BASE Jumping Alone is the Speed of Life!

“Author Note:  This was recently sent to us by a person that wanted to remain anonymous…I can relate to his passion on many levels.  He has found his…what is yours?

 

PS: Excellent photo!”

 

 

 

One of my greatest passions in life, put simply into four letters,….B….A….S….E.

 

I have had, and still have many passions, namely surfing, snowboarding, skydiving and riding motorcycles. They all have one thing in common……that feeling you get in your stomach when one second you’re standing still….and the next you’re going 100+ mph. It’s the speed! You could be on water, snow, asphalt, dirt or just a cushion of air but it still gives you that incredible sinking feeling in your gut.

 

Now I’m sure that everyone does the things that they love for different reasons. But this is why I started BASE jumping. I believe it’s the purest form of accelerating the body to top speed. All you need is a B, A, S, or an E. (Building, Antenna, Spann or an Earth)  and if you plan on doing it again….a rig might be good too.

 

I’ve never been into “team sports”. I never saw the appeal in running around with a bunch of guys hoping that you’d get the ball in your possession to make that epic score and be the big hero.

 

Every time I’m on my bike or board, or standing on the edge of a cliff, I always have the “ball” in my possession. I don’t need to prove anything to ANYONE, but myself. This is why I truly find a desire to jump alone. Jumping with friends is great. I’ve never met such a diverse and genuine group of people in my life. But I think one of greatest things about BASE…and my other passions, is that you don’t need an audience or a crowd, a team, a score board, or an opponent (cheerleaders would be nice though).

 

I LOVE TO JUMP ALONE! There is no one around…..just the birds that you’ll be flying with in the minutes ahead.

 

Everything is in your hands. You’ve packed your rig, made the drive to the cliff, decide if it was safe to jump or not. It’s a feeling of total control.  Before each jump, I’m filled with anticipation, fear, excitement, worry, anxiety, some more fear, and calm…all at the same time.

 

As I hike to the exit point…I go through my pack job over and over in my head. Three rings, risers, French Links, lines, tail pocket, tail gate, canopy, bridle, pins, and pilot chute. I picture each step. I know I took all NINE of my packing clamps off before I closed it up because I counted them ten times! Once at the exit point, I do the last gear check on myself, I’m ready. It’s show time. It’s like a sensory over load.

 

You can’t think straight, but you go into auto pilot. Once I say “3″, it’s pretty much the point of no return. Then you continue….”2″…”1″…”C-ya”.

 

Then, as my feet are leaving the tera firma, a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Nothing matters at this point. I’ve done everything I could have possibly done. Good pack job, good weather conditions, good launch, now just enjoy the ride.

 

It seems to last forever, but its over before you realize it.  Your canopy opens and you’ve avoided a most certain death yet again. And there wasn’t a single person to see it!

 

I really don’t think non-jumpers realize the magnitude of thought that goes into each jump. “All you gotta do is jump”…..Not true. It’s 90% mental, 10% physical.

 

I will always love to jump with friends, its definitely safer, but B.A.S.E. Jumping alone is one thing I will always need to do.