BASE Jumping....A Way Of LifeBASE Jumping....A Way Of Life
Publication Date: November 2000
Death - it's a high price to pay but one that Carl Boenish was willing to risk as one of four people who invented a new sport in 1980 known as BASE jumping, the acronymic name derived from the four types of structures that these ultimate adrenaline junkies leap from - buildings, antennas, spans (bridges), and earth (cliff). He believed "the whole world is jumpable, because it is there," until his death in 1995 after a 'gone wrong' jump from a Norwegian cliff.
"Happy are those who dream dreams, and are willing to pay the price to see them come true." (Carl Boenish) And he wasn't alone in his feelings, there are currently 5,000 active BASE jumpers (executing at least ten jumps per year) living their lives in a community so tight knit it's like a twenty first century adopted family. "I regard all other BASE jumpers as my brothers and sisters and they are always welcome to anything I can offer and this is something that I cannot fully share with my siblings . They cannot completely understand my mind or my experiences," explains Jason B, a 35 year old skydiving instructor and active BASE jumper.
BASE jumping is a part of the fast expanding so called 'extreme sports
community', where seemingly sane individuals are putting their lives in
danger for the ultimate adrenaline rush. Unlike skydiving, there are no
reserve chutes; once a jumper leaps off their chosen structure, they fall
for up to twenty seconds at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour before releasing
their parachute which is equipped simply with two toggles to steer them
to a suitable landing position.
But the very reason most people believe the sport must only appeal to lunatics - the fact that if it goes wrong you will die - is the same reason but with a different perspective that the BASE jumpers themselves participate.
Mick Knutson is a 29 year old from California, USA who runs his own computer
software company. He has been BASE jumping for the last seven years after
satisfying a "curiosity" for skydiving. It is essential to be
a competent 
skydiver with at least two years jumping experience
before anyone in the BASE community will help you make your first BASE jump.
He also runs an Internet magazine called BLINC Magazine (http://www.blincmagazine.com)
focusing upon the world of BASE jumping. Knutson is also one of the presidents
of the Cliff Jumpers Association of America (CJAA) - he is a renowned and
well respected member of the community. To him this sport is not extreme,
"those guys who climb Everest, now that to me is extreme. I guess it's
everyone's personal boundaries," he claims.
He admits his first reaction to BASE jumping was pretty much the same as everybody else's - you must be crazy! "But that was through ignorance," he explains in his watered down Californian accent, "I study to be able to jump. I understand the weather conditions, I understand the equipment." Jason B cites the planning as one of the main reasons why he enjoys the sport so much, "for me I enjoy BASE jumping for its level of planning and preparation required to conduct a safe jump. BASE has given me a reason to travel many lands, plan, prepare and execute a form of recreational risk that exercises my mind and is a constant learning process." He convinces me that he is not crazy, something I had naively suspected! Knutson tells me that less than 1% of all accidents are because of equipment failure, a lower figure than for skydiving accidents.
So who is the typical BASE jumper? Doctors, dentists, lawyers, photographers; there are all kinds of professionals within the community, not surprisingly if you consider the costs involved. Then there are those who find work wherever the jumps are, earning to finance their next leap. The youngest jumpers are about twenty, as you need to be an experienced skydiver, with the veterans being aged sixty plus. There are some female jumpers and at the Annual Bridge Day (a legal opportunity for jumpers in the USA to jump in the Yosemite National Park) about 5% of jumpers are women but most of these just do one jump a year, probably because of the few numbers of female skydivers and therefore an even smaller number who pursue BASE jumping.
But despite this diverse collection of people, everyone involved in
the world of BASE jumping refers to the tight knit community. It's a secretive,
intrinsic world who are very wary of the media because of the sensationalism
portrayed. It is this glamorizing of the jumping that has angered many members
of the BASE community. Felix Baumgartener is possibly the most high profile
BASE jumper in the world. He is sponsored by Red Bull to jump from some
of the world's most notable and recognizable sights including the Rio de
Janeiro statue of Jesus Christ and the world's tallest building in Kuala
Lumpur, the Petronas Towers. The rest of the BASE community don't approve
of Baumgartner's James Bond style stunts feeling that it gives the sport
a reckless, negative image and undoes the work of organizations like the
CJAA who promote the safety aspects of jumping.
Considering the first thing that springs to most peoples minds is the issue of death, it is very rarely and very reluctantly mentioned by those who are active jumpers. Although almost everyone knows someone within the community who has died. This is not because they are being naive or refusing to face up to reality. In fact it is quite the opposite. It is not a lack of self-esteem which bonds this collection of people , it is there supreme confidence and a commitment so great that they are willing to pay any price to see their dreams come true. But they aren't reckless, foolish or just plain crazy.....they are focused, articulate and very familiar with community spirit; there is no better example of a twenty first century adopted family.
For more information on BASE jumping, and how to get started check
out the following websites:
http://www.thebridgedayassociation.com
http://www.afn.org/skydive/base
http://www.members.home.net/theipbc
EXTREMZ.COM is copyright © by Extremz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or use, without written permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited.