Are You Nuts? The Basics Of Base Jumping
December 4th, 2008

Quite possibly one of the most extreme sports, BASE jumping, has many enthusiasts all around the world. The world BASE itself is an acronym that defines the four fixed categories of leap off spots that a BASE jumper may choose from which to jump. "B" stands for "building", and pretty much refers to any man-made structure. The letter "A" refers to the term "antenna" and designates structures that are, as opposed to building, uninhabited, such as antenna masts, large oil wells or other structures. The "S' stands for "span" and refers to structures that span a distance, such as bridges. Finally, the letter "E" means "Earth", and this simply indicates any natural jump off point, such as a cliff, ridge, or range. BASE jumpers will pick any of these spots and then jump from them with nothing but a parachute.

Even though BASE jumping has been a much-publicized activity as of late, it is not a new sport. As a matter of fact, as early as 1912 American Frederick Law made a daring jump off the Statute of Liberty. The early jumps, however, were merely daredevil stunts and usually not repeated. Furthermore, others did not seek to "one up" the jumper by choosing an even more daring leaping off point. All this changed in the late 1970s when extreme sports aficionados suddenly realized the potential of this largely untapped competition. It is noteworthy that individual who came up with the BASE acronym, Carl Boenish, was a devoted jumping enthusiast yet his life was cut short during one of his own jumps in 1984.

Are BASE jumpers nuts? Well, it depends on whom you ask. Common sense would agree that this kind of sport is highly dangerous since any parachute malfunction or human error will most likely result in severe injuries or death. For this reason, enthusiasts will do well to check their gear and be aware of the different needs their sport of choice has. For this reason, follow these basic rules and you MAY live to do it again:

Use the right parachute. While this may appear self-explanatory, it is surprising how many BASE jumpers are not aware of the differences in gear when it comes to parachutes. Considering that the jump is made from a relatively low altitude, you will need a specially designed parachute that will open quickly. Adding to this the fact that at the time of opening, there is very low fall speed, your parachute needs to be designed to deploy at such a low airspeed. If you do not purchase a parachute that is especially rigged for BASE jumping, you run the risk of using a skydiving chute, which is designed to open at a high air speed. Using this kind of gear will most likely result in your death, so do not skimp when it comes to purchasing the chute, and do not compromise on what you need.

Learn how to use a parachute. While this may appear to be common sense, it is surprising to see how many BASE jump aficionados get hurt simply because they do not know how to land with a chute. It is not enough to have the right parachute, you will also need to know how to deploy it, when, and how to make a safe landing with it. Practice makes perfect, and you may wish to do some skydiving jumps first to get you in the habit of parachute handling. Granted, a skydiving jump and a BASE jump are not alike, but the knowledge of handling a chute and making some safe landings will help you in transferring that knowledge and hands-on experience to your BASE jumps. Just keep in mind that BASE jumps are a lot faster than skydiving jumps and you will have considerably less time to pull off a safe landing.

Find a safe jumping off point. Even if you have the proper chute, it will do you little good if a rock formation, or group of trees snags it. The result will be your getting dashed against the rocks or trees, and your chances of escaping serious bodily injury or fatal consequences are slim to none.

Learn how to fall. While it is true that those who go up must come down, the method of doing so is not always easy. Consider that a jump that would do your old swimming instructor proud will most likely cause you to make a tumble in the air, which is a deadly mistake when you consider that you only have seconds to open your chute. If you are still tumbling, you will get tangled in your chute and odds are it will not open properly if at all. Similarly, if you get tangled in your chute because of the tumbling in the air you may run the risk of getting strangled during the fall

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