Posted on 05/27/2006 8:10:22 PM PDT by strategofr
Several recent incidents, including the April 27 arrest of Jeb Ray Corliss IV, who was caught by police as he prepared to skydive off the Empire State Building’s observation deck during rush hour, have called attention to BASE jumping, a fringe sport that’s been around since the early 1980s.
The “BASE” in BASE jumping is an acronym that stands for the four locations a skydiver must leap from before he can call himself a BASE jumper: Building, Antenna, Span (in other words, a bridge) and Earth (i.e., a cliff).
And the action isn't limited to New York City. On May 10, two men were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after they parachuted off a 300-foot-tall Union Pacific Railroad communications tower in Waterman, Ill.; and on Wednesday, a Belgian BASE jumper successfully jumped off the top of the Eiffel Tower after a Norwegian man died attempting the same stunt a year ago to the day.
But why would anyone in his right mind want to jump off a building?
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
LOL!!!
I admire the people who fuel themselves this way. It's part of Americana. The brave. HELO heroes in the Armed Forces do this sort of thing to protect us.
Very good movie.
Base Jumping was also in A View to a Kill
I am beginning to think that only people in their right mind jump off of buildings.
Seeing as we are ruled by the insane it is the only way out of the asylum.
STERLING, Ohio - A first-time skydiver slipped from her harness during a jump Saturday and fell to her death, authorities said.
The 44-year-old woman from West Chester, Pa., was participating in a tandem jump, her first with the AerOhio Skydiving school near Sterling, about 40 miles south of Cleveland, according to the Wayne County Sheriff's office.
The victim's name was withheld pending notification of her family.
During tandem jumps, a novice skydiver is harnessed to the chest of an experienced jumper. When the parachute is deployed, the experienced skydiver guides the team to the ground.
A preliminary investigation by the sheriff's office indicated the woman slipped from the harness after the parachute opened.
It is not known how far the woman fell, and the sheriff's office did not release any further details.
A message seeking comment was left Saturday night at AerOhio Skydiving.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060528/ap_on_re_us/skydiving_death;_ ylt=An_P87AsHtBjBy.y4PR4pkes0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--
The jumping of antennas is the really hairy part. Take a careful look at a really tall antenna. It's totally surrounded by the guy wires that hold it up. Keeping one's chute away from those devils on the way down is a real trick that some former BASE jumpers haven't mastered.
"but it did get him arrested and thrown in a mental hospital for two weeks when he tried to jump off Hoover dam."
LOL!
In the immortal words of Public Enemy: "BASE - How low can you go?"
"According to the National Highway Administration statistics, auto street racing accidents have claimed the lives of 345 people since 1990."
Actually, this strikes me as a pretty small number. It probably indicates that auto street racing is not tolerated all at all in the U. S.---and exists at pretty low levels.
In "defense" of the "low" number of BASE jumping deaths, there have to be a pretty small number of people engaging in this. Add to that the fact that a certain number are simply highly athletic people who mastered skydiving, really did want to go to the next level, and actually do approach the sport from the perspective of "limiting risk." Admittedly, this combination of traits is hard to fathom.
LOLOLOL
"base jumping is just what it is portrayed; a very dangerous pastime that should be outlawed."
I believe it is against the law.
LOL...
Lost her life instead of her chute!
Who cares? It's fun and it doesn't endanger anyone but the jumper.
Maybe this is what they mean by "All your BASE belong to us!"
Sometimes trying to save a few bucks can really cost you...
Base jumpers are children in adult bodies, jumping off the roof with an umbrella.
When I became a man ...
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