(*Photo by Ashley Mead)
This weekend was one of my first experiences with BASE jumping. There were a couple other scouting missions I’d been on with fellow skydivers, and a ground crew opportunity here and there, but nothing quite compared to a weekend at the New River Gorge.
This year was the 30th anniversary of Bridge Day - a BASE jumping boogie in Fayetteville, West Virginia. It’s held every year on the 3rd weekend in October and it’s the country’s premier legal BASE event.
(*Photo by Ashley Mead)
For those who may not be fully aware, BASE jumping is an adrenaline sport dedicated to jumping from static objects, rather than from an aircraft as we do in skydiving.
BASE stands for Building, Antenna, Span, Earth – the four categories of objects that jumpers typically throw themselves from when making a BASE jump.
Similar to skydiving, you can get a BASE number by having documented jumps from each of these categories.
Bridge Day is a great experience, not just for the ensuing post-jump parties, but it provides opportunities to participate for all involved.
First time jumpers can take a day-long course to teach them the ins and outs of canopy piloting (F-111, 7-cell canopies can be tricky to flare and land if you’ve never had that experience), packing, and safety. Given that the bridge is 876 ft., this provides first-timers a little comfort knowing they have some altitude to play with.
(*Photo by Ashley Mead)
Experienced BASE jumpers often spend the day jumping multiple times, in two-ways, three-ways and doing some amazing tricks.
The landing area is small, uphill and a little rocky. Even with the cold temperatures, rain and sleet on Saturday, many jumpers still chose to land in the river than to risk pounding in a hard landing. The motto going around that day was, “you dry faster than you heal.”
Very true. In the hour or so I spent down at the LZ, I saw multiple hard landings, including one that ended in a broken leg.
But, with the hundreds of jumps that took place that day, there were very few injuries to report – most were minor.
Let’s move on to the positives, shall we?
This year, Bridge Day was opened up with a jump by my friends Paul and Lonnie. They were providing our friend Dan ‘Danger’ Mathie with his first BASE jump in the form of an ash dive. (They are the first jump in the video below.)
You’ll notice Dan’s ashes puff out as they deploy their ‘chutes. What an amazing jump, guys!
Luckily for that jump, the weather was nice. Chilly, but the sun was starting to peak out for a few minutes. Though it didn’t last long. The afternoon was spent watching jumpers in the rain and sleet.
Well worth it, though, as I got to head to the LZ at the bottom of the bridge and take photos of my freefly partner on his 5th jump off this bridge – his first ever legal BASE jump.
Check out some of the photos of his jump sequence:
(*Photos by Ashley Mead, taken at the base of the New River Gorge Bridge)
After Rick’s jump I was able to meet up with John from TraventureMan so we could do a little interview action. It was great meeting you, John! I’ll be sure to let y’all know when it’s posted.
The rest of the day was spent watching the remaining jumpers from atop the bridge and heading to the HQ for some pizza, beer and partying.
We ended up calling it a night earlier than expected. A day of jumping and photography really takes it out of you.
The next day before heading out of town, we made our way down to the base of the bridge with some of our other friends so they could see the perspective from along the river.
(Happy birthday, Rick! So glad I got to share this experience with you.)
Hopefully the weather will be better next year when I return to make my first Bridge Day jump – because you better believe I’m going to be nice to my bones and land in the river.
Blue Skies!
Ashley
wow.
youre pretty damn awesome , you know!
Hmm… I read blogs on a similar topic, but i never visited your blog. I added it to favorites and i’ll be your constant reader.
Are you a professional journalist? You write very well.
Great post and awesome photos, Ashley!
And thank you for the mention. I hope to get that episode, with your interview, up within the next two weeks. Also thank you for pointing me to Canton Air Sports, and for helping out with the video for my first ever skydive. I’m all scheduled up to jump November 8th. I’m super excited!
Keep up the great work.
[...] an exhausting weekend in West Virginia for Bridge Day I really thought this week at the office would drag. But boy was I [...]
[...] since my visit to Bridge Day back in mid-October, and having seen the care taken with safety, packing and preparation, BASE [...]