Base Jumping - An Introduction
BASE jumping is one of the most extreme sports and has recently gained popularity with many thrill seekers and adventures. B.A.S.E. is an acronym for the places where jumps are made: buildings (usually the rooftops), antennae (abandoned), spans (another word for bridges) and earth (high cliffs).
Professional BASE jumpers describes the feeling of absolute freedom as they free fall with only a small, specially designed parachute. The challenge is planning the best location and preparing for the jump. And it is quite addictive.
BASE jumping is not an official sport, so there are no regulations as of yet. However, there are very stringent requirements before even attempting the first jump. Although the concept of official BASE jumping took off during the late 70s, this type of jumping actually has almost a century of history, with Franz Reichelt being the first ever to publicly jump from the Eiffel Tower as a patent experiment. Unfortunately the coat parachute proved unsuccessful, but that didn’t stop many others to stretch the limit in order to break world records, as did Omar Al Hegelan and Nasr Al Niyadi who jumped the tallest manmade building in Dubai; prove something to the world like Owen J. Quinn who jumped New York’s World Trade Center to let the world understand the dilemma of the unemployed; or just get a taste of ultimate freedom, if only for ten seconds.
When comparing BASE jumping to skydiving, the two are quite different. A skydiver has more altitude and more time in the air, usually three minutes as opposed to ten seconds. This allows for terminal velocity which helps decrease the rate of the fall and gives the skydiver more control in navigating the flight and the landing. Because BASE jumping has less altitude, it’s also offers less time to control the flight, which can be very dangerous.
In fact, before you take your first BASE jump you would need to log in more than 200 skydiving jumps in order to get the proper experience for BASE jumps. This is especially true when it comes to perfecting your tracking (how you move your body while in the air) and landings. BASE jumping has smaller landing areas, which adds to the danger due to the many uncontrollable variables.
In addition to the 200+ skydiving jumps needed, which would then make you a licensed sky diver, a potential BASE jumper would also need a BASE First Jump Course (FJC). This teaches you the basics of BASE jumping, how to properly pack a BASE rig, access wind speed and direction, and how to accomplish the jumps as safely as possible. The course last about a year.
Once you’re ready to jump solo, it is very important to know the local laws regarding BASE jumps. For example, it’s illegal to jump off of buildings and off cliffs in national parks in many countries due to the potential dangers of the jumper as well as pedestrians below. A few mavericks landed in jail soon after they landed from their BASE jump. Play it safe and check first.
BASE jumping can be both exhilarating and fulfilling. Although dangerous and ranked as stunts, BASE jumping can allow you to expand your horizons and learn how to fly. Bookmark buildings-antennae-spans-earth.com to keep up with the latest happenings, gadgets and BASE adventures. Come back often as we are constantly updating with new information.