World-Record Huck!

On January 25, big-air specialist Jamie Pierre surpassed New Zealander Paul Ahern's 225-foot benchmark for the highest cliff drop by a skier. "I just kept falling and falling and falling, Pierre told Skiing shortly after hucking this 245-foot monster in the Grand Targhee, Wyoming, backcountry. "What I did wasn't cool. I'm lucky. I'm still alive thanks to the grace of God.

1 Pierre launched from newly—and aptly—named "Pierre's Point" and pulled a mute grab for the first 70 feet before going "as limp as possible."

2 Pierre's biggest huck to date was a 185-footer in Switzerland. "I thought all cliffs over 100 feet were the same," he says. "I was wrong. This blows away everything I've done in the past."

3 Pierre was leaning as far back as possible to absorb the impact, meaning he couldn't see the landing. "After I thought I was going to land, I fell another 100 feet."

4 As usual, Pierre was helmetless, but, for the first time, he wore a mouth guard. He also wore body armor, and stuffed a towel and an old T-shirt in his backpack for good measure.

5 Victory: Upon landing, Pierre created a 10-foot-deep "bomb hole," from which he emerged uninjured—and relieved. "I got it out of my system," he says. "I'm done. I'll never jump another cliff over 50 feet."

TOTAL DROP: 245 feet
"BOMB HOLE" (not shown): 10 feet deep
TOTAL AIR TIME: 4 seconds and change