Remember that first moment you stood on a high-dive board at the local pool?

Ten feet up, maybe fifteen if you were brave? Your heart raced, your breath caught, and you asked yourself, Am I really going to do this? Now, multiply that fear by nearly twenty.

Picture yourself standing on a platform 192.9 feet above a natural pool carved into the Swiss Alps, the roar of a waterfall echoing in your ears. That’s where Laso Schaller found himself—before launching into a world record.

On August 4, under the shadow of an approaching storm and with a crowd of spectators holding their breath, Laso Schaller made history by completing the highest cliff jump ever recorded.

The high (and highly impressive) Cascata del Salto

Plummeting from 58.8 meters (that’s just shy of 193 feet), he reached a top speed of 123 km/h (76 mph) and hit the water after a hang time of 3.58 seconds. It was a moment of extraordinary human daring—and extraordinary preparation.

Schaller, 27 at the time, is no stranger to heights. The Brazilian-born, Swiss-raised canyoning expert has a long list of “first descents” to his name, often navigating remote rivers and waterfalls using ropes and harnesses.

But sometimes, ropes are too slow. Schaller has gained a reputation as the most fearless in his sport, routinely launching himself from cliffs of 80, 95, even 115 feet.

“Once you get above 80 feet, everything starts to look and feel the same,” he says. “The only difference is the airtime.”

But 193 feet? That kind of leap is something else entirely.

The jump on endless repeat…

Set in the picturesque Ticino region of southern Switzerland, the Cascata del Salto waterfall above the town of Maggia is as beautiful as it is imposing. When summer rains feed the falls, the area transforms into a natural amphitheater.

That’s where Schaller and his team set their sights—not just on a jump, but on pushing the boundaries of what a human body can endure.

This wasn’t a reckless stunt. Schaller and his crew planned every detail. First, they constructed a platform to give him the right projection from the cliff face, ensuring he’d clear the rocks.

Then, they dove into the pool with scuba gear, placing six tanks to aerate the water and soften his landing. They even ran a series of tests by dropping rocks from the platform, checking the fall line and timing the impact.

Schaller may look more surfer than scientist, but he approaches these jumps with the precision of both.

He understands the physics at play: how speed increases with height, how water resistance works, how to “push” in the milliseconds before impact to reduce the force.

“It’s best when I’m a little warmed up,” he notes. “If I’m too relaxed, I won’t tense up enough when I land.”

And land he did—feet-first, slightly leaning forward, hands clasped in front of his hips to absorb the pressure on his face. It’s a delicate balance between relaxation and rigidity.

From a height of nearly 200 feet, the human body must hit the water in a perfectly vertical line to avoid catastrophic injury. Schaller, thanks to years in the gym and pool (his mother was a gymnast), pulled it off.

Arms out for control

But even with all that prep, things didn’t go exactly to plan.

As the jump time approached, an unexpected storm darkened the sky.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. Film crews scrambled to cover thousands of dollars in equipment with flimsy plastic bags, and some in the crowd considered heading home.

Then Laso appeared, calm and focused. He looked over the ledge—and jumped.

The sound of the impact echoed like a gunshot. He had overshot the aerated zone and landed in harder water, creating a potentially dangerous situation.

His canyoning partner rappelled down instantly, others dove in, and for a few tense seconds, no one knew what had happened.

Then Schaller surfaced.

Look closely and you can see him…

A bit shaken, he was quickly brought to shore and checked by medics.

Though his landing had yanked his right leg and possibly momentarily dislocated his hip, he was smiling soon after. The danger had passed. The record was set.

Schaller’s feat was more than just a thrill-seeking stunt.

It was a moment of human achievement, a merging of athleticism, science, and pure willpower.

His jump from Cascata del Salto is now etched in history—and in the minds of everyone who witnessed a man conquer nearly 200 feet of air and fear.

“I know exactly how I’m going to land,” he said beforehand. And he did—into the record books.

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