Not a bird, or a plane
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E-mail China Daily, June 6, 2012
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Corlisso rockets through a hole on Tianmen Mountain in September 2011.[China Daily] |
He had strong feelings it would be his future. He would do whatever it took.
At 18, Corliss began skydiving training to prepare for BASE jumping.
From skydiving, BASE jumping to wingsuit flying, it took tens of thousands of jumps and injuries. A daredevil in many people's eyes, Corliss never fears talking about fear.
"I am scared of the same things other people are scared of."
The first time he jumped off a plane, he admits he was "scared to death".
"But you cannot stop doing something you love just because it scares you. You live with your fear, control it and use it to make more careful preparations."
When he smacked into the rock on Table Mountain, he did have a quick thought that maybe he was going to die. He has seen friends die.
Australian wingsuiter Dwain Weston, known for his daring low-altitude acrobatics, was a mentor to Corliss. In October 2003, they planned to do a combo jump from a plane flying above Colorado's Royal Gorge Bridge.
Weston struck the bridge railing, which tore his body in half. Corliss kept flying but when he landed, he was covered in Weston's blood.
"Dwain was doing what he loved," Corliss says. "I guarantee you he would prefer dying like that than he would in a car accident, or from cancer or from almost any other way of dying."
What matters in life, Corliss believes, is not how long it is, but what one does in the limited time available.
"Once you accept the fact that there is no stopping death, you don't let death stop you from doing things you love."
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