Two individuals recently proved that you’re never too old to cross a pulse-pounding, adrenalin-surging adventure off of your bucket list.
While some people have dreams of reaching for the clouds and beyond, 70-year-old Ivan Trifonov just made history by going in the opposite direction. The Austrian native and hot-air balloon enthusiast obtained a Croatian passport and successfully piloted his craft almost 700 feet down into the Earth landing at the bottom of Mamet Cave in the Velebit Mountains. Trifonov already holds four Guinness records and will probably get a fifth one for this since…well, no one has ever done it before.
Custom designed for this trip, the balloon was smaller than usual and, instead of a basket, Trifonov sat on two gas tanks connected by steel pipes.
Over in Suffolk, England, Nora Brier celebrated her birthday by doing something a little less spectacular. She performed a loop-de-loop in a stunt glider. Many people have done this before. But, Nora is 100 years old. Flying with the Anglia Gliding Club, Nora’s instructor let her have the stick for half of the flight. After her thrilling excursion, the centenarian said she would also like to ride in a race car.
