Alaskan prepping to become a pro cliff diver

According to a long profile from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Jim Ahiers of Fairbanks, a former state diving champion for North Pole High School, is back in training at 36 years old. His goal? To become a professional cliff diver on the Red Bull tour, or as he put it to the News-Miner, "fame and fortune." We suspect that's not the only reason, though; Ahiers made it clear that he has been hooked on thrills for a long time. He and a high school friend used to climb an extended drag-line crane and dive more than 50 feet into the deep end of a gravel pit (but don't get any ideas, kids; you're not all from North Pole and thus indestructible). Whether or not Ahiers gets the chance to jump from tall places professionally depends a great deal on his performance in his first competition next month. He sent in an entry video of his diving and was given permission to enter the European Open Cliff Diving Championship in Switzerland. A trip to Europe won't be cheap, however, and the Fairbanks Moose Lodge is holding a spaghetti feed and silent auction next Saturday to help him put together the cash. Ahiers even sold his truck to help pay. Read much more, here. Alaska Beat's favorite part was the description of how different Ahiers's physique is from most competitors he'll be facing.