Despite the fact that this is a very good story, I will not be reading it again. The mere thought of it makes my throat tighten. I honestly get claustrophobic just thinking about it. I do encourage others to read it though, and share in the horror.

That article was, literally, breathtaking and well worth reading. Thanks for sharing, NA.

Very scary. And well written.

I'm not clear, though, on what's "nearly unbelievable". They knew it was a very risky thing, and if something went wrong they knew death was a distinct possibility...

I'm not sure what's unbelievable either. It seems as though it's something that they had predicted could happen - not the outcome they were hoping for, but certainly one they had a backup plan for.

Sad for all concerned. What a weird sport, extreme diving. In one way, it seems like just an incredible waste - not just of life, but of all the time, energy, gear, fuel, coordination it took to do this.

What a weird sport, extreme diving. In one way, it seems like just an incredible waste - not just of life, but of all the time, energy, gear, fuel, coordination it took to do this.

I think it seems fucking awesome, personally.

But then, I have no sense at all. None whatsoever.

It's a damn good thing I'm so poor. If I'd had any amount of money when I was in my twenties, I probably would have brought my life to an end doing something equally nutty. Skydiving. Exploring the Amazon. Some shit like that.

My wallet has more sense than I do. And we can all be grateful for that.

(Great link, by the way. Thanks for posting that, NA!)

Such a sad yet somehow uplifting story, mainly I think because Shaw comes across as such an inspirational person. That sounds weird given what happened, but that was the effect it had on me.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation did a remarkable story on the dive a few years back. It doesn't seem to be accessible through their web site, but I'm sure there are copies out there.

Fantastic story, but DAMN, the way it's laid out kind of spoils it.

Still, incredibly compelling -- so much so that I waited a good half hour for my morning snack because I didn't want to leave the story. God, my life is boring.

In one way, it seems like just an incredible waste - not just of life, but of all the time, energy, gear, fuel, coordination it took to do this.

Pursuit of extravagant fun (for lack of better word) can always be seen as an incredible waste. The Indie 500 and similar vehicular endurance tests seem like a terrible use of so many resources to me, but I don't see people being convinced to give their money to charity instead of having expensive (and dangerous) fun.

Personally, I think extreme diving can be informative in regards to the distances the human body can be pushed, and how it might respond to those extremes. And I think it sounds frickin' awesome, but that's just me.

Sure, I guess, and you're right that whether you're a helicopter stunt pilot or an extreme diver or whatever, there's a lot of waste. I still find this kind of "extravagant fun" narcissistic, though.

hm, I suppose I should return my fullface helmet then, and give up on pursuing downhill MTB racing this summer? :P

haters gotta hate. adrenaline junkies gotta junk. The world goes on.