I started BASE jumping because.....

[pmujesab 0]

So why did you guys start jumping?? Was there a defing moment when you said I have to BASE jump?? Was it cause you saw it on tv or because you have freinds that do it??

To the people who are planning to jump, what sparked your interests??

I started BASE jumping because.....

[Faber 0]

well first of all i think Crewpilot is rigth in this(Ballon tread)

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I don't know why anyone would want to take up a sport like this.

And if you don't beleive me.
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=443442;search_string=search_string;#443442

I dont really know why i had to try it,when i first started skydive i thourgth that BASE jumpers were sickos that were just too far out in their adrenalin trip..2 years after did i my first BASE my self,it took me 30 jumps(3 month)before i got my first injury under a canopi,i have been out the last 7 month and just got back,and back jumping..Why? i dont know,theres somthing inside me that wants it.My gf can feel it at me if the weather is a go but i cant becours of other things.I use serval hours a day(not working yet)to whatch movies of BASE,and surf the net for BASE stuff.

So my answer would be i dont really know...
why i continiue,i like it,and will probaly keep doing it until the day i cant any more or if i get my self too scared..

As many BASE jumpers say,i also DONT recomend people to start BASE jumping.

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[base704 0]

...I wanted to get chicks...

so much for that

You can get a lot more done with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.

[Faber 0]

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...I wanted to get chicks...

did you get any? it seems like its only in the begining that chicks like BASE(besides my chick),but atleast most BASE jumpers then get a warrius of differnt chick

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[Zennie 0]

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it seems like its only in the begining that chicks like BASE

That's because once they learn a little more about the sport, you go from being a fascinating daredevil to a complete lunatic.

- Z
"Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

[mac266 0]

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it seems like its only in the begining that chicks like BASE

That's because once they learn a little more about the sport, you go from being a fascinating daredevil to a complete lunatic.

or as my EX Girlfriend said - a self obsessed selfish bastard! mmmm........ wonder why that was?!?!


CYA

[kevin922 0]

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So why did you guys start jumping?? Was there a defing moment when you said I have to BASE jump?? Was it cause you saw it on tv or because you have freinds that do it??

To the people who are planning to jump, what sparked your interests??

I started BASE jumping because.....

shitty weather is sparking my interest.. :) when you have a 1k ceiling and you want to jump you look at base differently :)

[mac266 0]

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shitty weather is sparking my interest.. :) when you have a 1k ceiling and you want to jump you look at base differently :)

You are having a laugh!!! - skydivers jump more frequently than us!! the weather is such a important aspect (especially in the UK!) that we get blown out more times than not! and skydiving still goes on (even if you do keep getting dumped in on gusty days!!)

[flyinryan 0]

Interesting question. I think that an equally interesting is why do you keep jumping? To adress the first question I have to admit I am not totally sure.

When I started skydiving I always intended to start BASE, never know to what extent, but figured I would eventually start BASE. I think the draw at the time was similar to what drew me to skydiving, at the time I assumed they were more similar then they are, it was somthing different and new to try. I also kinda considered BASE to be a naturall progression in skydiving, and to not do that would be to totally cut myself from reaching my full potential as a parchutist.

After I made my first three skydives there had been a news story on our local news about two guys jumping off a building in my town, one of them got hurt but the other one did not. For some reason this really made me want to jump. I think the fact that it was really life or death type stuff, what I thought skydiving was before I started. About a year and a half later the guy who did not get hurt was taking me off my first A.

So now to adress the second question. Why do you keep doing it after you make one? Or why not just jump off of A's in low bust areas, or legal S's and E's? Well, quite simply there is somthing about being in free fall and flying a canopy in an urban area that you cannot describe. I love putting the slider on and going to a 7+ second A where the bust factor is low, but I really love looking at a lit up street in free fall. Or lining up my canopy with a lit up street and flying between buidings. I think that you need to do the urban AND not-urban stuff to really enjoy. I have yet to do stuff that is really in the middle of no where, like the Norway stuff or the water fall in Venezuala (been there but not to jump), would really love to do that sometime to get the full BASE experince.

I guess to make a long story short: it's about living life, pushing yourself, seeing new and beautiful things, having fun. There is somthing cool about having one parachute that you packed with your loving hands being the only thing between you and serious injury or death.

Uhhh, that was long. Wish the wind would die down so I could go jump.

BASE 853

[Zennie 0]

... I got divorced.

Well, it's not quite that straightforward, but that's what gave me the green light to start.

When I started skydiving I watched Chronicles III. I saw the BASE clips and thought that looked like way too much fun. Unfortnatly, my ex drew the line and made me promise not to BASE jump.

Welp, I still watched clips, I lurked the BASE Board on & off, and lusted to do Bridge Day (even scheming ways of "being out of town on business" during BD weekend). I'd see BASE rigs at the DZ from time to time and they always had this sort of mystical quality to them.

Well, last August the promise was no longer an issue so I got hold of 460, started ground crewing and it sort of snowballed from there. My first jump was BD 2002 and I've been pretty actively jumping ever since.

- Z
"Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

[Zennie 0]

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I think that an equally interesting is why do you keep jumping?

Because it's fun as hell!

In my very short time in the sport I've collected so many fascinating experiences. Some funny, some scary, but all treasures. Same goes for the people I've met.

And, quite frankly, I've never engaged in an activity that causes one to reflect on the meaning of life and one's mortality quite like BASE. Maybe I reflect on the mortality issue a little TOO much when I get wasted... ... but there is a definite philosophical element for me.

It's very personal, but very meaningful, and impossible to describe to others... even other BASE jumpers. It's something that is felt, not spoken... kinda Zen now that I think about it.

- Z
"Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon

[flyinryan 0]

Yeah, I agree. I love driving by objects that I have jumped just going about my daily busniess, and to look up and think, yup, I've jumped off of that. Especailly objects that I have pionered/been on eht pionering load. That is really rewarding.

BASE 853

[feelopen 0]

I guess I'll post an answer here... being as I am a person who has recently made this decision but has yet to start, perhaps my banter will aid someone else one way or the other. Let me reiterate: I'm only just starting BASE and have made no jumps yet, if I live for another three weeks, I'll have completely begun by taking a FJC offered by one of the manufacturers.

My attraction to dangerous sports has arguably always been a part of me. I remember my mom telling me that I was climbing my dresser when I was just a couple years old, and since I was eight or ten I’ve been very attracted to parachuting. When we first got a trampoline I was in love with the repeated feeling of jumping up and falling down and I yearned for longer and longer freefalls. My sister and I would jump from an old rickety ladder onto the trampoline, and while this took the edge off the urge to fall farther, it didn’t satisfy it. I soon realized I wanted very badly to jump from the roof onto the tramp, and then having done that, I wanted the extra 4 feet altitude of not landing on the tramp, but on the ground. I realized though, that I would need a parachute. I rigged up a silver dome-tent rain-fly and jumped it repeatedly off of the trampoline, experimenting with different configurations and inflation techniques. Once I felt confident the rain-fly would slow my fall enough, I took it up to the roof and fearlessly jumped. The landing sent shuddering pain up my legs and tears streamed from my eyes as I laid there thinking I’d just broken my legs - they weren’t broken, just painful. And so I vowed to myself that I wouldn’t do such a silly thing again unless I was more properly equipped.

All through high school, all I wanted to do was rock climb. While climbing satisfied many of my dangerous urges, I learned how to control the dangers and climb without the risks. Climbing became less of an endorphine pastime, and more about my body being fluid with nature. Skydiving was where my heart was dreaming. I thought it would be just about the scariest thing a guy could do, and so I saved up, went down to the DZ, lied about my age, and did my first tandem. While I was extremely disappointed by the lack of falling sensation, I was hooked by the weightless flying feeling, and knew I needed to become a skydiver. The rest of the story is intuitive, and while most think I keep pushing the limits of sanity, I feel I’ve always approached dangerous activities very carefully, always realizing that the best part of living is that you can keep living, to climb another cliff, jump another plane.

So for the past few years my heart’s wandering off this other crazy dream of flight. BASE jumping is a hurricane of thought that has plagued my mind most of the time, both waking and asleep. For the last year, there hasn’t been a night that passed without me dreaming of strapping on a BASE rig atop a dream climb or a bridge and leaping off gracefully. I started asking people about the sport to find they had little to tell me that I didn't already know, that BASE is an extremely stupid pastime that should never be done, that I was silly to even think about it... I was trying to focus on other things, yet my BASE jumping dreams were increasing to a point of distraction. I have now come to a point where I know with all my heart and soul that I will start BASE jumping, and that I will love it. I feel like to fits me like a hand in a glove. I have realized that every time I’ve been way up on something tall, my spirit was jumping off of it. And so I have been selling my blood and plasma at multiple locations, weakening my immune system to the point of near failure, eating no more than $3 of food per day, and spending no extraneous money in order to purchase my BASE gear and pay for the FJC. My commitment is total and all encompassing.

I've thought a lot about why I want to BASE, and writing it down really helps. I wrote a similar explanation to my mom and my sister, and I feel like the reason I’ve shared this mumbo jumbo here and with them is because I wanted people to understand the decision I’m making is not only one of the biggest decisions of my life, but the one I’ve put the most thought, time and energy into making. I wanted people to know that I’m not trying to be reckless, I don’t want my family to think I’m disregarding their interests in having me in their lives, and I am not trying to hurt myself or anyone who feels close to me. I am going to start BASE jumping for many well-thought-out reasons and while one of the principle goals I have is to continue doing it into ripe old age, I realize this may not happen, that I may die on my first or second jump. I do not feel like I am someone who will needlessly risk his life, I feel that I take calculated risks in order to live my dreams more completely and fulfill my heart’s desires.

My decision was facilitated by the fact that I have no true girlfriend, very few people who I feel super close to, only two surviving family members, and a plethora of accomplished goals and ambitions. When I was 12 I wrote a list of over 450 goals, I've accomplished more than 300 of them from surfing 25' waves to skiing fourteeners - When I make a decision that limits my life, I'm satisfied knowing I've done most everything else I ever wanted to do. All the rest that comes is bonus! If this weren't the case, the decision would be different. Think about your loved ones, think about your goals in life. BASE will always wait for you to finish all your other plans... I feel that even though I'm not done living, I have to live like I am willing to be if I agree to become a BASE jumper. For the last 10 years of my life I've lived each day like it was my last. I'm well versed doing that and so now it's time to up the anti I guess.

Cheers to many many more bonus moments to be enjoyed by all,

CP

[skreamer 1]

I read the following quote in today's paper, I quite like it:

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'You will ask..."what is the use of climbing Mount Everest?"...if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself, upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go.

What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. and joy is, after all, the end of life...

George Mallory, 1922

[SpinDoctor 0]

i think my sig says it all...

And yes - i nicked it from a 'surf' clothing manufacturer

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Connextion: British 8 Way Team
www.bodyflight.co.uk
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[mac266 0]

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i think my sig says it all...

And yes - i nicked it from a 'surf' clothing manufacturer

Not sure where this is from but kinda says it all to me - "Those that do cant explain it, those that dont cant understand it"

or something like that!

[Zennie 0]

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Those that do cant explain it, those that dont cant understand it

I like that!

- Z
"Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon