KenStornes climbed to the top of a tall tower during a recent livestream and jumped off into a large pile of snow below. He was holding an axe during the entire fall and survived the landing.
The tower stood at an estimated 15 to 20 meters high. To put that in perspective, 20 meters equals about 65 feet or roughly six to seven stories of a typical building. An Olympic diving platform sits at 10 meters—half this height.
The clip shows KenStornes positioned at the top of the structure, preparing to jump while streaming live. He leaps outward with the axe in hand, free-falls through the air, and crashes into the snow pile below. The immediate aftermath shows he survived the impact.
The deep snow likely cushioned the fall significantly. Snow contains air pockets and can compress on impact, which extends the deceleration time compared to hitting solid ground or water. But snow landings remain unpredictable and dangerous.
Several factors make jumping into snow risky even under ideal conditions. Compacted snow or ice layers can behave like a hard surface. Hidden rocks, tree stumps, or debris under the snow create additional hazards. Unknown snow depth means the cushioning effect can vary drastically. Body position on entry matters enormously—landing incorrectly can cause severe spinal, pelvic, or head injuries even on softer surfaces.
Comment
by u/lukigeri from discussion
in LivestreamFail
The axe adds another layer of risk to an already dangerous stunt. Holding any rigid object during a fall can throw off balance mid-air. More critically, there’s a real chance of landing on the object itself or sustaining hand and arm injuries from trying to maintain grip during impact.
Professional cliff divers spend years training and only jump into carefully measured water. They control every aspect of body position and know exactly what they’re landing in. This jump had none of those safeguards.
