Hugues Orlianges

March 19, 2022 Reunion Island, FRANCE

Hugues Orlianges had become the world champion of contact parachuting in 2012. A soaring parachutist and a skydiving instructor with over ten thousand jumps, he had also made over 800 BASE-jumps across the world over the previous twelve years.

He had been living on Reunion Island for four months, jumping from the island’s peaks with his Squirrel Aura wingsuit..

Ten days before, Orlianges had jumped from the cliff face of 3070-meter Piton des Neiges, the highest point of the island, clearing the ridge to land at Cilaos.

On his last attempt, he tried a new line but just failed to clear the ridge. He struck it in full flight only 2 meters below its top.

Photos: Hugues Orlianges, Federation Francaise de Parachutisme; 2012 FR World Champ Team by Kevin Techer, FFP; Piton des Neiges - Reunion by Dunog, Wikimedia Commons
Video: Hugues Orlianges / Squirrel Wingsuits

From Ghosts of Wind and Cloud by Rick Masters - Vol 10: The Silken Jungle, p 267