Famous pioneer of ski-BASE jumping Shane McConkey died in an accident during a ski-BASE jump at the mountain Sass Pordoi in the Dolomites of Italy in 2009 when he was unable to release his skis before deploying his parachute. The mountain was 600 metres above ground level and located next to the renowned ski resort of Corvora. After performing a double back-flip from the cliff face, he was flipped upside down due to a technical issue with releasing his skis. McConkey was unable to release the parachute prior to reaching the ground. He was 39 years old. McConkey had already BASE jumped the same cliff the year before and was yet to attempt a ski-BASE jump from the mountain.