BASE jumping – primary requirement insanity?
"BASE jumping" is basically hardcore parachuting. Giving you less time to open your parachute, and less of a parachute when it's open, BASE jumping is the closest you can get to falling to your death without dying. Read more and see the videos...
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Image © Shamshahrin Shamsudin.
"BASE jumping" is basically hardcore parachuting. Giving you less time to open your parachute, and less of a parachute when it's open, BASE jumping is the closest you can get to falling to your death without dying.
BASE jumping is a bit like skydiving, only you jump from a fixed object rather than a plane, and often from a lesser altitude, therefore increasing the chances of landing complications. BASE stands for "Building, Antenna, Span (bridge or arch), Earth" - the four things that were originally jumped off when the modern sport was established. Though it appears incredibly risky, it is not illegal; except in urban areas.
More BASE jumping (in the traditional sense)
With its deep valleys, Norway is a popular BASE jumping destination. Published by "nudua77".
Posted by "CRACKPOTy".
The first attempt at flying what resembles a wingsuit
Franz Reichelt's doomed jump off the Eiffel Tower in 1912. Posted on Viddler.
Flying squirrels
Video posted by "Jump Teigen".
Wearing a wingsuit is a different kind of BASE jumping; and the closest thing a human can get to being an airplane. You're not falling but gliding. Instead of falling at 120mph you're falling at 50/60 mph and travelling forwards at 160 mph. When they go past the camera, these guys have already fallen 4,000 feet and they've still got 15,000 feet to go. Wingsuits are smoking fast."
Posted by "comage".
“There have only been 133 deaths in almost 30 years”
Mick Knutson, 39, has done around 600 BASE jumps since 1992 and runs the website BLiNC Magazine, devoted to BASE jumping.
BASE has a much longer history than people realise. The concept was first explored in the 15th century and went through various stages including throwing animals off heights with parachutes and the death of Franz Reichelt when he jumped off the Eiffel Tower in 1912 [see video below]... BASE jumping as we know it didn't properly take off until the 1980s.
BASE jumping gets a bad rap because the stats are badly drawn and probably only take in BASE jumps that are recorded. In reality, there are between 8,000 and 15,000 BASE jumpers in the world, each of them doing up to 50 jumps a year. That's been going on for almost 30 years, and there have only been 133 deaths. If you take any other outdoor sport; mountain biking for one, there are far more injuries and deaths per year. And unlike with other sports - car racing for example -, with BASE jumping, you're only a danger to yourself.
The worst accident I saw was a guy who broke his femur [thigh bone] on landing. He was jumping a parachute that had a new type of steering toggles - the kind of handles you direct the parachute with - and he hadn't asked for any advice about them. He didn't figure them out in time; his parachute was open but it wasn't flying forwards, just downwards. But he got away with it. And he still jumps now.
People assume that we're adrenaline junkies. We're not. The reason I jump, is because when I'm standing on the edge my head is clearer than anything. It doesn't matter that you got a speeding ticket, or you lost your job. Just pure clarity, better than meditation. Few people are in control of their lives, and when you're falling at 80 mph and you've got the ability and knowledge to survive that, that's control. The power of controlling your fears is insurmountable."
BASE jumpers in action
Posted on YouTube by "badpingoin".