Mike Racicot kept a letter with one request should he die: B次元官网网址淚 want to be put back into the air.B次元官网网址�

The five-page handwritten missive the elite BASE jumper had left at his home in B.C. had instructions on what to do with his possessions and his beloved dog, a 10-year-old boxer called Taco.

The 37-year-old B次元官网网址� known as B次元官网网址淭reehouse MikeB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� died on July 26 while on a wingsuit flight in Switzerland.

B次元官网网址淲e were always worried about him, but he was so good about taking care of himself,B次元官网网址� said RacicotB次元官网网址檚 sister, Rachel Polite, who has spent the past few months fulfilling her brotherB次元官网网址檚 wishes. B次元官网网址漀ow weB次元官网网址檙e taking care of him.B次元官网网址�

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As per his final wishes, RacicotB次元官网网址檚 body was cremated and the ashes were sent to family and friends who were to take them on more adventures. A big B次元官网网址渁sh jumpB次元官网网址� was held in Squamish in late August when more than two dozen friends jumped off a cliff. When one opened his parachute, RacicotB次元官网网址檚 ashes burst forth in a giant plume.

His ashes have also been spread on jumps off the Kuala Lumpur Tower in Malaysia, the massive Balinghe River Bridge in China and Trump Tower in Vancouver, among others. Another jump will take place in Mexico on New YearB次元官网网址檚 Eve, and some of his ashes will be taken back to the Swiss mountain where he died.

Racicot earned his B次元官网网址淭reehouseB次元官网网址� nickname for living off-and-on for years in a secret tree house he built on Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler, B.C. He became a journeyman carpenter, a beekeeper B次元官网网址� you had to donate money to a local charity to get some honey B次元官网网址� and worked for a time at Tim Hortons. He hitchhiked across the country several times and rode freight trains for fun.

He spent his early years in Quebec before moving to Arnprior, Ont., in the Ottawa Valley, when he was four years old.

ThatB次元官网网址檚 where he started to skateboard, at age 9, because he felt more comfortable gliding then walking, said his 40-year-old sister. People made fun of his walk due to problems with the arches in his feet.

B次元官网网址淗e had a little bounce in his step when he walked,B次元官网网址� said Polite, so he skated all over the small town. B次元官网网址淗e became really good, really quick.B次元官网网址�

The family soon moved to Barrhaven, an Ottawa suburb, where, as a teen, Racicot advocated for a skate park that would later become a favourite haunt for the youngster and his friends.

His father tried putting Racicot in football, but that didnB次元官网网址檛 take.

B次元官网网址淚 say to Mike, B次元官网网址楾o be good at this, you have to hit the other guys,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Al Racicot says. B次元官网网址淗e didnB次元官网网址檛 have that in him.B次元官网网址�

His adventurous spirit couldnB次元官网网址檛 be contained, his family said. He jumped out of trees and soon began jumping off bridges, some 35 metres high, into the water below.

B次元官网网址淭he first time I really met him he was doing flips off the roof of the community centre into the snow,B次元官网网址� said Adam Myers, his childhood friend.

Together, Racicot and Myers started a graffiti collective B次元官网网址� called DBS crew B次元官网网址� that left their marks across the city.

B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檙e in Ottawa, Mike is a legend,B次元官网网址� Myers said. B次元官网网址淎ll they knew is this guy started DBS, moved out west, lived in a tree fort and became a BASE jumper.B次元官网网址�

On his 18th birthday, Racicot asked his father for a skydiving session. Al Racicot complied. The father, son and Myers drove to Arnprior where Racicot went up in a plane and jumped.

B次元官网网址淗e was so stoked, you could see it in his eyes,B次元官网网址� said Myers.

At 20, Racicot dropped out of college.

B次元官网网址淗e wasnB次元官网网址檛 the greatest one in school,B次元官网网址� his father said, B次元官网网址渂ut, boy, could he work.B次元官网网址�

Most of all, Racicot wanted adventure. So at 23, he packed up everything he owned, including his skateboard, stuffed it onto a small Yamaha scooter and headed west.

The scooter maxed out at 60 km/h through the flats of the Prairies and chugged uphill at 40 km/h through the Rockies, his lifeB次元官网网址檚 belongings weighing him down. It took him a month to get to British Columbia. Drivers gave him the finger the entire ride, his sister said.

But rent in Whistler, even when he lived in someoneB次元官网网址檚 closet, was too much. With his burgeoning carpentry skills, Racicot built a tree house on the side of a cliff, attached to trees.

B次元官网网址淗e stole all the materials, the wood, the nails, everythingB次元官网网址� from construction sites in Whistler, said Myers.

Inside, there was room for a double bed and compartments for clothes. Outside, he had a small grill. He covered the Seussian house with a green tarp for camouflage.

He then built an addition for visitors B次元官网网址� a platform with a tent B次元官网网址� and when Myers visited the home, he asked about the slash marks through the tarp.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes bears walk on the roof,B次元官网网址� Racicot told him. Myers slept little that week when he stayed with his friend.

Racicot had friends working in the villageB次元官网网址檚 numerous hotels where heB次元官网网址檇 go for a shower as the maids cleaned a room, then grabbed grub from the free continental breakfast, and exercised in the gym.

The tree house B次元官网网址� as teens, Myers and Racicot had dreamed about building a treefort hotel that looked like the Ewok Village in the Star Wars movie B次元官网网址漅eturn of the JediB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� became synonymous with Racicot.

About 10 years ago, Racicot got into BASE jumping, which involves jumping with a parachute off buildings, cliffs, or bridges. He moved to Squamish, considered by many to be among the most important areas for BASE jumping in Canada, where heB次元官网网址檇 often start his day with a jump off the Stawamus Chief, a mountain 700 metres above Howe Sound where BASE jumping is legal.

B次元官网网址淗e was the chief of the Chief,B次元官网网址� said Philip Moessinger, a jumper who also learned under the tutelage of Racicot. B次元官网网址淓veryone knows Treehouse in B.C.B次元官网网址�

Racicot jumped 969 times in his life, his sister said, with more than 500 jumps at the Chief, as it is known colloquially.

His peers say Racicot was one of the best all-around BASE jumpers in the world. He could also perform aerials and flew incredible distances with a wingsuit.

The sport is intoxicating, his friends say.

B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e literally flying,B次元官网网址� said Moessinger. B次元官网网址漈he feeling you get out of it, the joy, the high, is unbelievable. Treehouse felt that too.B次元官网网址�

Racicot was among the rarefied air of jumpers who were sponsored.

B次元官网网址淗e did it all, and did it all well and that made him impressive and unique among his peers,B次元官网网址� says Joe Putrino, who works for Apex BASE, a parachute company that sponsored Racicot.

On July 26, Moessinger and Racicot stood at the top of Chaserrugg mountain with the Swiss town of Walenstadt sitting below. The sun shone down that afternoon as wispy clouds rolled by. The pair had just jumped off the mountain that morning and were back up to fly another line in their wingsuits B次元官网网址� RacicotB次元官网网址檚 suit bearing a giant image of his dog, Taco, on the front. They planned to soon meet three other friends from Canada for a jumping tour around Europe.

Moessinger jumped first with Racicot in tow. They flew between three-to-10 metres off the steep ground. At one point, Racicot flew underneath his friend and took the lead.

B次元官网网址淚t was a great flight,B次元官网网址� Moessinger said.

They came out of the flight line, the exit named B次元官网网址淔atal AttractionB次元官网网址� where the terrain drops off, and the point at which they would fly toward the landing area where they would pull their parachutes.

Racicot didnB次元官网网址檛 pull his parachute.

B次元官网网址淗e just disappeared in the trees,B次元官网网址� Moessinger said as he fell silent.

No one knows what happened to Racicot in that flight.

His death has left a void in the jumping community around the world and with his family in Ottawa. His father, a devout Baptist, struggles with his sonB次元官网网址檚 loss. Prayer usually helps, but it didnB次元官网网址檛 that first night without his boy.

B次元官网网址淭he most difficult time I had was the night I heard Mike had died,B次元官网网址� his father said through tears. B次元官网网址淚 believe that we pray for people while theyB次元官网网址檙e alive and we make our decisions while we live. That night, as I was going through the names of our family members and friends and got to Mike, I realized I didnB次元官网网址檛 have to pray for him anymore.B次元官网网址�

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press

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