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- Written by: James Renhard
BASE Jumping records make for some terrifying reading. After all, it’s an activity of extremes. Leaping off a Building, Aerial, Span or lump of Earth isn’t for the faint hearted. So, you’re probably wondering quite how extreme is it. What’s the highest BASE Jump ever completed? What’s the lowest BASE Jump ever survived? What’s the most amount of people to BASE Jump at one time? Fear not, here at Mora we’ve been looking through the record books to bring you the highest, lowest, fastest, scariest BASE Jumping records ever.
Highest BASE Jump
When you think about the highest BASE Jump ever, you probably immediately think of Felix Baumgartner and his “Edge Of Space’ jump, back in 2012. But, as any BASE Jumping aficionado will be able to tell you, old Felix didn’t jump from a building, an areal, a span, or the Earth so, by virtue of his tiny space balloon capsule thing, he doesn’t make the cut. The record for the world’s highest BASE Jump belongs to Russian dare devil, Valery Rozov, who jumped from Mount Everest (the worlds highest mountain, of course), leaping from a staggering 7220 metres (23,688 feet, or four and a half miles) above sea level. Just let that sink in for a second… The worlds highest BASE jump was by a man called Valery. Madness. Of course, it’s not just the height of the record breaking BASE Jump that’s makes this so incredible. Rozov and his team had to climb Everest itself before they could take the leap. The ascent along took four days from base camp. On top of the exhausting climb, the team had to battle minus 18 Celsius temperatures in a bid to get into position to jump. Rozov flew for almost a minute, at speeds of around 125mph before finally safely touching down on the nearby Ronbuk Glacier.BASE Jumping: Everything You Need To Know
Highest BASE Jump From A Building
A year later, in 2014, the current record for the highest BASE Jump from a building was set. Arguably being more recognisable as a BASE Jump that Rozov’s leap from Everest, French professional jumpers Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet took flight from the Burj Khalifa Tower in Dubai. Just as Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building making it the obvious choice for the discerning BASE Jumper looking to set a record. Fugen and Reffet, part of skydive collective Soul Flyers, jumped from a platform at the top of the already nose-bleed-educingly high tower, making the BASE Jump a staggering 828 metres (2,716 feet, six inches) high.10 Most Insane BASE Jumping Videos On The Internet
Lowest BASE Jump
There is some debate as to what the lowest ever BASE Jump is. Many, including the good people at BaseJumper.com suggest that a gentleman called Jim Bruckhauser holds the record, after completing a BASE Jump of just 33.5 metres (110 feet). That’s the heights of just seven double decker busses stacked on top of each other. However, there are also reports of a British BASE Jumper named Russell Powell, who BASE Jumped from inside the Whispering Gallery inside the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral in London. This remarkable leap was from a chillingly low 32 metres (105 feel), pipping Bruckhauser by a not-insignificant metre and a half. Unfortunately, footage of these terrifyingly low BASE Jumps isn’t available but, for what it’s worth, we’re tipping out cap towards the Brit. As far as we’re concerned, Russell Powell has it.This BASE Jump Is So Low The Parachute Barely Has Time To Open
Most BASE Jumps In 24 Hours
How many BASE Jumps can a person do in 24 hours? It turns out, a remarkable 201 Jumps. What’s even more unbelievable is that this number was set in just 21 hours. That’s a staggering ten BASE Jumps an hour, or one just over ever six minutes. Madness. This record was set by Captain Dan Schilling of the United States Air National Guard. Starting his jumps on 7th July, 2006, the former Special Ops man leapt over and over again from the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho. The famous bridge is thought to the the only man-made structure in the Unties States where BASE Jumping is perfectly legal, all year round. The Perrine bridge also served as the ideal way for Captain Schilling to set his record. The structure allowed him to have a crane on site, which swiftly took him the 148 metres back to the top of the bridge, where a support team packed a new parachute ready for each jump. These vital time-saving mechanisms – along with years of experience and incredible skill, are what allowed Schilling to set such a stratospherically high record. Captain Schiing’s feat beat the previous record set by Australian BASE Jumper Gary Cunningham, back in 2006. Cunningham, the President of the Australian BASE Association, leapt from the KL Tower in Kuala Lumpur, jumping continually for a 24 hour period, starting at midnight on 30th December 2005. By just 6am, Gary had broken the previous record of 57 jumps in a single day.
How Many BASE Jumping Fatalities Have Their Been On Record?
