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He is known as Britain's fastest snowboarder and his
latest stunt saw him speed up even more.
Jamie Barrow, who is on the British Snowboard Cross Team, completed a
death-defying stunt in the Swiss resort of St Moritz, as he was towed
behind a commercial aircraft.
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Inspired by old black and white photos of skiers being taxied by an
aircraft slowly around St Moritz Lake over 100 years ago, the
22-year-old decided to try the stunt himself.
The plane, which Barrow was attached to, reached speeds of 78 miles per
hour.
His world's first feat was achieved at the Engadin Airport, in front of
stunning snow covered mountains.
The initial plan was to perform the stunt on the frozen lake of St
Moritz, but with the ice deemed too unstable, the whole operation was
moved to the nearby airport. |
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St Moritz and the Engadin valley are widely recognised as the birthplace
of ski tourism, dating back 150 years.
With temperatures at a crisp -17 degrees and bright sunshine, Barrow
hooked on to the PC12 aircraft, flown by Swiss pilot Duri Jos.
In order for Barrow to complete the stunt, a long strip of snow-covered
grass running parallel to the runway had been piste-bashed for him to
snowboard on while the plane pulled him along.
Timing was also crucial as private aircraft were landing and taking off
throughout the afternoon.
Barrow was taxied to the end of the runway by rope - similar to those
used in wakeboarding - with only a wooden handle to hold on to. |
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Further complicating things, the daredevil wasn't able to snowboard
directly behind the aircraft, so he boarded on the right side of the
plane.
As the plane began to accelerate down the runway, the rope slack
tightened and Barrow sped along the snowy strip in a miraculously
straight line.
Onlookers held their breath as the aircraft powered down the runway
knowing how easy it would be for him to catch an edge and crash to the
tarmac.
However, Barrow kept his calm and composure throughout effortlessly
skidded to a halt once he let go.
And once he'd completed one run successfully, the adrenaline-junkie just
couldn't get enough.
After persuading the pilot to go again, Barrow took two more rides while
hanging onto the aircraft, eventually reaching the impressive 78mph
speed.
An ecstatic Barrow chatted with press after the event, adding that he'd
wished he'd been able to go even faster - should the pilot have been
able to take off - and hinting that there could be a follow up stunt in
the future.
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