Today, it’s hard to know exactly how many active BASE jumpers there are in the world as no official records are kept. What does BASE jumping stand for? It’s an acronym for the four types of objects that jumpers leap from: buildings (monuments also fit in this category), antenna towers, spans (meaning bridges) and earth (think large natural formations, like cliffs, canyons, fjords and gorges). Shortly thereafter, Boenish also coined the name. In 1978, he proved it when he filmed himself and three other BASE pioneers (one of whom was his wife) safely launching and landing from the 3,000-foot iconic granite walls of Yosemite’s El Capitan. The founding father of modern BASE jumping is the late Carl Boenish, a skydiver and filmmaker from California who was convinced that the ram-air parachutes (used in skydiving) could allow for a safe jump from high cliffs. If you still can’t fight the urge - or simply are just interested in getting the dirt on this gnarly sport - here’s the low-down on what it is, the basics, plus some of the most famous BASE-jumping destinations our members visit A Brief History of BASE Jumping It’s estimated that an accident is 43 times more likely to occur while taking part in this sport than skydiving. Unlike bungee jumping or tandem skydiving, BASE jumping requires skill and even more training. What is BASE jumping? Boiled down, it’s an extreme sport luring gutsy, adrenaline lovers to some of the most beautiful destinations in the world in search of the next great object to huck themselves from.īut if this fringe sport sounds intriguing to you, hold on for a moment while we cue a few disclaimers: BASE jumping is not for the faint of heart, and it’s illegal from many points especially within parks, and from bridges and buildings. Resembling some real-life version of superman, they freefall toward the earth, finally deploying a single parachute at, what feels like, the last second. You’ve likely seen at least one in the thousands of high-octane videos on YouTube: A person approaches the precipice of some sort of platform - maybe a 500-foot cliff, building or bridge - then, in the next stomach-churning moment, intentionally hurtle themselves off that precarious edge into empty space. Unlike other providers, Global Rescue memberships do not exclude or restrict adventure activities, whether cave diving, sky diving, heli-skiing, BASE jumping and beyond. This post is part of the Global Rescue “No Restrictions” series, where we take a look at extreme sports and activities that many of our members have taken part in, or plan to.
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