College Football

Les Miles rappels down 24-story Baton Rouge building for charity

The Mad Hatter trades in his baseball cap for a helmet cam.

By Patrick Vint May 30, 2013, 10:16pm EDT

LSU head football coach Les Miles rappelled down a 24-story building in Baton Rouge Thursday on behalf of Over the Edge for Adoption, an adoption-awareness campaign. The always enigmatic Miles traded in his trademark hat for a helmet cam, recording the experience of haltingly creeping down the One American Place building and briefly getting stuck ten stories from the ground. WBRZ has video of the descent here.

The LSU football Twitter account and LSU sports information director Bill Martin also provided pictures and Vine movies of Miles' daring descent. Here, Miles is looking chesty while preparing to go to the top of the building:

.@lsucoachmiles is here and about to head up to the top of One American Place to rappel down. twitter.com/LSUfball/statu…
— LSU Football (@LSUfball) May 30, 2013

From there, Miles went into the building, got a quick lesson from a self-professed Alabama fan (he didn't tell Miles until the Mad Hatter was hanging over the building), and put on his rappelling helmet:

Coach Miles putting on equipment before he heads to the top of the building to rappel down. twitter.com/LSUfball/statu…
— LSU Football (@LSUfball) May 30, 2013

We have made it to the roof! With @lsutigerstadium in distance @lsucoachmiles getting ready to rappel. twitter.com/LSUfball/statu…
— LSU Football (@LSUfball) May 30, 2013

Miles then took off down the building, making the day of at least three ergonomically conscious LSU fans working in the building:

Photo from inside the building of @lsucoachmiles. (via former @lsubaseball player @jlfaircloth) twitter.com/LSUPublication…
— LSUPublications (@LSUPublications) May 30, 2013

Eventually, after one pulley malfunction that could have led to a criminal investigation of the Alabama fan running the rappelling operation, Miles made it back to solid ground. There's no word on whether he tasted that ground upon his return.

Further photos and videos of Miles' trip are available at LSUSports.net, the Times-Picayune, and WAFB. More information on Over the Edge for Adoption is available at the Louisiana Family Forum.