Base Jumping.
Parachuting from a
fixed object has been practiced for around the last thousand
years. Most leaps that were practiced around that time where
with previously inflated canopies, But today's BASE jumps
emphasize launching without a previously inflated canopy.
Nearly anything that
stands or is vertical or has an overhung could be considered
jumpable. Manned balloons drew the development of parachuting
largely away from fixed objects to jumping from aircraft. It was not
until the twentieth century that fixed-object jumping slowly began
to become popular again as an extension of sport parachuting from
planes.
By the 60's parachuting from
aircraft had developed to the point that experienced skydivers began
to consider jumping from non-flying objects. People made
calculated leaps from cliffs in the Italian Dolomites, El Capitan in
Yosemite National Park, oil well derricks, or the odd bridge.
The late 70's were the pioneering years
of Base jumping. It was a period during which and
ever-increasing number of skydivers began to expand their abilities
beyond the use of aircraft. A complete foundation was laid for the
future development of Base jumping in which movie and still film
coverage played an major role.
Four more leaps were made In
1979 from the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado. One of the
participants, Carl Boenish, was responsible for having organized,
filmed, and taken part in the previous year's historic jumps from El
Capitan, and he took part in and filmed nearly all major Base
jumping developments until his death in July , 1984.
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