Last Man Flying
Maxim|June/July 2017

Wingsuit pilot Jokke Sommer has lost more than 40 friends to the sport he loves. But he has no plans to stop soaring.

 

Bill Saporito
Last Man Flying

It’s called Le Pas dans le Vide—Step Into the Void—a tourist attraction at the top of Aiguille du Midi mountain, a ski resort in the French Alps town of Chamonix. If you’re a tourist, you take a cable car and then an elevator to the peak, where you can gaze at the spectacular scenery below.

If you’re Jokke Sommer, you take the same elevator to the top of the mountain—and then you jump. “It’s pretty crazy,” Sommer says. “You’re standing there with the tourists and then you go over. You can fly for three minutes, from 12,000 feet. It’s super trippy, like Alice in Wonderland.”

Sommer is one of the world’s premier wingsuit pilots, in addition to being a BASE jumper, paraglider, free skier/boarder, surfer, and motocross rider. “Lately I’ve have been flying my wingsuit and my speed rider in Chamonix and Switzerland, traveling around Europe, and then in Portugal for some big wave surfing,” he told me when I caught up with him in his native Norway. In a video Sommer posted in January, he was piloting another dangerous toy, a paraglider known as a speed wing, down a slope in Chamonix. Actually, above the slope, while throwing in the occasional 360. His friend Graham Dickinson, another famous flier, posted on Sommer’s Facebook page: “Jokke Sommer tearing it up in paradise on his 8.5 Mirage speed wing. Wish I was their [sic] with you bro, looks so damn fresh.” You could sense the admiring adrenaline junkie in Dickinson’s post.

This story is from the June/July 2017 edition of Maxim.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the June/July 2017 edition of Maxim.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM MAXIMView All
Enzo on the Silver Screen
Maxim US

Enzo on the Silver Screen

Michael Mann’s new biopic of Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver is set to make the legend burn even brighter

time-read
6 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
Some Like it HОТ
Maxim US

Some Like it HОТ

We piloted Ferrari's fantastie new open-topped grand tourer through the craggy hills of Sardinia

time-read
5 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
THE LEGEND OF ENZO
Maxim US

THE LEGEND OF ENZO

DURING HIS LIFETIME FERRARI FORGED THE ENTIRE PANTHEON OF MOTORSPORTS

time-read
7 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
THIS SIDE of PARADISE
Maxim US

THIS SIDE of PARADISE

A landmark new exhibition of Ellen von Unwerth’s work is suitably playful and provocative

time-read
2 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA IN BELIZE 10-MS
Maxim US

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA IN BELIZE 10-MS

The famed director of The Godfather and Apocalypse Now tells us why the Central American country has captured one of the world's greatest imaginations,

time-read
4 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
WEAPONS of WICK
Maxim US

WEAPONS of WICK

Meet master engraver Melissa McMinn, who created Keanu Reeves’ dueling pistols for the hit franchise

time-read
4 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
SUDDENLY This SUMMER
Maxim US

SUDDENLY This SUMMER

Model, influencer and actress Summer Soderstrom is the blonde bombshell we're keeping our eye on

time-read
2 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
VIVA LAS VEGAS
Maxim US

VIVA LAS VEGAS

We wade into the spectacle that was the reborn Las Vegas Grand Prix

time-read
3 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
DRINKING La DOLCE VITA
Maxim US

DRINKING La DOLCE VITA

From pioneering distilling methods to the massive success of Martini Racing, the story of the most iconic name in aperitifs

time-read
5 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024
FIVE-STAR STYLE
Maxim US

FIVE-STAR STYLE

With an impressive roster of ultra-high-net-worth clients, i design powerhouse Rigby Rigby is making waves Bei on the Riviera and beyond

time-read
4 mins  |
Jan Feb 2024