florman@randvax.UUCP (Bruce Florman) (03/12/86)
> So, as long as we are promulgating discussions, how about > this and other BASE activities (legal or otherwise)? Is there not a > canyon bridge where it is legal once a year? Just how risky (i.e. stupid) > is it? Or is this something frowned on discussing here... > > Mark Papamarcos > Valid Logic > {hplabs,pyramid,..}!pesnta!valid!markp > > P.S. Yes, I'm just a beginner, and wouldn't even CONSIDER doing anything > this crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested. There is a bridge across the New River in W.Va. that is closed to traffic one day every year (sometime in the early October I think) and the local townfolk have make a day of it watching all sorts of loonies (both skydivers and bungee jumpers) hurl themselves off. They've been doing it for about three years now. Each year it seems to draw a hundred or so jumpers, some of whom make several jumps. As far as I know, there has been only one fatality. That was due to drowning rather than impact. There have also been a number of injuries, due primarily to the poor landing area: a rocky sand bar (sandy rock bar?) surrounded by deep water and tall trees. I've never been there myself, since it's 3000 miles away, but I've seen most of the videos. A friend of mine did the editing for a couple of them, and I can send you his address if you're interested in getting a copy. There are a couple of other bridges in the U.S. which are easily high enough to jump from. There is the Royal Gorge bridge in Colorado, which I've not jumped from, and the Foothill Bridge in Auburn California, which I have. The Auburn bridge is not quite as high as the New River bridge (approx. 750 feet vs. approx. 830 feet) but the landing area is vastly superior. There are reasonably large landing areas on both sides of the river which can be reached after exiting either side of the bridge. The river itself (the North Fork of the American River) is neither as wide nor as deep as the New River, although the current is probably a little faster. I have jumped the Auburn bridge six times. Even though it's not exactly legal, it's not *exactly* illegal either: I had been told by a friend before my second trip there that there was no law against jumping off of the bridge. Believing this to be true (well hoping anyway), four others and myself made a jump at three in the afternoon on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend 1984. There must have been 200 wuffos there, making it one of the largest demos that I've ever done. Four of us landed on the East side of the river and one, after going off the bridge waaay head down, kicking his deployment bag and opening with a half dozen line twists, landed on the West side. We were all whooping and hollering, and the crowd seemed to think that it had been a great show, but when we got to the end of the fire road where we had parked our truck, there stood four park rangers (the land under the bridge is part of a state park). They were quite polite and friendly, asking us questions about our gear and about skydiving in general, but they wrote each of us a citation that ended up costing us 85 bucks apiece. Each of us, that is, except the guy who had landed on the other side of the river. He saw them stopping us, so he stashed his gear under a bush, accepted a Lowenbrau from a wuffo, sat with his feet in the river and laughed at the rest of us. As it turns out, there is no law against jumping off the bridge. The problem is that it's illegal to land an aircraft in a state park without written permission, and under the definition that's on the books, a parachute qualifies. I jumped from that bridge on four more occations (at more discreet times) and made one jump from a 1400 foot television tower. However, I have since retired from BASE jumping. My last one was more than a year ago. They are very thrilling, but also extremely dangerous. Two of my friends have been seriously injured doing BASE jumps (one after making nearly fifty without any problems) and three friends of friends have been killed (including Carl Boenish, who pioneered the activity and had done hundreds successfully). If you do someday consider making a BASE jump, talk to someone who has done them before. If you do it somewhere other than New River on Bridge Day, you should also give thought to the legal implications. Not so much about what will happen if you get caught (I don't have to tell you to worry about that), but rather, think about what happens when you kill yourself and your family sues the owners of whatever it was you jumped off of for not stopping you. There is a matter of "right and wrong" to be considered. Bruce Florman, D9019 Santa Monica, CA
brent@poseidon.UUCP (Brent P. Callaghan) (03/18/86)
Thanks for sharing your BASE experiences with us Bruce. So far
my only contact with BASE has been a subscription to the BASE
newsletter ( a fascinating compilation of BASE stories and
tidbits). I would like to have a crack at a BASE jump - just
to see what it's like. Like you, I wouldn't consider making
a habit of it - like jumping without a reserve - chances are
the more you do the less likely you are to relate the experience
to your grandchildren.
Does anyone happen to know how Carl Boenish was killed ?
I heard he was jumping Troll Viggen at the time. I assume
he hit the wall under canopy.
--
Made in New Zealand --> Brent Callaghan
AT&T Information Systems, Lincroft, NJ
{ihnp4|mtuxo|pegasus}!poseidon!brent
(201) 576-3475florman@randvax.UUCP (Bruce Florman) (03/25/86)
> Does anyone happen to know how Carl Boenish was killed ? > I heard he was jumping Troll Viggen at the time. I assume > he hit the wall under canopy. Carl and Jean were in Norway filming jumps from the Trollveggen for some TV show (Ripley's or That's Incredible). The exact circumstances surrounding Carl's death are rather unclear, as he died while alone on the wall. The point where he jumped was not one of the ones used routinely (?!?) by other jumpers. The approach is apparently too steep for someone to stop at the edge and peer over. As I understand it, he was found with his canopy not fully deployed. The theory then is that he realized a few seconds after jumping that he wasn't able to out track the wall. He dumped his main, but hit the wall before it could open. According to Jean and others who knew him, this was very much out of character for Carl, who usually insisted on meticulous planning and testing before jumping from some new object. We'll never know why he chose to make a jump from a blind edge that day. Bruce Florman D9019 PS. Jean Boenish made her second jump (and maybe more) since breaking her leg, this past weekend at Perris.