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Base Jumping

Base Jumping

BASE jumping is the act of jumping from a fixed platform or position, at a great height. Base jumpers use parachutes to stop themselves from plummeting to their doom. BASE is also an acronym for the four different types of platforms you can jump from; Buildings, Antennae, Spans (bridges) and Earth (cliffs).

Top Questions Asked on ChaCha.com for Base Jumping

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Week | Month

  1. How much does a wing suit cost for base jumping?

    While you can purchase a beginner's suit for around $600, adv...

  2. How dangerous is base jumping?

    BASE jumping is significantly more dangerous than similar spo...

  3. What is the death rate of base jumpers?

    Since 1981, there have been at least 100 base-jump fatalities...

  4. How much does a base jumping parachute cost?

    A parachute made especially for BASE jumping costs between $1...

  5. What was the highest base jump without a parachute and not dying?

    Sydney couple Glenn Singleman and Heather Swan hold the recor...

  1. How much does a wing suit cost for base jumping?

    While you can purchase a beginner's suit for around $600, adv...

  2. How much does a base jumping parachute cost?

    A parachute made especially for BASE jumping costs between $1...

  3. What is the shortest height someone has base jumped at?

    The shortest base jump was in Norway and took approximately 1...

  4. What are the flying suits base jumpers wear?

    Wingsuits are jumpsuits with fabric panels between the arms a...

  5. How dangerous is base jumping?

    BASE jumping is significantly more dangerous than similar spo...

Top Questions Asked on ChaCha Mobile for Base Jumping

In the Last:
Month

  1. What is base jumping?

    Base Jumping is an activity that employs a parachute or the s...

  2. Where is a good place to go Base Jumping in or around Cincinnati?

    If you travel to the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, ...

  3. How much more dangerous is Base Jumping than Sky Diving?

    So far this year there have 5 base diving deaths and 8 sky di...

  4. How old do you have to be to go base jumping?

    There is no age. As long as you can operate a parachute and j...

  5. What is the lowest elevation you can base jump from?

    This method enables the very lowest jumps (below 200 ft) to b...

About Base Jumping

BASE jumping is arguably the most dangerous sport in the world, and we at ChaCha do not recommend that anybody try it, ever. The acronym was coined by filmmaker Carl Boenish, his wife Jean, Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield. In 1978 Boenish filmed the first BASE jumps from El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, California.

BASE numbers are given to people who have made at least one jump from each of the four platforms. Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield became BASE #1 and BASE #2 respectively when they jumped from a Houston skyscraper in January 1981. The numbers are exclusive to the individual jumper.

A separate category was created a short time later for Night BASE Jumping. This meant completing all four categories at night. Phil Mayfield has the title of Night BASE #1, and Phil Smith became Night BASE #2.

BASE jumping is very different from skydiving. First of all, skydiving is done from a moving vehicle and at higher altitude. This means the skydiver has time to reach terminal velocity and stabilize themselves in flight. BASE jumpers usually fling themselves off of objects lower than 30,000 feet, usually under 1,000 feet, barely giving them time to deploy a chute.

BASE jumpers also use specialized equipment. They employ larger drag parachutes to help the main parachute open quicker. Also, BASE jumpers often jump without a reserve parachute, as there is hardly any time to open a first parachute let alone a reserve.

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Base Jumping