Talk:BASE jumping

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Is BASE a Backronym or was it initially intended to be an acronym? The fact that bridges are abbreviated as "spans" suggests to me that the initials were thought of after the term "base jumping" was already in existance. Some google searches on this subject don't lead me to any definitive answers on the question. Even if someone can answer this question, tt's not essential to include in the article, but since BASE is asserted to "stand for" building, antenna, span, and earth, it may warrant inclusion. --ABQCat 22:26, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)

It's an acronym. Either "building" or "bridge" needed a replacement, and "bridge" had a more suitable one for a nice acronym.

This is semi-related, but an earlier idea was BEST jumping - building, earth, span, tower.

THE ACRONYM Around the kitchen table at Phil Smith‟s house in Houston, Texas, Carl and Jean Boenish, along with Phil and a few others were planning something special. Something none of them had done before, something they had never even considered before. They are going to jump from the top of a building under construction, the Texas Commerce Tower. The year was 1981. At this point in fixed object jumping‟s young life, Bridges, Towers, and Cliffs have already been jumped and they, especially Phil Smith, thought tall buildings are the next logical step. Phil Smith should be credited for opening the world to low objects after a return from his first El Capitan jump. El Capitan is considered do-able by most skydivers because there is time for a reserve deployment if needed. Phil Smith is 24 about to change all that. He says, “After returning from California I was driving to work and I saw something. It was something I drove past daily, but never took much notice. Now it‟s like I‟m seeing it for the very first time”. It was an eleven hundred foot radio tower and Phil jumped it the very next morning. He is the first to realize that if jumpers are willing to forgo the reserve option it would open up a whole class of new jumpable objects. While Phil is excitingly talking about the downtown building jump, Carl Boenish gets an idea and begins scribbling on a notepad. Jean then mentions a building jump wouldn‟t be a first and talks about Owen Quinn who jumped from New York‟s world Trade Center in 1975. That jump is remembered as more of a stunt and Owen is somewhat unfairly branded a nut job. “The world” Jean said, “Wasn‟t ready for this sort of thing in 1975” Carl Boenish is only half listening to the rest until he says, “Hey, look at this” He passed the notepad around the table and there is a large word all in caps and circled. The word is BEST. “well” they all said? “Don‟t you see it? It‟s an Acronym for the objects that are 25 being jumped. B is for buildings. E is for earth or cliffs. S is for span or bridges, and the T stands for towers”. “BEST JUMPING?” Phil said. “I like it” Jean said Carl, had by that time, realized what they and others were doing wasn‟t skydiving anymore. It was a new sport and it deserved a new name. When the word BEST wasn‟t really accepted by the group, Carl picked up a small dictionary knowing now what he was looking for, an Acronym, and it wasn‟t long before he found it. How about this one, “BASE?” Phil Smith is the very first one to say it out aloud, “BASE JUMPING.” They all just looked at each other for a little while. “I don‟t like it,” Jean says. “Not all towers are antennas and the second definition of BASE,” She says picking up the dictionary, “Is evil and vile.” But it‟s too late. 26 It was too cool and Phil later says he felt chills just saying the word. The boys are repeating it over and over. “A BASE JUMP”, “BASE JUMPING, a person doing this would be…A BASE JUMPER!” A few weeks later Carl Boenish announces the new name along with the sequential BASE number award program in skydiving magazine. Phil Smith, who did indeed jump the building in Texas, becomes BASE number 1. BASE number 2 went to Phil Mayfield, Jean and Carl became BASE 3 and 4 respectively. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 175.39.22.104 (talk) 01:12, 11 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As pointed out, this part of the article has a tone not up to par with encyclopeic entries. The tone is similar to that of someone who has a friend or relative involved with BASE jumping rather than speaking from personal experience. The ethics issues brought up seem to be repeated several times throughout and dont heavily impact the flow of the article in a positive way. Statements such as: "The guiding principle of BASE ethics is respect. BASE jumpers should respect the sport, the sites, and other people whether jumpers or non-jumpers." dont help to give a better understanding into BASE jumping core values, as these principals tend to be observed by many enthusiasts within a small faction.

Fortunately, the issue can be put to bed quite easily. The acronym BASE emerged from the group centred on Carl and Jean Boenish, Jim Handbury, Kent Lane, Tom Start, Phil Smith, Phil Mayfield, and their friends in the late 1970s. Having launched the sport on a wave of new popularity, they are looking for a name for it. This is a first hand account:

"I liked BEST jumping," says Carl's wife Jean Boenish. "it stood for Building, Earth, Span and Tower," but Carl keeps searching the dictionary until he comes upon the word BASE. At first nobody liked the fact that when using the word BASE a tower would need to be called an antenna, nor does Jean like the second definition of BASE which is, "Evil and vile." However the first definition is, "A platform on which something stands," but it really becomes a done deal the first time Carl looked up at the group and uttered the phase, "BASE jumping," for the very first time. Later, one of the jumpers present said, "It was a moment that sent chills down everyone's spine."

Can somebody please add some pics to this article--May the Force be with you! Shreshth91($ |-| r 3 $ |-| t |-|) 06:52, 6 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. I'm thinking that at least some of the editors of this page are BASE jumpers or at least know some. We should be able to round up some pictures of legal jumps. But to start the ball rolling, I'm going to search for some pictures of the things that BASE jumpers will jump from and put them in the appropriate places in the article. They can serve as placeholders until someone gets some pictures of some BASE jumping. Val42 22:18, August 12, 2005 (UTC)

I've added a link to a site where BASE videos can be viewed. This link was removed and I put it back. I am not affiliated with that site, and am not "Link Farming." The best way to see jumps is to watch some of the videos from that site. Regarding still pictures, definitely read the "ethics" and "site naming" sections I have added, to help better understand why many jumpers may not want photos of jumps and/or jumping sites on the Wikipedia. Tom Aiello 04:18, November 9, 2005

This article reads like an old BASE jumper giving advice to newbies, rather than a descriptive article about BASE jumping. I'm referring mostly to sentences like, "The bottom line is that BASE can be a fun game--but it can also turn deadly serious in a heartbeat. Remembering this is one of the keys to a long, healthy life, and also to a long, healthy jumping career." Superm401 | Talk 00:59, 9 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This is particularly worrying in light of the fact that the sport's founder died whilst BASE jumping. Neither this page nor the article on the man himself explains what he should have done differently, to avoid the fate that befell him. It is likely that the majority of people writing this article will be BASE jumpers themselves, and I can envisage them having a certain viewpoint that I have seen elsewhere. Lupine Proletariat 09:28, 12 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Yes this would be a good idea in order to express neutrality in this topic.--Hellolindsaylohan1 (talk) 19:39, 1 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The Associated Press referenced this article here in a recent news story. 7:09, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

"Usually BASE jumpers jump to cause a tumble by back flipping and then using the gyroscopic effects to at least have some form of control." How can gyroscopic effects be used to control the jump? I have a feeling this sentence is based on a missunderstanding. My guess is that the author refers to conservation of angular momentum as a means to control rotational speed. I may be wrong. If anyone agress with my interpretation, I suggest editing the sentence in question to reflect that. If someone can explain how gyroscopic effects can be used to control the jump, feel free to chime in. --81.233.90.182 18:51, 5 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Are jumps from parachute towers also BASE jumps?

I would san no, because they are used for training and are and are not actually an antenna, building, bridge or cliff. Trigahapykila (talk) 05:41, 27 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

There doesn't seem to be a clear distinction made here between two possible meanings of "highest BASE jump." This could mean either "highest starting (jumping) elevation" or "greatest difference between starting and landing elevations." Clearly the Guinness mention of the Troll Wall jump can't be the former, since the summit there is much lower than El Cap. The new record claimed for the jump from Meru Peak seems to be OK using the first meaning, as the summit is higher than the point jumped from on Trango; but is it also a record in terms of start-to-landing difference? (Based on what I know of the topography in each case, either could be the winner, but I would lean toward Trango.) Anyone have more data on this to clear this up? If so, a clarification could also be put on the Trango Towers page. -- Spireguy 19:04, 8 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/leap-from-the-top-of-the-world/2006/06/08/1149359863372.html, the Meru peak jump was from 6,604 metres to 4,850 metres = 1,754 metres. The Great Trango jump was from 5,955 metres to 4,200 metres = 1,755 metres, according to the Trango Towers page. It seems that the landing altitudes are approximate. I hope someone can clear this up with better data and edit this and the trango towers articles appropriately. In any case I think the jump beginning at the highest altitude is a record that should be mentioned in this article, if only to acknowledge those who define the 'highest BASE jump' in this way. --Fatsug 01:55, 9 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

the line "in fact, most deaths occur at legal sites" should be removed. earlier in the entry it says how the covert nature of the sport does not allow for accurate facts, how can we know how many people have died at unknown illegal sites?

Answer: There is a complete listing of all BASE fatalities at www.BASEFatalities.info. Analyzing these fatalites as to site legality makes it very easy to determine what percentage of fatalities have occured at which sorts of sites.

I recall seeing a newspaper article in 1973 or 1974, when the construction of the Sears Tower was nearing its end, one of the workers took a parachute with him and jumped off. My memory is fuzzy, but I think he got fired, not for the deed itself, but for "walking off the job." This was well before the internet so I'm having trouble finding any reference to this event — and for all I know I could have read about it in the National Enquirer. I'm definitely not referring to the worker who jumped from the World Trade Center in 1975 (there are plenty of references to that, and I have added it to the history section). Does anyone else remember an early 1970s jump off the Sears Tower? -Amatulic 21:04, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Surely the US isn't the only country that has a legal stance on BASE jumping. For example, I believe (although I'm not sure enough to add it to the article) that it's illegal in Australia.

Such information isn't present because no one has added it yet. Please feel free to add such information. Val42 03:14, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"The altitude of the body at the moment of jumping determines the stability of flight in the first few seconds, before sufficient airspeed has built up to enable aerodynamic stability." I'm having trouble making sense out of this. I wonder if it should be attitude. 140.147.160.78 15:39, 6 June 2007 (UTC)Stephen Kosciesza[reply]

I don't have a source to cite, but I heard that hang gliding normally has somewhere from zero to two or three fatalities a year, and that most of the fatalities are from BASE jumps. Does anyone have a citation to back that with? The fatalities section is awful small, and every sentence counts. --Thinboy00's sockpuppet alternate account 19:42, 29 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

In terms of absolute numbers, paragliding has accumulated the highest numbers of fatalities, followed by skydiving, BASE jumping, then hang gliding. This is due to the fact that hang gliders don't lose their shape in turbulence and any form of parachuting is proven more dangerous than flying an aircraft. If you want citations on Wikipedia, forget it. They will be removed by editors sympathetic to whatever sport. Look at the Talk:safety discussions under paragliding for examples. Experienced2 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 03:39, 19 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

After reading this article, and also reading another, I get some weird numbers: There were 44,757 car-accident fatalities in the USA in 2003. The population at the time was 290,850,005. If every one of those people took two trips a day, then the odds of any one of them having a car-accident is 44,757 / 581,700,010 which is about 1 in 12,997. When I compare this to the 1 in 2,317 death rate in the article, that seems a little odd. It makes it seem that riding a car or being a pedestrian is only 6 times safer than jumping off an antenna or a bridge. Which would mean it's safer to live in a tower and jump off it once a week, than it is to work there and drive home every day. I'm sure I'm not taking something into account. --Scraimer (talk) 08:43, 10 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

OK, silly mistake. I forgot to multiply by the number of days in the year. So it's 44,757 / (365 * 2 * 290,850,005) which is 1 in 4,743,850. So that means BASE jumping is almost 2048 times more likely to be fatal. That makes sense. --Scraimer (talk) 08:50, 10 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

i have become curious within the last few days. i was asked the question "can you tandem BASE jump." i have researched it as best i can and i have found nothing that says you cant but nothing that says you can. i would believe that you can do to the fact that the harness are very similar if not identical to parachute harness. feed would be great. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.112.23.222 (talk) 08:21, 4 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The current lead paragraph of the article could be expanded slightly to give a better definition of BASE jumping to quick/skim readers who are unfamiliar with the subject. 68.189.135.37 (talk) 14:20, 9 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Australian Skydiver Kylie “Buffy” Tanti Mundy was 42 years old, people who knew her describe her as outgoing, a free spirit and hilarious woman, Kylie Tanti described herself as slightly damaged, still smiling and to take her as she was. For the quotes she wrote on her Facebook profile it seemed that she had been through a lot, but was a fighter that if life kicked her hard she was willing to kick harder.

BASE stands for Buildings. Antennae, Spans and Earth in this case referring to cliffs, all these four are fixed objects. It is believed to be the most dangerous sport recreationally speaking. Since its beginning in 1978 there are about 148 fatalities in BASE Jumping, the first was William Harmon on April, 1981 from an antennae tower in Virginia (strike, canopy) and Frank Donellan was the first to die on impact when he jumped off a building in London in June 1982. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mivall (talk • contribs) 04:00, 1 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In the opening sentence of tis section, it reads "BASE jumping as of 2002...". Should this read 2006, instead? The article cited (note date range) is:

Westman, A; Rosen, M, Berggren, P, Bjornstig, U (7 April 2008). "Parachuting from fixed objects: descriptive study of 106 fatal events in BASE jumping 1981-2006". British Journal of Sports Medicine 42 (6): 431–436. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.046565. [ Prof D ] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.175.245.235 (talk) 12:45, 23 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder why the time table for base jumps in the german wikipedia totally differs from the one in this article here. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base-Jumping 95.91.234.141 (talk) 21:03, 8 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

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Two people are cited as being the first to jump from the Swiss mountain, the Eiger. One is more clearly cited as having jumped over the North Face (by far the steepest face, overall). The other entry simply refers to "the Eiger". There are a number of very different possible jump sites on the Eiger, and such unclarity is unclear. Was the first jump from the top of the Rote Fluhe (part of the North wall, but the top is on the "tourist route" to the summit, not on the North Wall itself. Or was it from the summit, which would be a much more challenging jump?

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hi i am from australia. :)

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   While (relatively) rigorously avoiding disparaging (let alone invidious) remarks about either the sport or its enthusiasts, I confess that my ... curiosity ... stems primarily from my belonging to these other ... uh ... outlying categories:

• climbers of real or simulated rock ... or more to the point (as still reasonably often in my case), of outdoor rock, where we avoid supporting ourselves (while climbing, as opposed to falling) on any metal or woody items attatched to said rock, and
• enthusiasts of what Krakauer called the Death-sport Capital of the World

   I do, however, find a marked lack of compositional and identificational discipline among some the colleagues contributing, on at least this talk page, which concerns a sibling sport ... dubious tho i find it, that they will remain survivors of said sport(s) ....
   Of course, "that's neither here nor there": My excuse for noticing is that they've been neglectful, at least ... not always to say reckless ... in respecting the local norms for clear and orderly consultation. ... Well, of course we are on the Internet; we have to remain realistic abt that! Still, I'm abt to consult, in support of remediation, the edit history, for info (and thus for the basis for clear formatting) that would have been (for e.g. those of us still committed to staying alive) so much easier to provide in the course of not merely writing something, but consciously composing -- perhaps hoping such habits might contribute to the aforementioned Prime Directive (and not just to effective communication)....
    (If someone just mumbled "Ouch!", lemme hear an a-men!)
--JerzyA (talk) 07:18, 22 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

So, ˡɗɥɻ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.20.77.87 (talk) 12:21, 2 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

What counts as the lowest BASE jump? The footage of Baumgartner's jump from Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio can be found on youtube. He jumps from the height of 29 meters above the ground, but the statue stands atop of a mountain and the descent on the parachute continues along the mountain side well below the base of the statue. Is there any agreed upon way to calculate the height of the jump in such situations? Or does the record have any official status? Ngfio (talk) 12:37, 16 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Hello! This is to let editors know that the featured picture File:BASE Jumping from Sapphire Tower in Istanbul.jpg, which is used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for April 9, 2021. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2021-04-09. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:27, 19 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]