An American base jumper has died in the Swiss Alps after misjudging his launch, hitting a cliff and falling hundreds of metres into a gorge.

Police in the western canton of Vaud say the 44-year-old man died on Friday afternoon jumping from the 2900 Sex Rouge peak in the Les Diablerets range near Lake Geneva.

Spokesman Jean-Christophe Sauterel declined to name the victim for privacy reasons, but said the man was from Dallas, Texas.

Sauterel said on Saturday that the American was an experienced base jumper who was using a so-called wing suit during the jump. Wing suits allow base jumpers to glide down rather than fall before engaging their parachute.

Sauterel said rescuers had so far been unable to recover the body because of poor weather conditions.