Bridge Day: BASE Jumping in West Virginia

[Watchdog]

My 20-year-old godson, Erik, was in West Virginia this weekend for the appropriately-named Bridge Day.

Not satisfied with simply jumping out of airplanes every chance he gets (he's going for his instructor's certification), he decided it'd be fun to jump off the New River Gorge Bridge.

He's been after me to do a tandem jump with him.

I keep telling him I'll get back to him on that.

 

[6518John]

82nd/101st Airborne could use that boy.

 

[Rustyt1953]

No thanks!

I get vertigo on escalators.

 

[DeathGrip]

I'm with Rusty, No way!

That second pic looks crazy.

A Classic Escalator scene from hell for the fearful,

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRBchZLkQR0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRBchZLkQR0[/ame]

 

[Watchdog]

That second pic looks crazy.

It does, doesn't it? And the roadway of the bridge is only 876 feet above those rocks. That isn't all that far, considering that the jumper's chute has to open and fully deploy in plenty of time to slow the descent to a safe level.

To quote Erik: "So far the life I'm living has been pretty spectacular. The edge of what's possible is an amazing place to venture with mind and body. BASE Jumping is a totally different animal from skydiving. No words can explain it."

Just looking at the photos makes my...well, you know.

 

[raisedin99]

[/I]Just looking at the photos makes my...well, you know.[/QUOTE]



I know what you are saying, I also vomited.

terry

 

[JohnRippert]

Pucker factor high.

 

[DeathGrip]

Can we say pucker factor?

 

[DeathGrip]

Pucker factor high.

Faster than me. Pucker up.

 

[bgrafsr]

My fiancee went almost every year for the last several years to go rafting on the New river, but this year she didn't go due to a double knee replacement in February. The rafts would stop so the rafters could watch the people jump off the bridge. I went with her last year (no rafting though)and it's fun to watch them jump. There is a small section of beach they try to land on so their chutes don't get wet. If they land in the water and the chute gets wet, they can't use it until it completely dries out. Many jumpers take 2 or sometimes 3 chutes just in case.
The entire bridge is closed both ways to vehicle traffic (pedestrians only). And Security is over the top, FBI, Local police, County Sheriff, Secret Service, and ATF too.

 

[Roadtrash]

Made many a jump out of an airplane but I ain't jumping off no bridge.

 

[arjay]

Long ago,in the early days of hang gliding ('70?) I did 5 flights and that was good enough for me [emoji33][emoji1]

 

[Arik]

Nope, never!

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[prplbkrr]

I wouldn't base jump off that bridge, but if somebody has a bungee cord I am all in.

For real. It's on my bucket list. Though I don't think they let you bungee jump any longer.

 

[chud333]

Wing Suits are next !!!!!

This is usually how i roll........



Chuck

 

[Peak53]

My 20-year-old godson, Erik, was in West Virginia this weekend for the appropriately-named Bridge Day.

Not satisfied with simply jumping out of airplanes every chance he gets (he's going for his instructor's certification), he decided it'd be fun to jump off the New River Gorge Bridge.

He's been after me to do a tandem jump with him.

I keep telling him I'll get back to him on that.

The intense focus on that young man's face is worth a thousand words.

 

[bigwheelzip]

If you want to go airborne with Erik, here's a multi-engine option. It looks soooo much safer!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaNZzUg5Opg[/ame]

 

[greeman]

The top of a 6' ladder makes me dizzy.

 

[soFlaNative]

Gotta ask. How was the 1st pic taken?
I can see all the way to the footing.


I passed on the 300 ft. tower crane bungee jump set up years back in my neighborhood.

 

[islamoradamark]

Just looking at that second photo i bet that rock gets big fast great pictures