Legendary daredevil dies while attempting 22,000-foot base jump

A legendary Russian daredevil died while attempting his latest stunt, base jumping from a 22,000-foot mountain in the Himalayas.

Valery Rozov had become known throughout the world for his awe-inspiring actions, including a jump from a peak on Mt. Everest that saw him use a special wingsuit to soaring through the air for 60 seconds to join less-adventurous Earthlings.

The 52-year-old died while attempting a similar feat at the nearby Mt. Ama-Dablam in Nepal on Saturday.

Rozov’s fellow daredevils mourned the loss of "an aerial adventurer who tirelessly set himself against increasingly difficult goals," according to a statement from his sponsor Redbull.

"Valery will always remain in our memory: strong in spirit, professional, modest, full of energy, an eternal dreamer who was forever burning with new ideas and projects."

It was not immediately clear what caused problems with his most recent flight, though an organizer for his expedition told The Himalayan Times that he had crashed into a cliff and a helicopter recovered his body on Sunday.

Rozov, who was also a mountaineer and a champion of competitive parachuting, had made more than 10,000 jumps in his career.

Other stunts included parachuting into an active volcano on the far-eastern Russian peninsula of Kamchatka and landing on a narrow strip of land.

A parachuting trainer for the Russian national team, Vadim Niyazov, told state media that Rozov had always approached his craft very diligently to avoid possibly deadly mistakes but that "we do not have power over fate."