and somehow, I made it happen."
Álvarez's first contact with the adrenaline that would largely mark his career occurred when he joined the Chilean Air Force, first as a pilot and then when he was taught to skydive.
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He immediately loved it and continued to skydive outside of the Air Force whenever he could find spare time, and is now widely recognized as one of the best paratroopers in the world.
However, as time passed, that desire for greater excitement only grew, prompting Álvarez to enter BASE jumping and eventually wingsuit flying.
Álvarez prepares to fly in Pucón, Chile.
For most of his career, Álvarez struggled to know exactly what was driving him to attempt these increasingly dangerous feats.
Until very recently.
"I think I discovered it a few years ago," he says.
"What was happening in my life that really gives me that happiness and is actually still difficult to explain, it was that feeling of being totally focused and at the same time having an amount of adrenaline."
"It also happened to me when I was flying the planes, because I was very focused on some things, but at the same time an air force pilot doesn't sit around, he does a lot of missions. So that mix between being totally focused and a little bit of adrenaline, it leaves me speechless.
"It's like it's what I was really looking for, and I just knew I liked it, but I didn't know the explanation. I guess a few years ago, I realized, 'Oh, this is it. This is why.' It's because I focus on those minutes or seconds in which my mind is totally on this and I also feel that adrenaline rush that I love ”.
"The house of the pillán"
For his latest feat, Álvarez knew he wanted to take wingsuit technology as far as possible.
Hailing from Chile, a country with a wide variety of breathtaking landscapes, the 36-year-old wanted his most daring flight to showcase his country's natural wonders.
Given his nature as a thrill seeker, he ended up deciding that Villarrica, one of the most active and dangerous volcanoes in Chile and baptized by the Mapuche as "the house of the pillán", which is a powerful spirit, would join his jump.
Jumping from a helicopter at more than 3,500 meters of altitude, Álvarez would try to use the wingsuit to reach speeds of more than 280 km / h and then fly in and out of the 200-meter-wide crater of the volcano.
"This is by far the most extreme project I've ever done," he says.
"That's for sure. Especially for all the factors: it was an active volcano, it was high up, it was cold and windy, so you had to take a lot of things into account."
"Mentally, it was very hard for me because, again, my mind doesn't want to be there, but you have to force it to happen. I really enjoy doing these projects because I really like to push the sport a little more."
Álvarez towers over "the devil's house."
The feat would be accomplished in large part thanks to Alvarez perfecting a technique called "flaring," which consists of gathering enough vertical speed, opening the wingsuit, and transferring it to horizontal speed.
The preparation of the jump took more than a year.
Not only did he complete about 500 practice jumps, but he also had to do complex calculations with speed, distance and air pressure to decide whether or not it would be possible.
However, Álvarez claims that the real preparation for the jump started much earlier.
"The preparation for this was my whole life, more or less, it has been my whole life," he says.
"You have to be a parachutist, a base jumper, and if you're a pilot, even better. All the paths [I've taken] came together.
"Even if you train for two years but haven't skydiving before, it's never going to be possible. So it was a lifetime of preparation."
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"Being afraid is very positive"
The weather in southern Chile can be harsh, which means that Alvarez often had very small windows in which he could attempt the jump.
He says attempts were often canceled due to high winds, rain or snow, as well as fierce storms that sometimes lasted up to a week.
"I was very afraid of not finding a nice and pleasant space to do it," recalls Álvarez.
"But I guess the volcano and I get along really well," he adds with a smile.
"Or at least he let me do it. So we had good weather and the volcano wasn't that active that week, and if you ask me, yes, I asked the volcano [permission], I had my conversation with this place.
"But let's be serious, this is a volcano and it's active and if I fail, you know the result. If the volcano doesn't want me there, it can do whatever it wants, you know, so I asked permission and then I went there [after] and say thank you. "
Sitting on the edge of a helicopter at 3,500 meters, with the biting wind hitting his face, Álvarez says that nothing gives him as much excitement as attempting a pioneer jump.
"I can't express how happy it makes me feel," he explains.
"But it does, you know, and I think that's what life is about. You have to do what makes you happy."
Álvarez seems to live by that philosophy.
Álvarez described his feat of the volcano as "the most extreme" of his career.
The man known as "Squirrel" spends much of the interview with a broad smile on his face and begins to gesticulate enthusiastically as he begins to talk about the reckless exploits he has performed.
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He describes the recent jump as a "roller coaster of emotions" and says it is "exactly like a volcano", his excitement erupting before being hit by a wave of calm.
Álvarez is known for being a meticulous planner.
Although these feats may seem absurd, and often impossible, from the outside, he approaches them with a calm and rational mind, confident that his skill and detailed calculations will keep him safe.
However, that never leads to the absence of fear.
"I feel nervous and I like it," says Álvarez.
"I think feeling nervous is definitely positive, or being afraid is really positive and you have to manage it and turn it into something positive."
"I think if you're really scared then it becomes panic and then you can't react. So that's the little limit where it's like, 'Okay, I'm scared,' but it keeps me going so I'm aware of everything. ".
"Now if I panic then this is not going to work and you have to realize, 'Okay, I'm panicking. Maybe I have to do this or this other step, plan B or plan C.'
If you thought that flying in and out of an active volcano with just a bit of cloth between your arms and legs to keep you in the air was the most dangerous thing for Álvarez to do, think again.
“I do a very nice stunt ... or maybe more than one.
My mind really races sometimes like, 'Ah!' ”He says, waving his hands around his head.
"I don't know if they're going to work. You never know why I'm playing with nature again. I need to organize this because I have so many ideas ... but I just love it."
Skydiving