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Pair of Utah daredevils capture incredible, high-flying GoPro footage

Posted at 9:43 PM, Aug 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-24 23:43:58-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Incredible GoPro footage shows the view wingsuit pilots have as they're soaring through the sky right here in northern Utah.

It's something that base jumpers couldn't do before, but now technology has caught up with skill.

Fox 13 was there as two wingsuit pilots jumped from Squaw Peak in Rock Canyon.

It was an hour and a half hike up the mountain, but getting down was a lot faster.  Patrick Walker and Hartman Rector, who live in northern Utah, spoke to Fox 13 News about their enthusiasm for the extreme sport.

“Going up to the edge everyone is always a little bit nervous trying to make sure they're making the right decision and conditions are absolutely perfect, but I think the second you let go is relaxing," Patrick Walker said.

Relaxing is not the first word that comes to most people's minds when they think of jumping off the ledge of an 8,000-foot peak.

This was Patrick Walker's view Thursday morning as he created a trail in the air, soaring above the treetops and brushing past the rocky mountainside.

"You have the power in the suit, you can control it and take it wherever you want to, that's where I like it and you can go explore parts of the mountain you don't expect,” Walker said.

It’s a fast experience for the most extreme thrill seekers.

“When we're topped out it’s about a 120 miles per hour forward,” Walker said

Walker has a lot of experience flying in the sky.

“Probably about 1,500 base jumps right now and 7,000 sky dives,” Walker said.

And his friend does too - they became wingsuit daredevils about ten years ago.

“Your first time, yeah, you get really scared and your heart beats really hard in your chest and you're breathing heavy and the whole experience is pretty intense," Hartman Rector said. "After you do it many times all of those physical things settle down."

They've been soaring all over the world from Europe to China, but now these adrenaline junkies can play right in their own backyard, which, despite their extreme skills, they couldn't do a couple of years ago.

“The biggest part is our technology has allowed us to start quick enough to get off these objects,” Walker said.

New suits designed in the last year allow them to go off Squaw Peak and even off some spots in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

“Even people who have been doing it for years and people doing it their whole lives, they would never come here and do this one,” Rector said.

So if you look into the sky on a clear day, you just might see this duo, but first they have a word of caution for those watching.

“I'm pretty sure I’d say safety stuff and don't try this at home, but I think everyone knows that,” Rector said.

The question on everyone's mind: yes this is legal, but there are spots like national parks where such activities aren't allowed.