Climbing
A 40-year-old base jumper has died after a 6,000 foot jump from a Cascade peak in Washington. The incident occurred at about 7 p.m. on August 19 at Mount Baring, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release dated August 29. The deceased was jumping with a fellow base jumper when the accident happened. After witnessing the 40-year-old jump, the partner of the deceased heard a crash and saw the man’s opened parachute near the 4,000 foot level (of the mountain) but was unable to see the individual.
- Related: American CEO of Aviation Company Dies in Wingsuit Flying Accident at Foot of the Eiger, Switzerland
Base jumping is an extreme sport that involves leaping from fixed objects (buildings, antennas, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs), leading to the acronym “base.” Base jumpers use parachutes or wingsuits to safely descend to the ground. Unlike skydiving, where jumps are made from aircraft at higher altitudes, base jumps are typically performed from much lower heights, often only a few hundred feet. This lower altitude and proximity to the jump platform mean base jumpers have less time to react to potential issues and a smaller margin for error compared to skydivers. The equipment for base jumping with a parachute also differs from regular parachute sports, with jumpers typically using a single parachute system without a reserve, unlike the dual-parachute system required for skydiving.
Both the parachute and the body were recovered after a three-day operation by Snohomish County Search and Rescue. The body was located on the north face of the mountain in an extremely steep and hazardous area, making direct access impossible. Multiple agencies including the Everett Mountain Rescue Unit and Snohomish County Search and Rescue participated in a complex, three-day long rope rescue operation. Rescuers rappelled from a helicopter to reach the body, which was then prepared and airlifted off the mountain.
Renee Cooper, a spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office told FOX 13 Seattle, “This mission required extensive planning, aerial precision, and rope rescue expertise. It highlighted the collaborative effort between Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, the Air Support Unit, the Helicopter Rescue Team, and the Everett Mountain Rescue Unit. Without the technical skill and coordination of these teams, such a recovery would not have been possible in the dangerous terrain of Mt. Baring.” The Snohomish County Medical Examiner headed into the long Labor Day Weekend investigating the cause of the accident and is continuing to work to identify and notify the victim’s next of kin.
-
1SnowBrains Trips Canceled → -
2Base Jumper Dies After 6,000-Foot Jump Off Washington's Mount Baring →
-
3Loon Mountain Proposes Massive 280-Acre, Four-Lift Expansion →
-
4Vail Resorts Shareholder Lawsuit: Katz, Price-Fixing Claims →
-
5Beartooth Pass, MT/WY, to Close Early as Winter Storm Approaches →
Compared to skydiving, base jumping is extremely dangerous. The BASE Fatality List (BFL), an unofficial and non-comprehensive website that records base fatalities dating back to 1981 for educational purposes within the community, surpassed 300 names. The greater cause for concern, though, is that the BFL appears to be trending at an accelerated rate—more than 260 of those names have been recorded since 2000. Estimates suggest about 1 in 500 wingsuit base jumps are fatal. By contrast, for licensed skydivers, the fatality rate is approximately one death for every 101,000 jumps. Tandem skydiving is far safer, with an average of one fatality for every 500,000 jumps. Thrill seekers will continue to pursue their own form of happiness regardless of the statistics, however. Hopefully with the progress in the sport and education on the risks associated with base jumping, fatalities will begin to fall instead of continue to increase at the alarming pace that recent decades have showed.
That’s 1 in 500 jumps. Not one in 500 jumpers. If 2 people jump 250 times, one of them dies minimum.
This “sport” is brainless.
I am not part of the base jumping community and never will be. But I do know math and something doesn’t add up. The article states there have been 260 recorded deaths since the year 2000 and the death rate is approximately 1 death for every 500 jumps. That means in the past 24.5 years there have been around 130,000 jumps around the world (260×500). To my understanding, there are at least a dozen guys that have each made more than 5,000 jumps. If we remove their 60,000-something jumps from the 130,000 total it leaves 70k. Divided by 24.5 years, that’s less than 2,900 jumps per year for all the rest. Worldwide.
Does it seem realistic that just a few guys perform almost half of all base jumps? And that the combined average for the rest of all the jumpers in the world is less than 2,900 jumps per year?
That number is for sure inaccurate. Even the website they are referencing has more deaths than that.