BASE jumping

BASE Jumping

BASE jumping grew out of skydiving.

BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E. jumping, is an activity where participants jump from fixed objects and use a parachute to break their fall. "BASE" is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: building, antenna, span, and Earth (cliff).

HISTORY

There were isolated jumps off fixed objects in the 1960s and 1970s, but they were one-off stunts that sometimes ended badly. In 1966, two skydivers jumped off El Capitan, but their equipment was not designed for a BASE jump, and they both suffered injuries. In 1975, a jumper leapt from the World Trade Center's­ south tower and was arrested when he parachuted to the ground.

Modern base jumping was invented by Carl Boenish in 1978. He became convinced that modern skydiving equipment could allow for a safe jump off El Capitan. After several scouting trips, Carl and four friends hiked to the top and Carl filmed the four of them jumping. Everyone landed safely. Shortly after that, Carl and several other BASE pioneers came up with the BASE acronym for this kind of jumping -- an early alternate idea was BEST jumping (Bridge, Earth, Span, and Tower).

Carl developed the BASE number system soon thereafter. Anyone who accomplishes a jump is recorded in a notebook. When they complete one jump of each type, they are assigned a BASE number in sequence of the people who have completed all four types before. Carl was BASE number 4. In 1984, he died while BASE jumping in Norway. Nobody witnessed the jump, but it is believed that he hit a rock outcropping 

BASE jumping is often featured in action movies. The 2002 Vin Diesel film xXx includes a scene where Diesel's character catapults himself off the Foresthill Bridge in an open-topped car, landing safely as the car crashes on the ground. In the movie Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, includes the scene in which the main characters jump with wing suits from the IFC Tower in Hong Kong and fly over the Bank of China, finally opening their parachutes to land on a moving freighter. The stunt was done live, with no special effects, by base jumpers Martin Rosén and Per Eriksson, members of the Swedish "Team Bautasten". The scene was filmed by air-to-air camera man Mikael Nordqvist from the same team. Since the 1976 Mount Asgard jump featured in the pre-credits sequence to The Spy Who Loved Me, James Bond movies have featured several BASE jumps, including one from the Eiffel Tower in 1985's A View to a Kill, the Rock of Gibraltar in 1987's The Living Daylights, and in Die Another Day, 2002, Pierce Brosnan as James Bond jumps from a melting iceberg. Of the James Bond jumps only the Mt Asgard and Eiffel Tower jumps were filmed live; the rest were special effects. And in 2005's "Batman Begins", Bruce Wayne uses BASE jumping as inspiration for his memory cloth cape. A series of BASE jumps are featured in the video for a remix of M83's "Lower Your Eyelids to die With the Sun"

There are quite a few places to BASE jump legally. Kjerag, on Lysefjord in Norway is a very popular location, and jumps remain legal there. Various natural formations throughout Europe are available for legal jumping as well. However, man-made objects with legal jumping are difficult to find, so anyone with a BASE number has probably had to break a law to get it. Bridge Day is the one obvious exception.

The name "BASE jumping" is an acronym for the four types of objects that jumpers leap from:

Buildings BASE jumping from buildings and monuments is difficult, since most places have security, locked doors and other obstacles to prevent someone from climbing to the top and leaping off. Many BASE jumpers prefer skyscrapers that are still under construction for this reason.

Antennas Antenna towers are popular jumping points because they are often as tall as the world's tallest buildings, are easier to climb and have less security. They are often found in out-of-the-way places as well.

Spans (Bridges) Spans, or bridges, have to cross over large canyons or gorges to be suitable for a BASE jump. The most famous BASE jumping bridge is the New River Gorge Bridge, where U.S. Route 19 crosses over the New River near Fayetteville, WV. One day each year the bridge is opened to legal BASE jumping. That day (with the accompanying festival) is known as Bridge Day.

Earth refers to large natural formations that are suitable for BASE jumping -- cliffs, canyons, fjords and gorges. BASE jumping actually began on a massive rock outcropping in Yosemite National Park known as El Capitan.

The first person to jump all four BASE types was Phil Smith.  

Some world records.

HIGHEST BASE JUMP EXIT POINT

·        The highest altitude Base-jump is 6,604 m (21,666 ft.) set by Glenn Single man and Heather Swan. They both made a wing suit Base-jump from a ledge on Mt Meru, Garwhal Himalaya, India, on 23 May 2006.

LARGEST SIMULTANEOUS BASE JUMP (OUTDOOR)

·        A total of 30 skydivers from over seven different countries performed a BASE jump from the Ostankino television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia on 3 July 2004

LARGEST SIMULTANEOUS INDOOR BASE JUMP

     Ten parachutists performed the largest simultaneous indoor BASE jump at the Tropical Islands Resort near Berlin, Germany, on 31 January 2005, at an event arranged by the German BASE Association.

HIGHEST BASE JUMP FROM A BUILDING

·        The highest BASE jump performed from a building was 672 m (2,204 ft 8 in) by Nasser Al Neyadi and Omar Alhegelan (both UAE) off the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, UAE, on 5 January 2010. The duo reached speeds of over 220 km/h [ The top speed of the world's fastest roller coaster, Formula Rossa.] (137 mph) during free-fall.

·        Both Neyadi and Alhegelan are both national champion BASE jumpers.