By Alexandrea Dahlstrom
Staff Writer
“I’m not going to lie. It was pretty terrifying. I never got that scared before, but I love it. I live for it,” said 25-year-old Kerry Lofy of his recent BASE-jumping experience in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland.
BASE (bridges, antennae, spans and earth) jumping is when the participant jumps off of a fixed object. The extreme, free skier thought maybe he wasn’t ready for this jump. The “jump” was off the Eiger, which is a in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. This infamous cliff is known as Mordwand in German, which literally means “murderous wall.” According to the Guardian in the UK, more than 64 climbers and jumpers have died on the Eiger since 1934. The Eiger is about 14,000 feet above sea level and Lofy would be jumping about 4,000 feet off the mushroom or cliff of the Eiger.
After hours of hiking and climbing up 50-foot cliffs and in some instances having to rope into the remote areas, Lofy knew he was facing one of his biggest challenges to date. Being his first terminal BASE jump – when the jumper reaches the same terminal velocity as a skydiver – Lofy was excited to add the feat to his list of accomplishments.
Unfortunately, the jump didn’t go exactly as planned.
As Lofy was getting ready to jump he began to lose his footing. “I began to fumble and I tripped off the mountain in a forward flip,” Lofy said, “I began to fall into an uncontrollable spin.”
Lofy explained that because of his ability to know where his body is at all times while airborne, experience and athleticism he was able to correct himself. And the only thing he said that was left bruised was his ego.
“All day people would come up to me and say, “You are the guy who front flipped the Eiger. You should be dead.”
Lofy felt the experience was a humbling moment and forced him to take a step back. He shelved his wing suit, a suit that allows BASE jumpers about double the air time as a track suit does, and got back to the track suit until he felt more comfortable.
Lofy wasn’t the only one to have a close call, as one of the girls in the group behind him fell off the cliff about 50 feet before another jumper broke her fall. She suffered a broken leg.
The same night a different female jumper on the trip fell off the cliff and didn’t survive.
“It was really scary,” said Lofy. “My mentor knew her and took it really hard. She was an experienced jumper too.”
Lofy, who also skydives, rock climbs, whitewater rafts and bikes, realizes that with extreme sports comes extreme risk. He said his own close encounter will help him remember to slow down.
Travelling alone and basically being lost the first day, Lofy eventually met up with friends old and new who had also travelled to Switzerland to experience “Disneyland for BASE jumpers.” For the remainder of his business and pleasure trip to Switzerland, Lofy continued to jump and didn’t let his second day experience deter him.
“It was hard to shake off,” Lofy said, but he moved on and continued to do what he loves.
“When I’m about to jump everything disappears. You spend all this time hiking up the mountain, laughing with your friends but when you get there it gets absolutely silent. Everyone begins to concentrate on their jump. It’s what I love about it,” Lofy said.
Although he’s a sponsored, professional skier now, he never thought he’d turn his recreation into a lucrative career.
Permanent vacation
After graduating from Badger High School in 2005, Lofy attended Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs and majored in resort management and continued skiing as he worked on his degree. He competed and won several competitions that year in the National Collegiate Athletic Association and routinely came in at the top 3 or 5 in national competitions. He would go on to take second place at the Red Bull Olympics.
After his first year at school, Lofy decided to come back to Lake Geneva and interned at the Grand Geneva as a hospitality associate. It was then he decided he “just wasn’t into hospitality.”
“I actually wanted to be a doctor and help people,” Lofy said.
He switched his major to biology and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 2009. After graduation and returning to Lake Geneva he began applying to various medical schools and was accepted into several.
It was the summer of 2009 when Lofy said he knew he had to “enter the real world” but also knew skiing was calling him back.
“I decided I wanted to become a permanent vacationer instead of just a vacationer,” said the self-proclaimed “weekend warrior,” and packed his bags and headed back to Steamboat Springs where he currently resides.
He worked as a resident advisor for the Colorado Mountain College and worked part-time in construction. He was able to live and eat for free through his advisor job and save the money he made with his construction job.
While Lofy was perfecting his own skills, he decided he wanted to teach others to ski. He began coaching kids ages 11 through 14 how to free style and then formed his own youth team called “Rocky Mountain Free Ski.”
“I’m really an old soul but young at heart,” said Lofy.
He says he likes to live a laid-back lifestyle but also noted he can be serious when he needs to be. He considers himself an entrepreneur and started his own company.
Lofy owns his own home in Steamboat Springs. He paid for it in full out rooms to help maintain the property even as going as far as renting out his own home and living in his backyard in his own an RV or “caboose” as he calls it.
“It’s not about the money for me,” he said “I just enjoy doing what I love and having a good time along the way.”
Lofy says he likes to stay busy whether its juggling jobs, skiing in competitions, doing appearances for his sponsors or trying to catch up on his laundry.
Back to basics
Lofy grew up in Lake Geneva where his family still lives. He is one of five brothers and has three sisters. All his siblings’ names start with the letter K. His brothers, Kevin, 27, Kory, 24, Kelly, 22, Kasey, 16 and Kiley, 14, are all his biological brothers while his sisters, Keely, 13, Kaleigh, 8, and Kirea, 8 months were adopted. His father Keith teaches landscape design and his mother Colleen is a schoolteacher.
Former classmates may remember Lofy as the one who dared to be different. He once wore a dress to his prom – and got suspended for it, which caused a nationwide buzz. MTV did a movie re-enactment of the incident.
Lofy says he doesn’t regret the incident and wanted to stand up for people and their personal choices.
He always enjoyed being active as a kid and trying out new activities and sports. Although he excelled in nearly all the sports he tried, it was skiing he most enjoyed.
Lofy is claims his life as a single bachelor but doesn’t rule out meeting a special lady someday.
For now he is enjoying the fact is able to live his dream even if he has endured “countless” concussions, and four knees surgeries.
“This last surgery, I remember just getting up and walking out of the room,” he said. Meniscus and cartilage issues aside, Lofy said he won’t let his physical impairments stop him.
Recalling his life-changing jump at the Eiger, Lofy said, “I know it’s dangerous but that’s why it’s soooo fun!”
