Just saw this from yesterday's Daily Record. How awful......
(apologies if its been mentioned already on teh forum - I did a search but couldn't find anything about it)
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Old Man of Hoy base jumper dies in Swiss cliff plunge
Jun 7 2008 Exclusive by Charlie Gall
ONE of three base jumpers who created history by parachuting off the Old Man of Hoy has been killed in a cliff plunge in Switzerland.
Gus Brown, Tim Emmett and Roger Holmes made their daring leap off the 450ft Orkney landmark last month.
The trio then set off for a summer of base jumps - where the parachute is only pulled as the thrillseekers hurtle towards the ground - at some of the best and most dangerous locations across Europe.
But just days into the adventure, Gus died when a jump off cliffs atMeiringen in Switzerland went disastrously wrong.
It is thought he pulled the cord too late after trying to glide clear of power lines on the way down and his chute could not get fully pressurised.
Tim, who did the Old Man of Hoy base jump with London-based Gus, saw his pal plummet to his death in Switzerland.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Tim, a Bristol TV presenter, said: "They were only two days into their European trip when Tim's friend Gus died. Tim is still over there and they have suspended all jumps.
"Tim is devastated. He has lost a good friend.
"It's a real shock because everything had been going so well for them."
The Old Man of Hoy leap had taken the trio more than three years' planning.
They spent seven hours climbing the red sandstone tower - and took 10 seconds to get back down again.
The pals, who had made 1000 base jumps between them, said the Old Man was the most difficult they had ever attempted.
Afterwards, team leader Tim, 30, told the Record: "It was totally awesome and well worth the effort.
"The idea was to get to the top and have the time of our lives.
"It was an awesome climb, very atmospheric, tough and unique."
