“I would never let my son ride a motorcycle”

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Above us jagged limestone peaks jut into the sky. Paragliders draw spirals with their colorful umbrellas through the last rays of the sun, a mountain biker pushes his bicycle past our table. We are sitting in a café in the village of Le Châble VS in Lower Valais. Géraldine Fasnacht lives a little further in Verbier.

Miss Fasnacht, when was the first time you jumped off a mountain?
Geraldine Fasnacht: That was 22 years ago. I climbed to a top with an overhanging cliff, 250 meters high. I remember it well, nature was beautiful. Then I jumped, right next to a waterfall. I saw the water drops falling at the same rate as me. An incredible experience.

Do you actually have time to look around?
And how! When you jump, time is different. A second becomes an eternity – you notice every detail. As soon as I opened my parachute, I knew: this is it.

your new passion.
Precisely. I was then looking for a sport with which I could train in the mountains in the summer after the snowboard season and which I enjoyed as much as freeriding. I already had 300 jumps from the plane and a lot of training.

What is the difference between skydiving and base jumping?
When parachuting from an airplane, the body lies directly on a cushion of air due to the relative wind. For the first three seconds you hardly feel that you are falling. BASE jumping is about jumping from solid objects – because you have no relative wind, you have to compensate for the lack of support in the air with good body balance. In both air sports you land with a parachute.

But you don’t fall into the wingsuit. They dive into the depths like a flying squirrel.
My wingsuit is an extra piece of equipment. A suit with wings that inflate with air during flight. It also allows me to fly level and in trajectory before pulling the parachute.

Last summer I jumped less than five meters from a railway bridge into a river. I was terrified and felt like I was about to jump to my death. Do you have that too?
Yes, but only with water. That’s why I don’t even jump in a pool. BASE jumping is different: when you jump, you fly. But first you need as much training as possible. Not with YouTube videos – you have to experience it, learn how your body reacts in the air while skydiving or in the wind tunnel. Being able to move in the air in a controlled manner is incredibly difficult. There is no room for error in base jumping.

Isn’t that very busy? When I think about how many mistakes are made every day in other professions.
It’s a big responsibility. If you are not perfectly prepared for it, you should definitely stay grounded. You have to be in top shape, know nature and be able to analyze the sky and weather perfectly. Training also includes having a B, C, and D plan for all contingencies. If you don’t, you’ll panic and make mistakes that could be fatal. If I feel the slightest bit of uncertainty, I don’t jump.

So it’s less about overcoming your fear?
No. As in many situations in life, you should only dare to do something if you are really ready. If not, you must have the courage to say no. Even if you have been looking forward to the jump for a long time, have prepared everything and climbed a mountain for hours.

Your house is in the mountains. However, you grew up near Lausanne.
Correct. My parents were crazy about skiing, we went to Verbier every holiday and weekend. At one point I had as many friends there as I had down there. My parents always wanted to drive home before rush hour. But I came back from the slopes way too late because I didn’t want to leave Verbier. Then I cried in the car. My parents didn’t have it easy with me (laughs).

So you decided to move to Verbier.
Not directly, first I lived in Lausanne for a few years and worked at Geneva airport. I loved working there, but one day I quit to have more time for freeride training.

How did it go with your parents?
My father hasn’t spoken to me for three months. I resigned from a good job that I loved to snowboard. I couldn’t explain why. But I knew it was good. So I moved to a studio in Verbier where I trained every morning. I worked in the travel agency in the afternoon and in a pizzeria until midnight. I didn’t have any sponsors then. In the same year I won the final of the Verbier Xtreme, the grand finale of the Freeride World Tour – the biggest freeride tour ever and the most extreme competition in the world. My father was so happy for me that he burst into tears. He understood my decision.

Do you sometimes miss the city?
Not at all. I liked living in Lausanne, but I like it when it’s very quiet and I can enjoy the mountains. It is especially beautiful now, spring is blooming, everything is so green. When I leave my house, I am in the middle of nature. I would never move from Verbier again.

What do you respect more, the snowboard or the wingsuit?
Clearly for freeriding. You can be the best snowboarder or the best mountain guide in the world: snow is snow, you can never know 100 percent. One day you could be wrong and get caught in an avalanche.

They continue to set groundbreaking records. However, you don’t like the term “extreme”. Why not?
To me, it’s extreme when you do something you’re not adequately prepared for. If you are afraid, if you feel that something could happen to you. But yes, for someone with a desk job, my job may seem extreme.

What scares you?
Cycling in the city. I never cycle on streets where there are cars – let alone motorcycles.

Because of the cars?
Exactly, I’m afraid they don’t see me or people get distracted. For me that is “extreme” and too unpredictable. I don’t want to expose myself to this danger.

You lost people to the mountains that were very close to you. Her husband crashed in 2006 while speedflying a paraglider. In 2016, your freeride student was killed in an avalanche right before your very eyes. Were you afraid to jump or snowboard again afterwards?
Yes, it was hard to get up after such a hard beating. But I lost people very dear to me, even in car accidents or terrible diseases. Watching her excruciating pain was almost unbearable for me. I’m not saying it’s better to lose your loved ones in the mountains. But I’m glad they were happy until the last minute and were able to do what they love to do.

Your current husband, Simon Fasnacht, is also a base jumper. Three years ago you both became parents. How has this new role affected your profession?
Many friends have asked me if I will stop once I become a mother. I said I don’t know. I need to see how it feels to hold this little baby in my arms.

And?
I’ve decided not to open any more cliffs. That’s what they say when you jump off a mountain no one has ever jumped off before. I always did and in many places in the world. But it takes a lot of time, sometimes I was on the road for days to find new peaks, to train, to analyze the mountain and the distances before the jump. I don’t want to be away from my son for so long. We prefer to enjoy the mountains together.

How would you like it if he wants to base jump too?
Well, let’s put it this way, I’d rather see him become a golfer or a tennis player (laughs). But of course I wish him to find his passion. And if those are the mountains, I will support him. The only thing I wouldn’t allow is riding a motorcycle. I think I must die of fear of him.

Source : Blick