BASE jumping is one of the more dangerous and hair-raising action sports. It is similar to skydiving in that a parachute is used, but BASE jumpers do not dive from planes. Instead, they jump from cliffs, bridges, or manmade structures - the name is an acronym that stands for "buildings, antennas, spans, earth."
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About Base Jumping
Because the jumper falls from a relatively low height (compared to regular skydiving), there is a very small space of time in which to open the parachute and have it deploy properly. Further, BASE jumpers fall close to the structures they jump from, so an errant gust of wind can foul their chute or even slam them into the structure. These dangers mean that BASE jumping has a higher risk of injury and death than other action sports. As a result, many potential sites refuse permission for BASE jumping, and secret, illegal jumps are common.
While people have been diving from high buildings ever since the invention of the parachute, BASE jumping was formally named by Carl Boenish, who in 1978 filmed himself, his wife, Jean, and their friends Phil Smith and John Mayfield jumping from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Carl Boenish was killed in 1984 while jumping from Norway's Trollveggen cliff, but by then the sport had already spread in popularity. BASE numbers are issued to those who complete a jump from each of the four categories in the sport's name. Currently about 800 people have earned BASE numbers; Phil Smith was the first to do so.
While merely surviving a BASE jump is a success, there are occasionally BASE jumping competitions, where contestants are rated on aerial acrobatics or the ability to land accurately. Since the sport is popular with a small number of people, and there is frequently difficulty in getting permission to jump, these competitions tend to still be rare.
It should go without saying that BASE jumping should not be tried without a great deal of training and skydiving experience and proper equipment. Regular parachutes are unsuitable for BASE jumping because they do not open quickly enough, so BASE jumpers modify them with specially designed harnesses and containers.
While people have been diving from high buildings ever since the invention of the parachute, BASE jumping was formally named by Carl Boenish, who in 1978 filmed himself, his wife, Jean, and their friends Phil Smith and John Mayfield jumping from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Carl Boenish was killed in 1984 while jumping from Norway's Trollveggen cliff, but by then the sport had already spread in popularity. BASE numbers are issued to those who complete a jump from each of the four categories in the sport's name. Currently about 800 people have earned BASE numbers; Phil Smith was the first to do so.
While merely surviving a BASE jump is a success, there are occasionally BASE jumping competitions, where contestants are rated on aerial acrobatics or the ability to land accurately. Since the sport is popular with a small number of people, and there is frequently difficulty in getting permission to jump, these competitions tend to still be rare.
It should go without saying that BASE jumping should not be tried without a great deal of training and skydiving experience and proper equipment. Regular parachutes are unsuitable for BASE jumping because they do not open quickly enough, so BASE jumpers modify them with specially designed harnesses and containers.
