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2009 will be my 10th Bridge Day (out of the last 12.) Quite simply, for me Bridge Day has felt like Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my birthday all rolled into one since my first two jumps there in 1996.
Maybe you’ve been a BASE jumper for awhile and the New River Gorge Bridge is on your jump list. Maybe you’re an avid skydiver and looking for another way to get your rush. Or maybe you just showed up at Bridge Day this year and saw that an 82-year old man had jumped and thought you could do it too.
Whatever your reason, BASE jumping off the New River Gorge Bridge is an epic feat. Depending on your experience level, there are some guidelines you’ll need to follow to get to the point where you can actually make the leap.
Experienced Jumpers
If you are already a BASE jumper or a skydiver, you may think this means you can just show up and jump. This is not quite the case. There are some requirements you must meet in order to jump at Bridge Day.
First of all, you need at least 100 parachute jumps (BASE jumps and/or skydives), and at least one of those has to have been in the last two years prior to the event.
Tandem BASE Jumping at Bridge Day
First time BASE jumpers must attend a BASE jump training event prior to their jump. There are several opportunities to get this training.
You must have BASE jump-specific or approved skydiving equipment and need to make sure your stuff qualifies before registering and paying for your slot.
Unexperienced Jumpers
If you’ve never jumped before, you have a fairly long road ahead to get the required number of jumps before Bridge Day 2012. The bright side? In 100 jumps you’ll probably realize whether or not jumping off an 876 foot tall bridge is for you. Plus you will have developed a pretty exciting hobby.
There is another way you can experience a BASE jump off the Bridge without going to all that effort. For the first time ever, the 2011 Bridge Day offered tandem BASE jumps. Only 10 tandem jumps were available; stay posted on what might be offered in 2012.
The tandem jump isn’t cheap, but compared to the amount you’d spend to get your 100 parachute jumps in, its a steal. As long as you have an adventurous spirit and meet a couple of other small requirements, it’s safe to say that you’re going to have the ride of your life.
Its a pretty good bet that a few of the BASE jumpers at the 2011 Bridge Day were probably jumping from the Bridge for the first time. It’s also a good possibility that Bridge Day was the day some of the jumpers made their first BASE jumps, period.
But what are the odds of it being a jumper’s first BASE jump, that jump is off of the New River Gorge Bridge, and that same jumper is 82 years old? Pretty good this year, since Donald Cripps of Pensacola, Florida was on the Bridge. Here’s Donald’s story.
Donald Cripps, Bridge Day 2011. Thanks to Vertical Visions for use of their photo.
Bootleg Bootleg Out the Door
Donald acquired his passion for skydiving as a military paratrooper for the Army in the Korean War. He made his first jump in 1947, and not long after he was thrust into battle by making two combat jumps. After the war he switched branches of the military and spent 17 years as a Navy aircraft mechanic. His paratroop past was forgotten and he didn’t jump again until after retirement.
What To Do, What To Do
After fighting a war, parachuting into battles and a long military career, Donald found himself a retiree looking for a hobby. Unlike the traditional Florida shuffleboard resident, Donald went looking for many different activities to entertain himself.
During the search he realized, “I didn’t have the patience for fishing, and I wasn’t good enough at golf.” He remembered his days as a paratrooper and how much he enjoyed jumping out of planes. Even though he was in his early 60′s, he figured skydiving may be the retirement activity he was looking for. He was right.
He started his post-military parachuting in 1991. Today, his total for both military and non-military jumps is 3,227, including his first BASE jump on Bridge Day. He is on pace to have somewhere near 150 jumps this year and has jumped 4 more times since Bridge Day.
When one hears the word peer pressure, an impressionable adolescent usually comes to mind, but that’s exactly how he ended up being what has not been officially verified, but is almost assuredly a given, the oldest BASE jumper in Bridge Day history. “A lot of the guys I skydive with come up and BASE jump off the Bridge every year and they kept telling me I needed to go try it, so I finally just said OK.” The rest is Bridge Day History.
I’ll Be Back
Donald hopes to be able to visit WV again next year for a repeat performance of this year’s jump. He really enjoyed Bridge Day and his BASE jump off the bridge. He said he hopes to keep sky diving for as long as he possibly can. We can’t wait to see him in 2012.
This is the second part of an interview with expert BASE jumper, Jason Bell, who has so many BASE jumps he quit counting and has thrown himself off the New River Gorge Bridge over 100 times. Jason and his company, Vertical Visions, now have the distinguished and difficult job of coordinating BASE jumping on Bridge Day.
One of the things people notice is different jumpers have different amounts of time they hold onto their chute before throwing it. How long do you typically wait before throwing your pilot chute?
Vertical Visions Setting Up, Bridge Day 2009
I normally wait 3-4 seconds before deploying my pilot chute. Pilot chutes are small 42″ diameter miniature round parachutes that are tossed into the airstream in order to create drag to extract the main parachute.
Many first time BASE jumpers will hold their pilot chutes in their hands while in free fall. More experienced jumpers store the pilot chute in a spandex pouch on their back, which they cannot see. This may sound crazy, but jumpers know the location of their pilot chutes better than the location of their nose.
What is going through your mind when you are standing on the platform waiting to jump?
I’m nervous. We keep a portable toilet at the Bridge Day exit point for this very reason. Normally, I’m too busy checking my gear to worry about my family, bills, or my job. It’s kind of relaxing to be able to not worry about life’s everyday problems.
After the parachute opens and I enjoy a 30 second parachute ride into the gorge to a soft landing, I realize that this is the most amazing sport in the world.
Where’s the worst place you’ve landed jumping off the New River Gorge Bridge?
I landed on the railroad tracks at Bridge Day a few years back. My parachute opened with numerous line twists, which is similar to what a person would experience if someone twisted them on a swing set. If not cleared quickly, line twists can can be fatal since the jumper can’t normally steer or flare the parachute.
Have you ever injured yourself jumping off the New River Gorge Bridge? What did you do?
Unfortunately, yes. Back in the 1990′s, I thought it would be a great idea to propose to my wife while BASE jumping at Bridge Day. I prepared a special flag that read “Jenn, will you marry me?” and even made some test BASE jumps with it. On the last jump of Bridge Day, I opened my parachute and deployed the flag. The flag didn’t fully open and I accidentally dropped a steering line while clearing the flag. Not wanting to land in the river on my proposal jump, but lacking the steering lines that permit a soft flare, I broke my ankle on landing. She said “yes”, and off we went to the hospital. It was one of the best days of my life and I’ll never forget the experience. I wouldn’t change a thing.
What makes Bridge Day worth attending?
Bridge Day is worth the effort to attend because admission is free, the view from the bridge is breathtaking, and there is no other place on the East coast where spectators can watch adrenaline-hungry parachutists leap from a perfectly good bridge. With 450 BASE jumpers from 10 countries and 40+ US states, the six hours allotted to jumping are well utilized with continuous leaps from the 876′ New River Gorge Bridge.
In addition, Bridge Day offers spectators a view of what it’s like to fly like a bird, something that every person has probably dreamed at one point in their life.
So now you have a better idea of what it’s like to BASE jump. Are you ready to give it a try?
One of the biggest draws for the Bridge Day crowd are the BASE jumpers. Anyone who has ever watched these thrill seekers launch themselves towards the rocks and water waiting a mere 880 feet below wonders, “What makes these people do this?”.
Well, we found the answer to that question, and a few others, when we chatted with Jason Bell of Vertical Visions. Vertical Visions is a parachuting and BASE jumping company in Bridgeport, WV and this is its tenth year as the Bridge Day BASE coordinators. Owner Jason and his partner Bill Bird are the co-organizers and both have extensive skydiving and BASE jumping experience.
Jason and his wife, Jennifer
Jason is originally from Morgantown and has a Mechanical Engineering background. It was at WVU where his passion for jumping out of and off of things was spawned.
It didn’t take Jason long to become an experienced skydiver. After only one year and 150 jumps, he trekked down I-79 and Rt 19 for his first Bridge Day BASE jump. Jason was kind enough to take a moment out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about jumping off the New River Gorge Bridge.
How many years have you been BASE jumping now?
18 years, which is nearly half my life.
How many BASE jumps do you have total?
I stopped counting around 7 years ago after I reached 500 BASE jumps. It’s exciting to quantify jumps when you first start, but it became time consuming and unimportant.
How many of those jumps are off the New River Gorge Bridge?
I’ve got 100+ jumps off the New River Gorge Bridge over the years. This bridge is an amazingly safe object and hopefully jumpers will get to legally leap from the catwalk outside of Bridge Day in the near future.
How was your first Bridge Day experience?
I waited in line for over 5 hours to jump, but enjoyed every minute of the adventure.
What makes jumping off the New River Gorge Bridge so exciting/scary?
We BASE jump entirely because it’s scary. After 18 years of jumping, I still get butterflies at the exit point. The New River Gorge Bridge is one of the tallest bridges in the USA, which makes it an ideal location for safe BASE jumps. As a mechanical engineer, I can also appreciate the structural beauty of this bridge.
Stephanie Bercht is our video contest winner! Her “BASE Hooping” video received the most votes, and her charity, World Hoop Day, will receive $1,000, courtesy of Subaru.
Mollie Seidler is the winner of the Hometown Subaru Test Drive contest. Mollie is currently a med student at Marshall University.
Congratulations! And a big thank you to all who entered both contests and to those of you who voted.
Next up: Stephanie and Mollie will suit up and jump off of the New River Gorge Bridge on Bridge Day. Will you be there to watch?
Bridge Day is full of stories. Interesting. Unique. Funny. We enjoy posting stories from others, it helps convey the many different perspectives that go into making Bridge Day special.
Over the years, Bridge Day has served as the backdrop for many stories. From weddings and marriage proposals to historic jumps, and family rappels. People doing extraordinary things at an extraordinary place. The stories, and their variety of nature, are as unique as the event itself.
We would like to introduce you to Minna. Minna is a Finnish B.A.S.E. jumper living in Canada. She has raced kayaks, ridden skateboards….if it’s an extreme sport she likely has tried it. The video below shows her progression from tandem jumping to solo…which led her to Bridge Day.
This year, like many others, she made her first trip to jump at Bridge Day. Unlike most other jumpers, Minna is paralyzed. She also has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). It doesn’t stop her from living life to the fullest, and it didn’t stop her from jumping off our Bridge.
How was her day? We’d like her to tell you herself.
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Bridge Day 2010
By: Minna Mettinen-Kekalainen
Truly one of the most peaceful moments of my life. On the platform, then finally jumping. The beauty of the New River Gorge.
The whole experience was so much different then I imagined. When I have jumped before, it’s always with few people around. Yet at Bridge Day, despite the crowd being large, as it came time to jump, the noise faded away.
When I was up on the jump-platform, I heard nothing. As if no one else was there.
Later, as I recounted the day, I was surprised by this. Why? Because I have never jumped anywhere with so many people and so much noise. As I listened to the announcer while others jumped, I thought to myself, “This never happens at my other jumps!”. The jumpmaster told me I was clear. Just the couple of words I needed to hear.
As I left the platform, my mind turned the voice of the announcer silent. The crowds went silent.
Time seemed to stand still, as if this particular moment, were only for me. As I flew I noticed the tree branches and their leaves. Ripples in the water. I felt the movement of air upon my face, with the greatest intensity. For those few seconds it was as if everything were magnified and I had the whole world to myself alone.
It was a peaceful feeling. One I doubt I will ever be able to fully explain.
Later as I was talking with a friend, I explained, “If I died tonight I would be ok with that. I felt the most peaceful moments of my life during that jump”.
He laughed and said, “You always say that when you jump”.
This was different. I tried to explain it like this:
It reminds me of past kayak races at the Nationals and some International events. During sprint races, time would blur. With each paddle stroke I took, I felt the intensity throughout my body. Each heartbeat seemed to echo. Bridge Day was like this for me. As our team sport psychologists would say, I was’in the zone’.
This is what the jump gave back to me. As my ALS adventures have brought me far from those racing days, I have only experienced that feeling jumping on a few other occasions. The intensity of that feeling can’t compare to what I experienced on the New River Gorge Bridge.
I did one jump. I had only planned to jump once and then to soak in the moment. Much like you, I enjoy watching people, visiting the booths, and taking in the surroundings. For me, it is SO much more about the whole experience, then rushing to try to jump again.
I needed that jump. I needed to be on that Bridge.
It brought me peace. That jump has liberated me from the feeling of uncertainty of my future and my ability to continue on fighting with this illness, knowing what is coming in the future. I was growing tired, and was thinking that soon I wont have the mental tenacity to keep on dealing with the various things that I will be facing in the future.
I didn’t join the evening festivities following the day of jumping. I felt the need to hold on to the feeling I had found earlier.
Being sick with ALS, I know that jumping at another Bridge Day will never be in my sights. Being there to jump this time, has meant more to me then I am able to describe. The experience is one that helps me to accept my ‘fate’ in life before I leave someday to move on to some other existence.
It is really impossible to describe, you just need to go out and do it. Experience it for yourself.
It was an adrenaline and funnel-cake filled day for the 363 jumpers and more than 100,000+ (very conservative estimate) spectators who lined the New River Gorge Bridge on Saturday.
Bridge Day Presented by Subaru
Temperatures brought a morning chill to the parachutists lining up as early as 6am, but that didn’t stop them from making more than 1,030 jumps by day’s end. The “Easter Pigs” once again joined the group of 363 jumpers as they launched occasional half-gainer into the morning fog that made spectators ooh and ahh.
Others tested their nerves a bit differently with rappelling 876 feet to the river below or taking to the highline to zip from the bridge. And for the first time more spots were available to take in the action below the bridge for a completely different perspective. And what a perspective that was. The Hometown Subaru shuttles were a hit, watch for them again next year.
The “Pick Up Guys“, our river and rescue experts, had a busy day with helping some 102 free-fallers out of the water but overall the day was full of standing ovations as many started off their jumps with craziness but ended perfectly with landings squarely on the Landing Zone.
On the bridge, spectators picked up WV made items, learned more about WV Tourism, got free stuff from Subaru (the festival’s main sponsor) and gorged on fajitas to funnel cakes. (No pun intended. Well…maybe a little.)
If you missed Bridge Day or missed bringing your camera, check out all the images from your fellow bridge goers on Flickr. And stay tuned. We’re already dreaming up ideas for Bridge Day 2011…
The BASE Jumpers at Bridge Day, aim for the bulls eye. A big vinyl mat, in the LZ (that’s jumper speak for Landing Zone).
Fact is, few actually hit the bulls eye, but many land in the designated area of the beach. Some softer than others.
Missy, the Pick Up Gal of the Pick Up Guys
However, for one reason or another, be it crossed-lines, late deployment or slow chute inflation, some don’t quite make it to the designated area. A few actually choose to land in the water, as it is a much softer landing than the boulder strewn beach.
Trees are some jumpers kryptonite. For others the river.
When jumpers land in the water, the “Pick-Up Guys” jump into action.
A team comprised of a crew of experienced rescue personnel. All have backgrounds deeply connected to river rescue, swift water rescue and ski patrol. They are knowledgeable, skilled and somewhat quirky… well let’s just say “they dance to the beat of a different drummer”. (We’re lookin’ at you Mike!)
Tom Dragan has been a part of the water rescue team for almost 30 years. He has recruited a team that he (and the jumpers) can trust and rely on, including family. They refer to wing-suit jumpers as “flying squirrels”, and speak a hand-language with one another that few can understand. They get the job done, and done right.
When they spot a jumper in trouble, and they can generally tell just body their body language during descent, you can hear their jet boat engines roar to life.
Scattered among 4 boats, they have a systematic way of covering the river from the upstream rapid (Fayette Station) to the downstream rapid (Flea Flicker) below the New River Gorge Bridge.
As one plucks a jumper, they rotate from the areas they consider most difficult to pull the jumpers.
Watching them in action is as interesting as watching the chutes deploy.
For one day a year, they each share an office which has no walls and a helluva view…not to mention plenty of laughs and personality.
While often un-noticed by the spectators, the “Pick Up Guys” are an important part of the day. Ask any jumper that has hit the water and we’re pretty sure they will agree.
Bridge Day for the adventure-goer is all about adrenaline. But if you’re new to the festival or just like to the last time you got your heart beating was on the teacups – all the opportunities at Bridge Day may be confusing.
So here’s the 411 on all the heart-pumping stuff we have going on:
BASE Jumping
This is the coup de gras of adventure sports. The biggest rush you can get. And BASE jumpers take their love for flying high to the New River Gorge one time a year on Bridge Day.
BASE stands for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth. BASE jumpers leap from any and all of these four fixed objects with parachutes designed specifically for rapid deployment. It’s known around the world as the most extreme of extreme sports.
Bridge Day Flags
To be a BASE jumper, it takes parachuting experience, and of course guts. You can’t just walk up and decide to parachute off a bridge. This takes some advance coordination. You can however watch until your heart is content.
Highlining
Being on the Bridge Day highline may conjure images of ladies swinging from a circus high wire. Well, this is nothing like that. Highlining on Bridge Day is ziplining – from the Bridge down some 700 feet. And it’s fun.
Bungee Jumping
Try again. We’re like way freaking high in the air and have steel beams all around us. We’re all for adventure, but are you crazy?
Rappelling
Fixed ropes under the bridge’s catwalk provide an opportunity for teams of rappellers to descend (and ascend) throughout the day. Teams for rappelling are selected by a lottery system each June, but watching is open to everyone.
Skydiving
Tri-State Skydivers, owned by Bridge Day BASE jumper Larry LeMaster (you have surely seen Larry jump in with the giant American Flag!), is bringing skydiving for experienced and inexperienced jumpers to Bridge Day (October 12-18) at the New River Gorge Airport (3 miles Northeast of the New River Gorge Bridge). They’ll have a Cessna 182 and tandem skydives will be available for those wanting to make their first skydive (no experience required). Prices are $250 for tandems (reservations require a $50 deposit). If you contact Larry early, tandems are only $210. Video of your jump is also available. You can also contact Larry Lemaster at (740)894-JUMP(5867) with your questions. There will also be tandem jumping at Fayette Airport (NOT parachuting from the Bridge) on the South Side of the New River Gorge provided by West Virginia Skydivers.
Do you have your license to chill or a need for speed? No matter, Bridge Day will offer you a bit of both in just 18 days.
Well, in the New River Gorge, one doesn’t necessarily include the other.
Thousands and thousands of people every year go white water rafting down the New River. It’s one of the most popular raft trips in the world, especially on Bridge Day, and for good reason. The rapids of the New are a perfect mix of big waves and technical manuveurs, adn depending on the water level, perfect for just about everyone.
The Bridge Day Rescue Team hard at work.
You don’t even have to know how to swim. It’s unbelievable but true. Most people would not believe the number of rafters that go down the river that do not know how to swim. Hey, that’s what the life jacket is for. Actually, we can’t say “life jacket”; the correct term is “personal floatation device“. Go figure.
Anyway, that’s why they call it white water rafting and not white water swimming, right? People fall out of the rafts, but then they get scooped right back up and continue on downstream.
Now, an entirely different kind of white water swimming takes place on Bridge Day. BASE jumpers leave the bridge, free fall, then throw their chutes and maneuver a descent to the landing zone below.
In theory.
There’s a whole lot that can go on between the time that chute opens and the time a jumper comes in to land. And that, my friends, in addition to a whole load of other wonderful stuff, is what makes Bridge Day awesome.
Basically, jumpers have to choose between landing in the landing zone, or landing in the river. Wait. Actually, they have to choose between landing in the landing zone and landing in the river and landing in the rocks and landing in the trees and landing in the railroad tracks. Life is full of choices.
But for simplicity’s sake, let’s just say some poor BASE jumper is about to land in the water. They actually have a lot going for them.
Any BASE jumper will tell you that the sure fire, absolute, 100% softest landing you can make on Bridge Day is in the water. It’s actually encouraged for some people who are making their first few jumps. The bridge is positioned directly between two rapids, Fayette Station, which is Class IV, and Flea Flicker, which is Class III. If a jumper lands in the water, it’s not going to be in a rapid, but rather, between them. Pretty much.
That doesn’t mean there’s not current. There’s enough power in the water to get thing moving fast. So the Bridge Day rescue team is on hand in the pool below the bridge. If you’ve never had a chance to see these guys and girls in action, do yourself a favor and check it out. They’re amazing.
What happens is this: A jumper lands in the water. The boats have already predetermined where the jumper will touch down (or, touch in, as the case may be), and are there within moments of the first signs of dampness. Through hand signals, radios, and, um, mating calls, the boats drop off the rescued jumpers at the bank and then reposition themselves for the next water landing.
Pretty cool, huh?
So, to sum up, there’s whitewater rafting swimming, and there’s whitewater BASE jumping swimming. You’re almost guaranteed to witness both at Bridge Day 2010. It’s going to be fun.
