Nail biting clip of a base jumper nearly failing to deploy his parachute in time after a kayak based stunt was posted to TikTok by Daniel Regan in July. It’s unclear exactly how much longer he had to deploy his chute before things would have gone much further south, but he was definitely edging towards disaster.
Risk factors involved in BASE jumping are high, with one in every 2,317 jumps leading to a death between 1995 and 2005. Obviously times have changed since then and safety has more than likely been increased, but it’s still an incredibly risky sport and people seem to be getting braver rather than more cautious.
DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME. Hopefully that’s obvious, but it’s still always worth it to say.
For those of you who don’t know, BASE jumping is like skydiving off of fixed objects. BASE itself is an acronym for Buildings, Antennae, Spans, and Earth. Antennae usually refers to large cell towers and similar structures, spans refers to bridges, and earth refers to cliffs or something similar. Participants often climb to the top of an object in some manner, jump off, and deploy their parachute.
BASE jumping can also be done with those crazy wingsuits, for those who want to fly through the air rather than fall through the air. The major risk factors are often related to late chute deployments and wall strikes, making BASE jumping one of the most dangerous sports in the world.
I went through a period of time in middle school where I was super obsessed with BASE jumping and wingsuits. I actually remember doing a school project on it, and I really hoped that one day I’d be able to give it a shot. Now, if someone offered to take me BASE jumping for free, I would probably say absolutely not. That stuff is way too scary.
Related: Wingsuiter Skims Dam & Narrowly Climbs Over Retaining Wall
Image Credit: DanielRegan via TikTok