Category: Spans

Bridge Day 2016

Bridge Day 2016

Bridge Day 2016

Bridge Day is an annual one-day festival in Fayetteville, Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The event is coordinated by the New River Gorge Bridge Day Commission, and is sponsored by numerous companies of both local and international significance. The event, held on the third Saturday every October, commemorates the 1977 completion of the New River Gorge Bridge. On this day, all four lanes of the bridge are closed to automobiles and opened to pedestrians. Estimates have 100,000 people attending the overall event.
The first Bridge Day was held in 1980 and drew a crowd of roughly 40,000. It has been held every year since except for 2001. It was canceled that year due to the recent events of 9/11 and the possibility of terrorist attacks.

Base jumping on Bridge Day

Bridge Day is the only day of the year people are allowed to BASE jump off the bridge into the New River Gorge 267 meters below, one of the few exceptions to a general ban on BASE jumping within the U.S. National Park System. People are also allowed to rappel from the span on Bridge Day. About four hundred BASE jumpers participate in each year’s festival. In 2015 the BASE jumping community boycotted the event.

bridge day 2016

There have been three deaths during Bridge Day due to accidents involving BASE jumpers:
In 1983, Michael Glenn Williams from Birmingham, Alabama, drowned when his gear was caught in the current after he made a successful jump. The one rescue boat that was in the river at the time was busy with other jumpers, and could not make it to him. In later years, more than one rescue boat was always used, and parachutists were not allowed to jump until it was confirmed that one of the rescue boats was available.
In 1987, Steven Gyrsting of Paoli, Pennsylvania, jumped using gear that was not BASE-specific gear and was killed after he was unable to open his reserve chute in time when his main chute failed to deploy.
During the 2006 festival, Brian Lee Schubert died when he failed to deploy his parachute in time. In 1966, he had been one of the first to BASE jump from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

Chris Douggs McDougall – What Does BASE Stand for?

Chris Douggs McDougall – What Does BASE Stand for?

Chris Douggs McDougall

What Does B.A.S.E Stand for? Check out the video to find out the answer!

Chris Douggs McDougall

Base jumping from buildings: Benidorm in Spain and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, antennas in Switzerland and USA, spans in Croatia and Twin Falls in USA and mountains – Riglos in Spain and Monte Brento in Italy.

Chris Douggs McDougall about himself:
“My life has been devoted to BASE jumping and skydiving for over 16 years now – 16 years that have brought me endless joy and adventure and taught me what living life to the fullest really means. BASE jumping proves that nothing is impossible if you chase your dreams with passion and determination.

My chosen adventure sports have taken me to all corners of the globe, exploring some of nature’s true wonders in the company of the world’s most unique, inspirational people. I created BASEdreams to share my experiences of these incredible sports, in the hope that they may inspire even just one person to break free from the constraints of society and achieve what their hearts most desire – whatever that may be.
While only a handful of us will experience BASE jumping, we’re all plunging through the freefall of life. And we have to make the most of it.”

A legend – Dwain Weston

A legend – Dwain Weston

Dwain Weston

A daredevil basejumper

Dwain Weston – should be an inspiration to many of us. This video is dedicate to him, his family and his friends. Scenes are extracted from a documentary called “fearless”.

Dwain Weston was an Australian skydiver, BASE jumper and wingsuiter. On 5 October 2003, while participating in the inaugural Go Fast Games, Weston was killed attempting to fly over the Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City, Colorado.

Weston, who was originally from Sydney, Australia, worked as a computer analyst. He made over 1200 BASE jumps in ten different countries, including a jump from the 73rd floor of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was considered one of the best and most experienced BASE jumpers in the world. In 2002, he won the world title in BASE jumping. He served as president of the Australian BASE Association (ABA). He was among the first BASE jumpers to introduce acrobatic elements in the jumps, and was a pioneer in various jumping techniques.

On 5 October 2003, while participating in the inaugural Go Fast Games, Weston was killed attempting to fly over the Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City, Colorado. Weston was wearing a wingsuit, a skydiving suit with fabric extended below the arms to the body and between the legs to catch air allowing for horizontal travel when skydiving. Weston was to go over the bridge while fellow skydiver Jeb Corliss was to go under it. Just prior to the jump, Weston said to Corliss, “Whatever happens happens”.

Miscalculating the winds and his distance from the bridge, Weston struck a railing while traveling an estimated 120 mph (190 km/h), severing one of his legs at the hip. Spectators on the bridge witnessed the event. Some filmed the accident and captured the reaction of the crowd and the damage to the bridge. At impact with the bridge, Weston’s parachute deployed and he fell onto a rock face about 100 yards from the bottom of the gorge. While either impact would likely have killed him independently, it is assumed he was dead after impact with the bridge.

CITIZEN Time Jump

CITIZEN Time Jump

CITIZEN Time Jump

Crazy Finns do a base jump to a moving car

Antti Pendikäinen (known from Stunt Freaks Team), Lassi-Pekka Ruuskanen and Anna-Maria Pekkanen are the first Finns to have done a succesful base jump to a moving car. Only two of the previous attempts have succeeded. This time it was the Finns’ time to try.

Check the video to see what happened when both friends, Antti & Lassi-Pekka, tried to do the stunt. Who succeeded, who failed?