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Why Are So Many Base Jumpers Dying? (2016)
- coldtea 6y agoBecause it's a hella dangerous "sport"?
- tromp 6y agoIt's 2nd behind Free Climbing on this deadly sports list [1]. [1] https://rapjumping.com/five-deadliest-extreme-sports/ https://rapjumping.com/five-deadliest-extreme-sports/
- yesenadam 6y agoHmm that website champions the apparently relatively safe Rap Jumping: "Running seven stories down the side of a building face-first combines the Adrenaline-pumping thrill of bungee with the control of abseiling."
- rich_sasha 6y agoIn this context "Free Climbing" is a misnomer. "Free Climbing" is the basic garden variety of rock climbing; it means you aren't using artificial aids like ropes to make progress, but you _do_ use them for safety. It's almost always done with a partner. "Soloing" is the right name for climbing on your own, and even then, you can solo with artificial protection (although that's rare, and less safe than free climbing). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_climbing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_climbing
- Fricken 6y agoI wouldn't Free soloing ahead of base jumping. The first reason is because the vast majority of climber's just don't do it. Of the small handful who have made a discipline of it, and of the ones who died, most didn't die free soloing. Dean Potter died wingsuit flying. Michael Reardon (most likely) Drowned. Dan Osman died rope jumping. Brad Gobright rapelled off the end of his rope. Alain Robert,at 58 is still active and has free soloed 170 highrises, he's been doing about 10 a year for the last several years. Alex Honnold, Peter Croft, Catherine Destiville, Steph Davis, Hazel Findlay and Brette Harrington are all storied free soloists who are still with us. John Bachar died in a ropeless climbing fall in his 50s, but most of his notable climbs he did while in his 20s. Austin Howell, a lesser known soloist died in a climbing fall a couple years ago. Those are the only 2 I know of who died free soloing. Now, the world of extreme alpinism, that's a different story. Dying all the time. 5 of the top guys died over the span of less than 3 years, in a cluster of incidents a few years ago.
- wetmore 6y agoDerek Hersey died soloing, and many notable (and not so notable) soloists have stories about falling soloing and surviving in situations where they could have easily died if they landed differently. Reardon was soloing when he was hit with a rogue wave so it's a bit fuzzy. But certainly free soloing isn't anywhere as statistically dangerous as base jumping or cutting-edge alpinism. It's just sexier and easier to understand, with very obvious danger, as opposed to the more esoteric dangers in alpinism like falling seracs, avalanches, failing rappel anchors, and so on.
- Hnrobert42 6y agoThis answer begs the question. (And also provides an opportunity to use that expression correctly, which is so vanishingly rare I am almost giddy.)
- coldtea 6y ago>This answer begs the question I'd say the question begs the answer!
- bitcharmer 6y agoIs this meant to be a provocative question? :)
- pfortuny 6y agomods: [2016]
- turbinerneiter 6y agoBecause they are jumping off of things that are high enough to kill you on impact, but not high enough to safely open a parachute? Do you need an address to send me the Pulitzer?
- turbinerneiter 6y agoI now read the article and will leave my above comment up as a reminder that I can be an a*hole sometimes.
- pestatije 6y agoNot to worry too much, here comes my turn: Most of these thrill seekers are in reality(or also) showmen, attention seekers. If there's anything they like more than jumping, it is being watched doing it, recording the jump, discussing every detail of it with as many people as possible. Sponsors are just reinforcing that component of the sport, and it attracts wannabes like flies.
- yesenadam 6y agoGee, I got down a few paragraphs and..the screen darkens and a >>ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO KEEP READING. [SIGN UP]<< popup with nothing to do but back button. Maybe noone else got that far yet?
- Hnrobert42 6y agoYou don’t have to enter a valid email.
- bhaak 6y agoDisable JavaScript and you can read the article without any problems.
- 8bitsrule 6y agoFirefox Reader mode.
- t0mbstone 6y agojust use a dummy email
- zedr 6y agoBill Booth's rule #2: "The safer skydiving gear becomes, the more chances skydivers will take, in order to keep the fatality rate constant".
- dredmorbius 6y agoKnown as "moral hazard" in the insurance field. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_hazard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_hazard
- SilasX 6y agoMore like risk compensation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation
- dredmorbius 6y agoThat too. There's plenty of conceptual overlap.
- Fricken 6y agoI've asked myself the question, in other sports: Should all this equipment really be thought of as safety gear? Because it encourages me to take risks I wouldn't otherwise take. Really it's danger gear.
- Bancakes 6y agoPolice officers don't take their body armor into consideration when deciding on use of lethal force in self-defense. Even though IIIA kevlar can stop multiple .44 magnums.
- vanattab 6y agoJust because a vest can prevent death does not mean it does not incapacitate the officer(preventing his further response) or doing serious harm.
- saberdancer 6y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_jPcUkVrM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_jPcUkVrM this is why. Constant pushing of the envelope in a incredibly dangerous sport. Judging how fast you are falling and whether you'll end up a meter above or below your target is hard and it probably cannot be predicted in a persistent manner. One time you'll get a gust of wind that pushes you slightly off target and you catch a rock wall or a tree at 100mph+.
- yesenadam 6y agoApparently a year after that video "17 August 2016, Uli Emanuele (29), an Italian base jumper, died in a crash at Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland while shooting a new video." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatalities_due_to_wingsuit_flying https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatalities_due_to_wing...
- harryf 6y agoTo me the screwed up part is companies that sponsor this stuff like Red Bull. I was working right next to this tragic Base jump - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ueli_Gegenschatz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ueli_Gegenschatz - we used to eat lunch in the Sunrise Tower and one day there's a really weird vibe in the room because 30 minutes earlier this guy had Base jumped from the roof and crashed; he was still alive when they took him to hospital but died later. The screwed up part of the story according to what I've _heard_ - and which didn't really get well reported - the wind conditions that day were unpredictable. He shouldn't have been jumping at all, but decided to anyway because Red Bull - the sponsor - plus the press were there and he didn't want to disappoint everyone by cancelling. So you could argue it was his decision, but was it really? There should at least be some independent referee that makes the final call on stuff like this.
- bhaak 6y agoExtreme sports are dangerous. Who would have thought? I don't quite agree with the article that "normal" BASE jumping is not dangerous. It's just less dangerous than BASE jumping with a wingsuit. This is not new. Look at Roald Amundsen and Reinhold Messner. They managed to achieve many firsts and reached an old age. But how many of their contemporaries died? Messner even lost his brother on one expedition they did together even though both were considered to be among the best climbers. I wonder how much survivorship bias is in there. We all take risks every time we get out of bed, when we cross the streets or driving a car. I can totally understand that some enjoy these kind of experiences when they are taking much greater risks. I don't have a problem if they want to live fast and die fast. But what about the people they affect with their lifestyle? If you have kids and you still put yourself into these dangerous situations, you're just a selfish asshole IMO.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- nix23 6y agoI know a Mountain-farmer that lives in Lauterbrunnen, he was pretty pissed about those Base-jumpers, being a Free-climber himself he loves a little bit of risk and so, but having his Children's seeing nearly everyday a lifeless body on the green or hanging in the trees or partially in the wall (with all the sirens and helicopters afterward) was too much for him...and for his children's (who actually cope much better with it then he did) He's in a scene in that Doc (sorry for just being in german): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1bK2suOS5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1bK2suOS5I
- Bakary 6y agoI used to have a dim view of extreme sports until it occurred to me that the sort of person who engages in these pursuits views the life of an office worker with the same sense of vertigo and horror with which we view theirs
- perl4ever 6y agoThe reason I, an office worker, don't go skydiving, let alone BASE jumping, is because I tried it (static line) a couple of times in college and found that I'm not that good at doing simple tasks under pressure. It's not something you have to devote your life to, though.
- stanski 6y ago> We’re talking about real, human-powered flight—or, at least as close as humanity has ever come to it. That's not really true though, no? It's just a form of gliding. It's absolutely not human-powered flight.