captioning funded by cbs and ford-- built for the road ahead. >> kroft: tonight, on this special edition of "60 minutes presents," "going to extremes." >> three, two, one. one to base. >> kroft: there he goes. a small group of extreme sportsmen wearing specially made wing suits have come about as close to flying as you can get outside the confines of an airplane, at least for a minute or two. you can hear them already. >> yeah.

>> that was probably about 140, 150 mile-an-hour fly-by. >> right when he pulls into that crack, that's like the point of no return. it becomes world-class right there. >> logan: i don't even like the sound of that, "the point of no return." alex honnold is 2,600 feet above the yosemite valley floor, trying to haul himself up the slippery granite wall of sentinel without any ropes or safety harnesses. it's just the climber, an impossible angle, and the wind. it's called free soloing, and the penalty for error is certain death. >> cooper: mike rutzen is one of just a few people in the world who would do this with a great white shark. and that's just for starters. whoa! oh, my god! >> that's what i'm talking about. >> cooper: with blood in the water and great whites swirling around, he gets in with them-- no cage, no protection.

how does he survive it and what could possibly be his motivation? >> how do you feel? >> cooper: i feel good. we went in the water with him to find out. [ female announcer ] the next generation of investing technology is now within your grasp with the all-new e-trade 360 investing dashboard. e-trade 360 is the world's first investing homepage that shows you where all your investments are and what they're doing with free streaming quotes, news, analysis and even your trade ticket. everything exactly the way you want it, all on one page. transform your investing with the all-new e-trade 360 investing dashboard. transfo♪ your investing ♪ ♪

♪ that should do it. enjoy your new shower. [ door opens, closes ] two. three. one. two. and, three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn more cash back for the things you buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% cash back on groceries. 3% back on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. it's as easy as one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. it's bring your happiness to work day. campbell's microwavable soups. in three minutes -- the deliciousness that brings a smile to any monday. campbell's --

it's amazing what soup can do. >> kroft: good evening. i'm steve kroft and welcome to "60 minutes presents." there are, in this world, people driven to take risks, and we've met many of them over the years on "60 minutes." where most people see fear, these adventurers seek fulfillment by going to extremes.

tonight, a few of our favorites. for hundreds of years, fully- grown adults and very young children have dreamed about flying. people have made wings out of feathers and wood and jumped off buildings and cliffs in order to soar like a bird. and a lot of them have died trying. now, a small group of extreme sportsmen wearing specially-made wing suits have come about as close as you can get to flying outside the confines of an airplane, at least for a minute or two. some people call them "birdmen." we first learned about them on the internet. the pictures we saw were so spectacular, we decided a couple of years ago to assemble some of the sport's top athletes, and mount a small expedition with the latest high-definition cameras to one of the most beautiful places on earth to see what this is all about. >> tom eric heiman: three, two, one. one to base. >> kroft: there he goes.

>> j.t. holmes: he's going to come around the corner. oh, he's high. nice. >> kroft: you can hear him already. >> holmes: yeah. ( laughs ) sweet! you feel that? >> kroft: j.t. holmes is an american, a professional skier from lake tahoe. >> julian boulle: man! i got, like, little goose bumps from that speed, eh! >> kroft: julian boulle is a south african living in france, a skydiver and aerial photographer par excellence. and that's tom eric heiman, one of our norwegian hosts darting across the valley. >> holmes: i just love just feeling that speed and watching stuff go by. it's just... it's... >> kroft: and how fast are you going? >> holmes: that was probably about 140, 150 mile-an-hour fly- by. >> kroft: that sound was amazing. >> holmes: did you feel it? >> kroft: yeah. >> holmes: it's so cool to watch. i can just... whoosh!

>> kroft: if you want to do this, there is no better time or place than the romsdal valley of norway during the summer solstice, a paradise of fjords and farms several hundred miles northwest of oslo. myth has it that norway's trolls live here amidst the waterfalls and some of the tallest, sheerest cliffs in europe. norwegians have been parachuting off them for decades. birdmen take the extreme sport to new extremes, dropping off a cliff and free falling until the air inflates the wings of their nylon suits and propels them forward. >> holmes: the dive creates the speed. and you use that speed to glide out and, you know, fly flatter. >> kroft: gravity makes it impossible for them to go up or even maintain altitude. for every two feet j.t. glides forward, he drops a foot. but the suit allows him to stay aloft three times longer than a skydiver. >> holmes: within a few seconds, of course, that suit... that wind is going to fill up that suit. it's going to pressurize and

you're going to have total control. >> kroft: how long have you been doing this? >> holmes: five years. >> kroft: what's special about the wing suits? >> holmes: mm, you know, it... it's just like so many children dream. it's flying. >> kroft: you feel like you're flying? >> holmes: well, i am flying. ( laughs ) so, yes, i do very much feel like i'm flying. >> kroft: like a bird? >> holmes: yeah. just like a bird. a bird that can't flap his wings and go up. the birds probably laugh at us. they're probably just like, "look at these guys." >> kroft: they have long grown bored of simply flying over the valleys. in order to maximize the sensation of speed, they need a visual reference point, so they fly just a few feet from the rock face. sometimes, you're flying so close to these cliffs, it looks like you could reach out and touch them, and you are going 100 miles an hour, 140 miles an hour. >> holmes: yes. >> kroft: there's not much margin for error there. >> holmes: it feels entirely in control. and the speed actually increases

your stability and it increases your safety margin, because with the speed that we're flying with, you can create lift. and you know, you can pop up and fly away at any time. there's margin there. ready, set, go! >> kroft: how quickly can you turn? >> holmes: i don't even know how to turn. you just do it. you just... you know, you just look where you want to go and you just go there. and you just feel it and go. you're like, "yeah, let's go fast. this feels good. the faster i go, the more control i have." and you just charge with it. >> kroft: to the extent that j.t. and the others ever get nervous, it usually comes at a time that many people might consider one of the most mundane legs of the trip-- when the end is in sight. what is the most dangerous part of this? >> holmes: the most important thing is to open that parachute, you know. just that moment, when you reach back and throw the... the pilot

chute out there, which extracts your parachute. that's the most critical thing. i mean, if you don't do that, you're not going to live through it. >> kroft: but getting down the mountain, which only takes a minute or so, is just part of the extreme sport. the much longer and more arduous part involves scaling the mountains you are going to jump off in the first place. how long does it take to get up to the ledge where you go from? >> holmes: this one's about an hour and a half. but, you know, some of them are up to four, five, six hours for the big, big mountains around here. >> kroft: there are no chair lifts, which explains why j.t., julian, and tom erik are members of such a small and exclusive club. you have to be a skilled climber, an accomplished skydiver, and an experienced outdoorsman to even attempt to do this. >> holmes: you know, it... that... it's that first view, looking over the edge that really hits you. you're like, "whoa, cool. this is an amazing spot to fly." >> boulle: money can't buy you this experience.

you've got to have the passion to do your time. if you haven't done the time, you just can't get there. you can't arrive with, like, $10,000 and buy a wing suit experience. >> kroft: what do you have to know? what kind of skills do you have to have to be able to do what you do? >> holmes: you need to just have some mountain sense. you know, what... how long am i going to be? what if that... something goes wrong? how long is it going to be until i can get back if the weather comes in? you need to know yourself. how much water do i need to have? can i realistically walk up this mountain for two hours, or is that not within my physical capabilities? yesterday, i jumped from... >> kroft: it looks spontaneous, but the birdmen put together a detailed plan every time they jump. >> there is some fog coming in. >> kroft: and they almost always have help from the locals, who serve as spotters, keeping them posted on weather conditions and potential problems on the ground. do you ever get spooked up there? >> holmes: i have, yeah. in the... on a... on a couple of occasions, i've had no real good reason for not... not jumping,

but i just walk back down. >> boulle: we're trying to get people to understand that we're not crazy. we just want to have fun like everybody else, and we want to share nature like everyone else. we just have our own special way of doing it. >> if you die base jumping, it is your own fault. it is your own mistakes that makes that happen. >> kroft: do you think about it? i mean, when you're up there on top of the mountain, you're getting ready to go, and you all shake hands and say... do you think about the possibility... >> holmes: yeah, but we don't think, like, "i may not see you again." >> boulle: "better say good-bye. give me a kiss." >> kroft: that never enters your mind? come on. >> holmes: if you do crash when you're flying your wing suit, you're... you're going to die. nobody lives through that. you're just going too fast. >> kroft: j.t. was just 15 when his dad took him helicopter skiing. today, he's one of the best in the world at it, making a living endorsing products and making movies for top-of-the-line production companies like msp films. you're a professional skier.

>> holmes: yeah, great job. >> kroft: i mean, in your day job, you could... there are any number of ways you could kill yourself in your day job. and for fun, you take on something that's maybe even more dangerous? >> holmes: yeah, i... i do dangerous things. >> kroft: he and his friend shane mcconkey were the first to ski off mountains wearing their wing suits. then, they jettison their skis so they could fly down the mountain. you lost a good friend recently. >> holmes: yeah, i did. yeah. >> kroft: shane. >> holmes: uh-huh. >> kroft: he was... he was supposed to be with us here. >> holmes: yeah, he was. we planned this trip to meet up with you guys, then i took off to europe. that was when he died. >> kroft: you were with him? >> holmes: yep. >> kroft: shane crashed in italy because he was unable to release his ski bindings quickly enough so he could begin flying. how did it affect you? >> holmes: it saddened me deeply. you know, i miss my friend. >> kroft: did it make you think about quitting? >> holmes: yeah.

>> kroft: but you didn't. >> holmes: no, i didn't. i didn't quit. at least, i haven't quit yet. >> kroft: near the end of our stay, we chartered a helicopter for the biggest adventure of our visit. we were going to the top of one of the most famous mountains in norway, romsdalshorn. when j.t. and the others climb up here, they don't even use ropes. the chopper saved us time and energy. it was a dizzying flight, not for the faint-hearted. from the air, our landing pad looked tiny but solid, a flat piece of rock. but when we touched down, it turned out to be an unstable patchwork of stone. these guys said that this was like the size of two football fields. this is like the size of an nba basketball court. >> boulle: for a summit, it's huge. you could throw a party up here for new year's eve. >> kroft: i'm busy new year's eve. it was early summer, but we were a mile above the valley floor

and the temperature was just above freezing. >> holmes: it's kind of half the battle just getting in these things, though, you know? you kind of feel like you're climbing into the tight cockpit. >> kroft: they had a pre-flight checklist, making sure their zippers were closed, parachutes well-packed, and there were no rips in their wing suits. it was time to go to what they call the exit point. so, you having fun? >> heiman: yes, i am enjoying myself. >> kroft: i wish i could say the same thing. i am not crazy about heights. by his count, j.t. has jumped off mountains like this 125 times. but there is a bit of the first time every time he does it. >> holmes: i feel, you know, kind of butterflies in my stomach, and you just feel like a flow of adrenaline. >> kroft: tom erik and his norwegian friend espen were the first to take the plunge. >> holmes: yeah. sweet! >> kroft: so, are you psyched right now?

>> holmes: yeah, for sure. >> kroft: pumped? >> holmes: yeah. >> kroft: you're pumped? >> holmes: yeah, i am fired up. i want to go. can i go? >> kroft: you can go. we decided not to follow j.t. down the last few steps to the ledge where he was going to jump, and we were glad we didn't. he then collected himself and took a couple of deep breaths. do you ever have trouble pulling the trigger? >> holmes: no. no, i don't. but, you know, you do sometimes have trouble finding that calm moment, you know? and you're just like, "okay, this is about as calm as i'm going to get this time." okay, ready, set, go. you know, you step off and it's like you're an astronaut; you're just weightless. and then you start to fall and you get the wind. that's when you're gaining speed. i really enjoy that part. you know, air's air, gravity's gravity. you're carving through just beautiful stuff there.

>> kroft: for some of these pictures, julian was our cameraman. and at one point, he and j.t. were flying so close together, in such perfect formation, there was time for a birdman high- five half a mile up at 140 miles an hour. it was an exhilarating moment, but it wasn't the last. >> whoo-hoo! >> kroft: over the next few days, they kept on jumping, saving the best for last. >> holmes: ready, set, go! and you're just flying along the wall on your right, and at that point, i don't really know what's going on. is julian there or not? i assume he is because he's so good. but on this jump, i can see our shadows, and i am like, "oh, my god, sick! he's right there. he's right there!" every jump is like a little mini-adventure. these are experiences that i only want to share with people that i love and respect. >> heiman: thanks. >> holmes: yeah, buddy, good trip. >> heiman: good trip.

>> holmes: we've done it again. >> heiman: yeah. >> boulle: do you think anybody else had as much fun as us today in the entire world? >> holmes: i don't think so. i really don't think so. >> boulle: i don't think it's possible. >> kroft: coming up, scaling walls higher than the empire state building without a rope. >> good evening. the trial over the 2010 gulf oil spill was delayed a week today, giving bp more time to settle. g-20 finance ministers said surging oil prices could threaten the global economy as gas price jumped 13 cents. i'm jeff glor, cbs news.

my name is pete and this is my aha moment. fourteen years old, just laid down on the ice, and was reaching out to me. on his own strength, he was able to pull me out of the icy water. and i said, nathan,

i just want to thank you again for saving my life. this amazing child looks at me in the eyes and says, dad, i should be thanking you because you still get to be my dad. mutual of omaha. insure your possibilities. insurance. retirement. banking. investments. i know, this is great. you know, i feel like... did you just check the game on your phone? what? no! what am i, like some kind of summoner who can just summon footage to his phone like that? come on. i guess i'm just a little... ooh! ...oversensitive... it's just that you and i -- yes! [ male announcer ] only at&t's network lets your iphone download 3x faster. at&t. gives you a 50% annual bonus. and who doesn't want 50% more cash? ugh, the baby. huh! and then the baby bear said, "i want 50% more cash in my bed!"

phhht! 50% more cash is good ri... what's that. ♪ you can spell. [ male announcer ] the capital one cash rewards card. the card for people who want 50% more cash. what's in your wallet? ha ha. ♪ >> kroft: from time to time, we come across someone who can do something so remarkable that it

defies belief, and in this case seems to defy gravity. it's the story of alex honnold. he's a 26-year-old rock climber from sacramento, california. but not just any rock climber. honnold scales walls higher than the empire state building, and he does it without any ropes or protection. it's a kind of climbing called free-soloing and the penalty for error is certain death. we first heard about him in a movie called "alone on the wall," a harrowing account of one of his most extraordinary feats-- the first free-solo climb up the northwest face of half dome, a towering 2,000-foot wall in yosemite national park. this past summer, lara logan met up with alex at yosemite to watch what he does firsthand. what you're about to see is someone holding onto a wall, thousands of feet above the ground, with nothing to stop him if he falls.

>> logan: here, alex honnold is 2,600 feet above the yosemite valley floor, trying to haul himself up the slippery granite wall of sentinel. he's so high, he disappears into the mountain. alex moves seamlessly across a section of flaky, unstable rock, pausing to dry a sweaty hand in his bag of chalk. there's nothing but him, the wall, and the wind. he's up here without ropes or a safety harness. all he has is a pair of rubber climbing shoes. this is what climbers call free soloing, and it's so dangerous that less than 1% of people who climb attempt it. do you feel the adrenaline at all? >> alex honnold: there is no adrenaline rush, you know? like, if i get a rush, it means that something has gone horribly wrong, you know? because the whole thing should be pretty slow and controlled and like... i mean, it's mellow. >> logan: does the challenge appeal to you?

>> honnold: yeah, for sure. or like, always being able to push yourself. like, always having something bigger to do or harder to do. anytime you finish a climb, there's always the next thing that you can try. >> logan: this is alex in the film, "alone on the wall." he's done more than 1,000 free- solo climbs, but none were tougher than this one. here he is, just a speck on the northwest face of half dome. you can barely make out the yosemite valley floor below, as he pauses to rest. he's the only person known to have free-soloed the northwest face of half dome. what do you consider alex's greatest achievements to date? >> john long: that he's still alive. if you look at the past, people who have made a real habit of soloing, you know, at least half of them are dead. >> logan: in the '70s, john long was one of the best rock climbers in the world. today, he's an elder statesman in the climbing community. >> long: it's indescribable what it's like to be up real high,

because, you know... but you can get some kind of idea about it just by walking to the edge of a cliff or edge of a building. you look over and your body has... you have a visceral sort of effect. you know, you can dial it off with a lot of experience, but not all the way off. >> logan: well, you just lose your stomach. >> long: yeah, and the... the real challenge about climbing without a rope is the fact is that feeling can come up full bore in a split second. >> logan: and you have to control that? >> long: yeah, you're going to have... you're going to have to dial that one back really quickly. >> logan: or else? >> long: your diaphragm is going to close, you're not going to be able to breathe. you have no chance. you're going to die. >> logan: alex learned how to control his fear at this climbing gym near his home in sacramento, california, when he was just a boy. >> honnold: it's kind of funny coming back. i remember it being like a big cave. >> logan: for seven years, this is where he came three hours a day, six days a week. he would climb until he was exhausted, then read old climbing magazines. >> honnold: that's all i was

ever interested in, really. >> logan: your whole life? >> honnold: yeah. from when i started climbing, from when i was maybe ten or 11. i don't even remember when, it was so long ago. but, i mean, that's all i ever was into, really. >> logan: back then, he was a shy, skinny kid with big ears. today, he's still skinny, but his five-foot, 11-inch frame is 160 pounds of muscle. for someone his size, he has big hands. they have to carry his whole body weight when he's hanging off the rock. >> honnold: yeah, i have pretty big fingers, so it's hard to get it into a thin crack. >> logan: show me. >> honnold: well... >> logan: were they like this before you started climbing? >> honnold: i don't think they were quite this big before i started climbing. i honestly think my connective tissue and stuff is, like, gone. >> logan: bigger? >> honnold: like, they just all gotten beefier, you know? i think it's all the crack climbing, like torquing your finger in different ways. >> logan: alex has acquired something akin to rock star status in the climbing world, where he always draws a crowd. he made the cover of "national geographic." he's also in a nationwide ad

campaign for the company the north face. but the kid who dropped out of college and stole the family minivan to go climbing has been slow to cash in on his success. so, this is really your home? >> honnold: yeah, this is. when i'm in the u.s., this is mostly my... my home. you know, it's pretty comfortable. it's pretty cozy. you know, it's easy to move around. >> logan: do you just park on the side of a road? >> honnold: yeah. >> logan: and go days without showering. >> honnold: yeah, of course. >> logan: almost everything alex owns is in this van. he survives on less than $1,000 a month. >> honnold: you can go anywhere. you know, tomorrow morning, i could wake up and drive to the east coast, and then climb there for the next few months. >> logan: he doesn't like to admit he's any good, which is why he's known to his friends as "alex no big deal." >> honnold: i'm not a very powerful climber. i'm more of an endurance climber. like, i climb these big, long routes. >> logan: is there anyone else in the world, right now, who can do what alex honnold can do? >> long: i think there's probably a handful of people who possibly could get close to what

he's doing, but he's probably unquestionably the best guy alive today. >> logan: to capture alex free- soloing sentinel, we assembled a six-man team of experienced climbers who would film at different positions along the route. we attached four more cameras to the wall, and two "60 minutes" teams set up on the valley floor. but as the climb got closer, alex got restless. so the day before, he snuck off with his friend peter mortimer, an adventure filmmaker, to do something that would calm his nerves. he climbed an impossible vertical wall called the phoenix. >> honnold: i never would have agreed to go out there with, like, a bunch of people. it just would be craziness. and honestly, you guys wouldn't want to see it. like, it would be weird. >> logan: it would be weird? >> honnold: yeah. >> logan: why? what about it would be weird? >> honnold: i don't know. i think it would blow your mind. it'd be weird. like, just the position is outrageous. >> logan: this is what he means

by "weird." look at the angle of this wall. it's more than 90 degrees, and covered with mist from a nearby waterfall. the route itself is only around 115 feet long, but the cracks are so thin, his fingertips could barely fit inside them. towards the top of the climb, the angle of the wall pushed him backwards. it only took him eight minutes, but when alex reached the top, he was the first to free-solo this route in the 34 years since it was established. >> long: there's only a handful of people that can actually do that with a rope. and the idea that he's doing that without a rope, you know, that's... that's an amazing thing to even consider. >> logan: the next day, he was ready to tackle sentinel's 1,600-foot face, and showed us his plan for the route. over the past few weeks, he'd climbed sentinel with ropes and climbing gear twice to prepare, scouting out the best places for his hands and feet. then, he hiked for nearly two

hours just to reach the base of the climb. we watched him on a video monitor from half a mile away. how tough is this, as a climb? >> long: very. nobody's ever soloed the north face of sentinel before. nobody's ever thought about doing it before. >> honnold: i'm going rock climbing. >> long: so he's on... >> logan: look at that-- he's... he's started. >> long: now, he's off. spectacular. >> logan: so you almost have to, like, just stop and remind yourself-- i mean, he is up there with nothing. >> long: yeah, no rope. >> logan: nothing. >> long: nothing. right when he pulls into that crack, that's like the point of no return. it becomes world class right there. and he's... he's in it now. >> logan: i don't even like the sound of that, "the point of no return." >> long: well, you don't... you're not going to reverse it. it's too hard. that's the... that's the one thing you got to understand on these things. once it gets to this level, the only way off is up. you're not... you're not going back down. it's just too difficult. >> honnold: i like to think that i know what i can and can't do. >> logan: sometimes, when other climbers hear what you've been doing, they say it's

"unsustainable," which really is their code for, you know, you can't keep doing this and stay alive. >> honnold: it's not like i'm just pushing and pushing and pushing until... until something terrible happens. i mean... i don't know, i just... i don't look at it, like, without perspective. but maybe that's why it's dangerous for me. you know, maybe i'm, like, too close to it and i can't tell that i'm, like, speeding towards a cliff. but i don't think that i'll continue to do this forever. but i don't think that i'll stop because of all the risk and all that. i think i'll stop because i'll just lose the love for it. >> logan: as he approached one of our fixed cameras, alex grabbed a tiny piece of rock and pulled himself up. in this position, most of his weight is on just four fingers. >> long: here's another one of the really difficult parts right here. you can see him... like, the... his fingertips are only going in to the first digit. like, the line on your hand. >> logan: literally that's what he's clinging with, his fingertips? >> long: only... only to there. >> logan: one thing every free- solo climber fears is water. it seeps out of cracks in the

mountain, and that's what alex ran into halfway up sentinel. >> long: yeah, see how he's wiping his feet off like that on his legs? >> logan: yes. >> long: it's wet. >> logan: that's not good at all. >> long: that's the worst of all thing... possible things. >> logan: it looked like your shoes did get wet. >> honnold: yeah, my shoes did get wet. so the big fear would be that, like, you step on... or you, like, climb through wet rock and then, without knowing it, you put your foot onto something, you know, and then you just slip right off it. that would be, like, the worst case scenario, like, thinking that you're going to step onto some foothold and then just having your foot blow off. >> logan: his wet shoes didn't seem to bother him. take a look at him as he climbed up to another one of our fixed cameras. he's so relaxed, even at this height. from up here, 80-foot pine trees below look like grass. >> honnold: ( whistling ) >> logan: and yes, he is whistling.

then came the toughest 50 feet on sentinel and the hardest sequence of moves he had to make. if he moved too slowly, his arms would give out. but if he rushed, he could slip and fall. it's a position alex says he lives for. >> long: where he is right now, that... this is the crux of the biscuit, as they say-- the hardest part, and... >> logan: because, look at what he's holding on to. >> long: yeah, well, there isn't anything. it's also really steep right there. you can't... nobody... even alex honnold can't... can't hang indefinitely on his arms. they're going to give out. >> logan: and then, he's got to have the strength to pull himself up. >> long: yeah. and he's got to have... the footholds aren't very good. so he's got to basically paste his feet on, you know, over the ceiling and hope they stick. >> logan: alex somehow clings to the wall. as the camera moves away, you can see the river half a mile

below him. he's through the worst of it, and from here, it's 400 feet of what he calls "easy climbing." >> honnold: should i go to the tippy top? >> logan: all the way to the top in just an hour and a half. the first thing he did before talking to us was take off his shoes. hey, alex. >> honnold: yes? >> logan: how's the view up there? >> honnold: the view is awesome, actually. i'm way psyched about the view. and the light right now is awesome, and all of these other... >> logan: alex honnold had just set another record, but for him, there'd be no celebration, just a two-hour hike down the easy side of the mountain. >> kroft: when we return, swimming with great white sharks without a cage. >> welcome to the cbs sports update. i'm greg gumbel in new york. jordan taylor had 19 to lead wisconsin over ohio state. louisville hung on the beat

pittsburgh. indiana had four players in double figures to beat minnesota inch top-ten action this weekend, kentucky clinched the sec, syracuse takes the big east. kansas overcame a 19-point deficit to beat missouri. six straight for duke. michigan state is undefeated at home. north carolina edged virginia. for more sports news and information, go to cbssports.com.

>> this special edition of "60 minutes presents" continues in a moment. ,,,,,,,,

>> kroft: there's no animal that we fear more and understand less than the great white shark, in part because it's so hard to get near them. so studying great whites hasn't been easy. but back in 2009, while on assignment for "60 minutes," cnn's anderson cooper met one man who has spent his life getting closer to great whites more often than anyone else. his name is mike rutzen. and in south africa, where he lives, he's known simply as "the sharkman." what he's discovered about these

predators will surprise you-- far from being mindless killing machines, rutzen believes, great whites are smart, curious, and not out to kill humans. and he is willing to risk his life to prove it. >> cooper: mike rutzen is looking for a great white shark he can swim with-- that's right, swim with. before he gets in the water, he needs to find a great white that is both calm and curious, a shark he refers to as a "player." >> mike rutzen: that's a player. >> cooper: what's a player? >> rutzen: well, a player is basically the shark that's so relaxed, has a nice personality, woke up on the right side of the reef, and it's... >> cooper: "on the right side of the reef." >> rutzen: yeah. ( laughs ) and the animal's willing to interact with us, it's so curious. >> cooper: rutzen says great whites have personalities. they may be the top predator in the sea, but he says they are not the man-eating killers of our nightmares. now, how can you tell that's a player?

>> rutzen: look how she's moving? she's checking everything out. check now how slowly she's going to do this. see how she looks at everything? >> cooper: wow, yeah, yeah. moving very slowly around the boat. >> rutzen: she's moving very slowly roundabout, move... moving slowly. check, she's going to come and watch the motor now. >> cooper: that's what you want? so this is a curious shark. you... you can work with this shark. >> rutzen: this is a player. >> cooper: this shark and several others have been attracted to rutzen's boat by chum, a mixture of bait and fish blood. it's believed great whites can smell a single drop of blood from a hundred yards away. now that he's found a player, rutzen and his cameraman, morne hardenberg, suit up and prepare to do the unthinkable-- plunge into bloody water with great white sharks all around. >> rutzen: there's no universities to teach you what these animals' social dynamics are and social behavior is. and the only way to find that out is by getting into the water. >> cooper: immediately, a curious great white comes straight at rutzen, his only protection-- his camera.

rutzen has figured out that great whites don't like the feel of metal. good visibility is crucial. the sharks are constantly circling, and rutzen has to continually turn around so they don't sneak up on him. >> rutzen: they are extremely inquisitive creatures. i like to say they're like little kids in a toy store, and you just tell them, "don't touch; observe." they all touch. >> cooper: problem is, when... when they get curious, they sometimes bite. >> rutzen: yes. the animals are not trying to actively kill you; they're trying to outwit you. i mean, there's a difference. and you're trying to outwit them again. >> cooper: so there's a mental battle going on, or a mental game being played between you and the shark. >> rutzen: i believe so, yes. >> cooper: that seems like the ultimate test of putting your life on the line. >> rutzen: i would like to think that it's the ultimate trust between the animal and myself. >> cooper: rutzen is not a scientist. he was born on a farm and knew nothing about sharks until 20 years ago, when he began working as a fisherman along this rugged

coast near cape town. these waters are home to the world's highest concentration of great whites. >> rutzen: this is the hotspot in the world for great whites. >> cooper: a perfect hotspot because it's an ideal feeding ground for great whites. it's not far from the southern tip of africa, where the atlantic and indian oceans meet. the water is rich in nutrients, which attract whales, huge shoals of fish, and seals, some 60,000 of them. seals are a prime target for great whites. early one morning, rutzen takes us to an area called "shark alley." the seals pass through here searching for food. there are plenty of fish in the sea. why... why are sharks so interested in the seal? >> rutzen: the reason for that is the blubber. marine mammals have a blubber layer, and their blubber... whoa! big shark. their blubber layer is extremely energy-rich. >> cooper: oh, my god. whoa! >> rutzen: that's what i'm talking about.

>> cooper: the sharks leap straight out of the water, stunning the seals before devouring them. seals are mammals-- they're quick, agile, and smart. but as rutzen has learned, they are no match for the power, speed, and intelligence of the great whites. they have to outsmart the seal. >> rutzen: they... if they weren't as smart or smarter than the seal, they wouldn't have eaten them. >> cooper: watching great whites hunt has become a big business in this part of south africa. each year, tens of thousands of tourists flock to the town of gaans baai, where they are offered a close encounter with great whites from the safety of an underwater cage. >> that was really something! >> cooper: rutzen started his own dive operation 17 years ago. it began as a business, but has become a mission, an effort to learn about great whites and dispel the myths surrounding them. >> rutzen: i think that humans like to fear these animals and not understand these animals. >> cooper: each year, as many as 70 million sharks are

slaughtered to make shark fin soup, a delicacy in asia. this undercover footage shows how fins are cut off while the sharks are still alive. their bodies are thrown back into the sea. >> rutzen: if people can just see these animals for what they really are, i'll be happy, because then they'll have a chance of survival. >> cooper: by diving without a cage with the sharks, rutzen is trying to show that they are a lot more complex animals than previously thought. after every dive, he spends hours reviewing his material, trying to make sense of how the sharks interact with him. what are you doing with your body here? >> rutzen: the smaller you make your body, the less a threat you are. and then, the animals should come closer. the bigger you are, the more threatening you are. >> cooper: rutzen believes that the great white is extremely selective about what it eats, and insists he is not on their menu as long as he stays calm and shows the shark that he has

no fear. so, it's important to stand your ground? >> rutzen: the most important thing is don't chase the animals. don't run away from the animals. stand your ground and keep eye contact with the animal. >> cooper: make eye contact with them. >> rutzen: make eye contact. it's not like a primate. if you're looking at it, it's already lost the element of surprise. >> cooper: wow, look at this. >> rutzen: now, see, that you don't see every day. there you see the eye. >> cooper: my god. >> rutzen: well, people like to think it's this evil, black eye of the great whites. their eyes are actually the color of the bluest sea. it's beautiful. you like blue-eyed blondes? there's a blue eye that you can't match. ( laughter ) >> cooper: i hope you've never complimented a woman by telling her she had eyes as pretty as a great white shark. >> rutzen: no, not yet. >> cooper: great whites have been around for millions of years. but they've never been seen mating or giving birth. their senses are highly developed, but when it comes to touch, rutzen believes they often rely on their mouths. so, just uses its mouth to feel you.

>> rutzen: yes. >> cooper: but that ends up being... could be a deadly bite. >> rutzen: yes. touch is a very important sense for a living animal. so why shouldn't they use that sense? >> cooper: rutzen believes most attacks by great whites on humans have been the result of curiosity, not deliberate acts of aggression. worldwide, there were 12 deadly shark attacks last year-- a tiny amount, considering the millions of people who swim in the ocean. rutzen says many of us have likely had a positive encounter with a shark without even knowing it. what do you mean by a "positive encounter"? >> rutzen: it's where the animal comes to look at you, sees you're not food. it's not really hunting. may be very curious in what you're doing, look at you for a while, and then move off again. you'll never know the animal's there. but the animal knows you're there. >> cooper: and that should tell people what? >> rutzen: it will tell the people that these animals are not out to get us. they're not in our oceans to kill humans. >> cooper: rutzen doesn't take tourists diving with sharks without a cage.

but we've dived together before, and he offers to take me for an up-close look at the great whites-- no cage, no protection. on a perfect, calm morning, we head to shark alley. we drop anchor and the chumming begins. it doesn't take long for the sharks to arrive. i'm reminded of a line in the movie, "jaws"-- "i think we're going to need a bigger boat." the fact that we have a paramedic on board and an ambulance waiting onshore isn't exactly reassuring. they have been chumming the water for about 40 minutes now, and there's about four or five great whites circling the boat, searching for food. there is one in the water right there, as we speak. so it's time to start the dive. mike rutzen says the most important thing to remember when you're actually underwater with a great white is to remain calm. it's easier said than done. project confidence-- that's what mike rutzen recommends.

i'm not exactly sure how to do that underwater with a wet suit. rutzen and cameraman morne hardenberg have been doing this so long, they're relaxed. my pulse is already high. >> rutzen: how do you feel? >> cooper: i feel good. "good" may be an overstatement. just remember, if i get eaten, just keep rolling, because the only thing more stupid than being eaten would be to be eaten and not having videotaped. rutzen believes the sharks circling the boat are players-- curious, and not too aggressive. it is an odd sensation, knowing that you're about to jump into blood-filled, shark-infested water. rutzen goes first. then, i take the plunge. immediately, a 15-foot great white swims straight toward us. >> rutzen: that's a big boy. >> cooper: their size and power is awesome. they don't attack, but they want to see what we are, and circle

us constantly. it's coming right towards us. up close, you see their razor- sharp teeth and the strength of their bodies. it's terrifying, but thrilling, to be so close to such a massive predator. seeing them in their own environment, not grabbing at bait or lunging at seals, gives me a new impression of them, a more complex picture. and that is exactly what mike rutzen is hoping for. the current is getting stronger and visibility is deteriorating. >> it's getting dangerous down there. >> cooper: so we decide it is time to surface. it's incredible, unbelievable. it's terrifying, and at the same time, exhilarating. it's unlike anything else. and i am so happy i am back up. it was great. thank you. that's incredible.

i'm glad i did it, but i'm not sure i'd do it again. as for mike rutzen, he continues to push the boundaries. he sometimes even hitches rides on the dorsal fins of great whites. these interactions are stunning, but rutzen insists he is not being reckless. >> rutzen: the more we work with them, the more careful we are, because of the knowledge. it's not that we're getting complacent because we have done it so many times, we're getting... >> cooper: you're more careful with them now than you were when you started. >> rutzen: yes, because we are learning small things of what makes them tick. so we are so careful not to do the wrong thing. >> cooper: you did say before, though, when we talked that, you know, you expect to die at a young age. >> rutzen: yeah. but look at my lifestyle-- i smoke too much, i drink too much, and i drive my car very fast. ( laughter ) >> cooper: but you... so you don't expect to die from a great

white? >> rutzen: no. no. >> go to 60minutesovertime.com to see more extreme athletes in action, including olympic gold medalist shaun white. dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs bag of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback right now, get 5% cashback at gas stations. it pays to discover. that's going to have to be done by a certain date. you always have homework, okay? i don't have homework today. it's what's right here is what is most important to me. it's beautiful. ♪ ♪ ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey

♪ goodbye [ flushing ] ♪ [ both ] ♪ na, na... [ woman ] ♪ na, na-na, na [ men ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye [ male announcer ] with kohler's powerful, high-efficiency toilets. flush. and done. [ all ] ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ good-bye is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪

two pills can last all day.

>> kroft: i'm steve kroft. we'll be back next week with a brand new edition of "60 minutes." captioning funded by cbs, and ford-- built for the road ahead. [ sue ] wow!

i've been so looking forward to this. when my asthma symptoms returned, my doctor prescribed dulera to help prevent them. [ male announcer ] dulera is for patients 12 and older whose asthma is not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. dulera will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. dulera helps significantly improve lung function. this was shown over a 6 month clinical study. dulera contains formoterol, which increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. dulera is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled your doctor will decide if you can stop dulera and prescribe a different asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. do not take dulera more than prescribed. see your doctor if your asthma does not improve or gets worse. ask your doctor if dulera can help you breathe easier.

♪ in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ not in this economy. we also have zero free time, and my dad moving in. so we went to fidelity. we looked at our family's goals and some ways to help us get there. they helped me fix my economy, the one in my house. now they're managing my investments for me. and with fidelity, getting back on track was easier than i thought. call or come in today to take control of your personal economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader.