SolveYourProblem Article
Series: Extreme Sports
I Love The Adrenaline Rush Of Extreme Sports
What
Is BASE Jumping?
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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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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