Although Eric Jones has achieved so much, it has been hard work trying to track the information down and get the whole story. It has taken us a wee while to get the information below, so if you have any more info, please drop us an email.
Come on Eric, when are we going to be able to visit the "Eric Jones" website!?!
Eric Jones started his adventures in the 1960s and has continued into the 21st Century.
As a boy he had always been interested in parachuting and skydiving, so when it was time to sign up, he decided to join the Parachute Regiment. Unfortunately, due to an earlier injury, caused by a motorbike accident, he was unable to join the Paras, so instead joined the Military Police.
In the 1960s, after doing his national service, Eric followed his dreams and took up skydiving. Since then Eric's list of achievements have just kept growing.
Although Eric was now an accomplished skydiver, his first love was climbing. He has climbed the Matterhorn, the South Col on Everest and even solo climbed the awesome North Face of the Eiger. This is said to be one of the toughest climbs in Europe!!
Along with the climbing, Eric was still doing his skydiving and had now discovered BASE jumping. (This is parachuting from fixed structures - Building, Antena/aerial, Span and Earth.)
Although we cannot find much information on this story, it appears that in 1989 Eric did the first ever BASE jump from the Eiger.
In 1998, aged 61, Eric Jones BASE jumped from the highest waterfall in the world - Angel Falls in Venezuela. This was caught on camera and can be seen in the documentary film "The Man Who Jumped To Earth". Before doing this jump, Eric did several practice jumps from hot air balloons, to practice jumping from zero speed. There is a big difference between jumping from a plane, than from jumping from a static point.
If that was not enough, in 2003, aged 66, Eric BASE jumped into the Mexican "Cave of the Swallows". Yet again, this was captured on film in "The Man Who Jumped Beneath The Earth".
The "Cave of the Swallows", or to give it it's correct title "Sótano de las Golondrinas", was first jumped into by the late, great, French skydiver, skysurfer, BASE jumper Patrick De Gayardon. He jumped into the cave from a helicopter. (Patrick was also well known for his work with the now famous "wing suit".)
As well as the above, Eric has paraglided, flown in a balloon over Everest, skydived on to the North Pole and been Sean Connery's stunt double!!
This unassuming legend can be found at his "climber's" cafe in Tremadog, near the coastal town of Porth Madog in North Wales!
If anyone out there knows of a website where people can find more out about Eric Jones or would like to tell us more about this legend, please drop us an email.
Also, if anyone has a spare copy of any of Eric's films, please let us know! |
