Skier Leaps From Hot Air Balloon in Absurd Stunt, Narrowly Avoiding Cliff Below

When it comes to commutes, skiers have one of a few options. Hitting the road in a car decked out with snow tires might be the most popular choice, but depending on where you live, you might turn to public transportation. Buses and trains take some of the stress out of the powder frenzy.

Or, if you’re like skier and mountain biker David Meier, you could instead use a hot air balloon emblazoned with the Hugo Boss logo. Not kidding.

In Two Faced, Meier kicked off his day on the slopes by leaping from said hot air balloon before transitioning to some seasonally confused mountain bike riding. It’s a wild ride.

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Two Faced, of course, makes the all-mountain adventure look a bit more seamless than it actually was. In an Instagram post, Meier shared a behind-the-scenes look at his hot air balloon jump. 

Rather than schussing into a powder field afterwards, Meier actually had to quickly hit the brakes to avoid sliding off a 40-foot cliff. Thankfully, he made it out in one piece.

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Meier’s video follows a long lineage of similar edits where a skier rides the entire mountain, often with some kind of set piece to keep it interesting.

Candide Thovex, notably, is the master of this approach. His One of Those Days videos slowly escalated as the series expanded. By the time Thovex reached episode three, he was jumping over helicopters and waterskiing.

That style was taken to a new level with Thovex’s Ski the World video made in partnership with Audi. In it, he cruised the Great Wall of China, used skis to surf real waves, and straight-lined sandy mountainsides, sans snow. You could call it inspirational, but it’s probably best that this kind of skiing remains the sole domain of Thovex—icy moguls are enough of a pain in the butt for me.

If you’re in the market for another like-minded ski video, Markus Eder’s Ultimate Run is worth watching, too, on the off chance you haven’t seen it already.

Related: How Many Days Do You Ski Each Season? (Poll)