Tim Howell Attempts World Record Jump Off Lhotse

Update: 22nd May.

With the exit covered in cloud and oxygen running low, Tim made the decision not to jump from Lhotse and to bring the expedition to a close. But he and the team leave having established a new route on the mountain plus an invaluable recce for what could be another attempt in future.

Congratulations to Tim, Jon Gupta and the Sherpa team for an inspirational display of human spirit, courage and ultimately wisdom.

Read/Watch: Footage and reflections from Tim's attempt.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.”

World Record Attempt

TIM HOWELL ATTEMPTS WORLD RECORD WINGSUIT BASE JUMP

Tim Howell of the Jöttnar Pro Team aims for a new world record: the highest ever wingsuit BASE jump. His exit point at 8,100m on the Lhotse ridge in the Himalaya exceeds the current record of 7,700m set by Russian Valerei Rozov and exceeds his own highest jump of 6,000m, on Aconcagua in South America.

Adjacent to Mount Everest, Lhotse is the world’s fourth-highest mountain. There is no higher launch point on earth as exits require a particular geometry for wingsuit pressurisation and momentum.

With a 4,000m height differential between exit and landing, and 11km of horizontal distance, this will also potentially be the world’s longest wingsuit BASE jump.

Jöttnar Pro Team

Tim Howell

Former Royal Marines commando, climber, alpinist, wingsuit BASE jumper and key member of the Jöttnar Pro Team. In 2022, Tim became the first person to climb and then BASE jump all six of the Alps’ classic north faces, beginning with the notorious Eiger. Tim has climbed from the Arctic Circle to the Himalaya, logging over 1,100 jumps.

Learn more about Tim

A Calculated Risk

At lower altitudes a wingsuit needs 200m of descent to pressurise. In Aconcagua’s thinner air, 300m was needed. For a comfortable safety margin on Lhotse, Tim plans an initial 400m drop before pressurisation and forward momentum is gained.

“The start of the flight where the suit pressurises with air, creating an aerofoil and forward momentum, takes longer at higher altitudes… so I’ve made a rough estimate of an initial 400m drop. But the Lhotse wall is so big, it's going to give me a huge margin for error.”

Planning a ‘Start Arc’

“A Start Arc is a single point and number that indicates how well you're starting the initial wingsuit flight, normally around 200m down and 200m forwards. On Aconcagua it was longer so potentially on Lhotse’s wall’s at 8,100m it’s 400m down and 400m away from the cliff face. It's a one-to-one 45-degree slope. I'm going to be 350 metres away the first ledge obstacle that comes out to 50m – a comfortable margin.”

Follow Tim Live

Keep track of the journey out and world-record attempt to wingsuit BASE jump off Lhotse through Tim’s and Jöttnar's social channels. You can also track his progress live through his Garmin device:

Finding the First-Ever Exit Point, by Accident…

How do you even discover a potential exit point on Lhotse, such an inaccessible mountain, where the climb is an achievement in itself?

“I used FATMAP for spotting potential exits initially. I saw from the type of rock and how the snow's sticking to the cliff whether the exits had promise. FATMAP’s gradient tools give me an estimated altitude from the top to bottom of the steep cliff sections. Then I flew a helicopter reconnaissance in November last year. I rejected previous options having inadvertently spotted a pillar on the ridge – there it was; there's a jump there.”

Altitude & Weather

Tim’s project will take six weeks, jumping in May after a slow trek from Lukla to Base Camp and an acclimatisation detour to Island Peak at 6,165m. He will reach Lhotse’s summit via Mount Everest’s Camp 4, before descending Lhotse’s eastern ridge to his exit point. Three climbing Sherpas and British Himalayan guide, Jon Gupta, will be in support.

“The summit from Camp 4 is only a 4-hour climb. From the summit we’re in unknown territory - nobody's ever needed to get to where I will exit from.”

Multiple trips to the ridge, using oxygen, are likely before the weather delivers sufficiently calm jumping conditions.

Speed | Time | Distance

Thinner air equals faster speeds. On Aconcagua Tim hit 240kph and is expecting similar on Lhotse, reaching his landing site in Chukhung village, 11km away in just three minutes.

The Stresses and Strains of Flight

"You feel the strain on your body as you’re holding yourself in a stress position and focusing on maintaining your correct line. The longest flight in the world currently is from the Jungfrau. I've jumped it twice. You're in a stress position, putting tension on the suit, for multiple minutes. By the end you're in fatigue for sure!”

An Interview with Tim Howell

Jöttnar co-founder Tommy Kelly interviews Tim Howell ahead of his historic jump.

Flight Tension

"The longest flight in the world at the moment is actually Jungfrau. And I've jumped from Jungfrau twice. By the end of the flight, you're starting to fatigue for sure. You're in a stress position, putting tension on the suit, for at least four or five minutes. So you really feel it by the end, nothing serious, but you definitely feel it."

Cliff Strike

"I learned a lesson when I had a cliff strike three years into base jumping. I had around 250 base jumps at that point... You never just want to go, 'ah, let's do it'. Everything needs to be calm, calculated and considered. "

Full podcast episode coming soon

Enjoying It, Mostly

“People comment on the photos of my face during the flight, saying, ‘Oh, you're looking so serious. You're not enjoying it? If you're not enjoying it, why are you doing it...?’. But I think the enjoyment is in the whole package. The flight is incredible, but I'm really focusing. The enjoyment comes from planning it, from landing, that's when my emotions really come out. During the flight, it's just pure attention."

"I always think that if you look back at when you've had some rough times, some hard times, made the wrong decisions... but if you're happy now then all of those things led to where you are today."

Tim Howell | The Jöttnar Podcast - Episode Coming Soon.

The Science of Wingsuit Base Jumping

Inigo Insurance's insightful 3-part series with Tim Howell.