The Black Dragon - Big Wingsuit Lines in the Drakensberg - South Africa

Adrenalin Addiction "Chase "flew all the way from the USA and wanted to experience the Drakensberg for the first time. We set off into the berg for a trip of a lifetime. Our mission started leaving Johannesburg at 3am in the morning and driving straight to Witsieshoek. Straight onto the rock Day 1 we got a quick jump from the summit of the Sentinel flying all the way down into the Tugela River, we called this Line "Black Dragon." My brother, Peter, was our Mountain guide for the expedition. After walking out of Tugela we set our sights on the Mweni Valley. We spent the first evening at the Mweni Hiking and Cultural Center. At 8am the next morning we met up with our porter and we hucked it, 20km to Base Camp. We choose a spot about 1km down from the Chi Chi bush camp. Berg life is simple, stay warm, eat good, sleep good, wake up early and hike for 3 to 4 hours up the whole escarpment. Every jump we opened in Mweni was something else. We started off by jumping directly into Mweni Pass, this line we called, "DownPlane" This line is so awesome as you get to fly past this amazing Castle Buttress with the Pinicals in the background. Landing back at camp each time meant we only had enough time for 1 jump each morning. We also had to wait every morning for the strong downdrafts to end and the thermals to start blowing up the cliffs. At around 10/11am everyday we got a gap to fly down safe. It was important to wait for these winds to shift because when landing in the river beds you want a bit of head wind for a slow approach and soft landing. Day 2 we opened "Terror" This was Chase's lowest wingsuit start yet, at 170m at High Altitude we had to do some math's to make sure that chase could do the exit safely. The jump was awesome. The last day we set out to open 2 more exits, Chase had been eyeballing this gully on the back side of "Terror" the day before and he really wanted to jump it. He did a Solo jump off that exit and called it "Gryphys" Named after a Base Canopy that he has been developing of the last few years. I then walked a few kilometers to the edge by Ledges Cave to get cellphone reception to let the outside world know we are still alive and well. The last jump I did was a true berg, long line, only for big suits like the Alpine21, with an amazing 4km freefall down a spine towards the Mweni River landing near Shepherd's Cave, it's a real gem. I landed, we all got our things and we hiked out together with the biggest smiles on our faces. These few rare and truly spectacular days in the Drakensberg with my brother Peter and Chase, I will remember forever as some of the best days in my life. Thanks to Katie Wallis for putting this amazing edit together. Till the next adventure. Filming by Peter Wallis, JeanJacques Wallis and Chase Phillips No Helicopters or energy dinks were used in the making of this video. :)

Category