Base Jump (gone wrong)

I often spend a lot of time photographing the Base jumpers here in Twin falls wear I live for multiple reasons. Mostly it is there enthusiasm and contagious spirt. If anyone I have ever met know's how to live life to its fullest it Jumpers.

They are always happy and a joy to be around with a carefree but yet focused sense of enthusiam for life. Sadly yesterday while I was shooting there was a malfunction and one of the shoots did not open for a young man in this group from New York.

It is legal to jump from the bridge here in Twin and I beleive the only in all 50 states that it is 100% legal with no strings attached (no pun indtended). With that said I never thought about sharing any of these photo's as it is sometimes so hard to get really good one's but with that here is one from the same group a few hour's before the accident. In memory of him.

It dawned on me as soon as I posted this that I didn't post the landing. I don't have it from that fella but here is one a few after wear they land Most, I empahsise most clear the water and try to land on the trail. The ones that don't are swimmers and if they are lucky, their is a boat in the water for retrieval then after putting their chutes away they scale a trail up the cliff and the cycle repeats normally 3 to 5 times a day for each jumper.

Very sad. Thank you for not sharing the end shot(s).

These are all shots from over 3 hrs before the accident. I would not even remotely think of sharing those, In fact I deleted the files of that jump. I can guarantee every one of these guy's no the risk they take. And they will tell you all the same basic reply that goes with the jump.

These are hours before, I believe the 1st set of jumps for all and I did not include the young man in any of these photo's. I deleted the file of that jump. I had to go back and double check times but these are from earlier in the day. Unfortunately, the average is one to two deaths a year related to the sport on this bridge.

How tall is the bridge?

The bridge is right at 500 ft.

blackchrome,

I'm sorry that you witnessed the accident. I am a long-time BASE Jumper and have made a few dozen trips to Twin Falls over the years. As a matter of fact, I even lived in Mountain Home at one time so I could be closer to the Perrine Bridge. I love the community of Twin Falls and I greatly appreciate the general attitude that most people have in Idaho, that a person should be able to live their life (and dreams) as long as they are not harming others. Idaho is truly a state where freedom exists.

You are correct that BASE Jumpers fully understand the risks involved. Everyone has different reasons for being in the sport, but at least for me, I can honestly say it's one of the most powerful and moving things I've ever done. In other words, the reward of what I receive outweighs the risks involved. Also, as you pointed out, BASE Jumpers are very calculating in what we do, which greatly reduces the risks involved. No one keeps a formal tally, but there have been well over 100,000 jumps at the Perrine Bridge with only a few fatalities.

Tom Aiello of the Snake River Base Academy is currently investigating the accident to determine the cause. This is highly beneficial for the entire BASE Jumping community so we can learn what went wrong. This type of education can help prevent other fatalities in the future. Tom currently has video that was taken from above and he has the recovered gear. He may not need any additional data, but if you'd be willing to run recovery software on the card that held the files, it might be of help. (I can provide you with the software if you don't have it already.) Any pictures would be exchanged between you and Tom and only used for investigative purposes. (They could also be used for educational purposes, if you agreed to that use.) I've known Tom for 17 years, and he is one of the most trustworthy people I've ever known. Tom is not paid for these types of investigations. As one of the world's BASE Jumping experts, he does this as a labor of love for others. If you are not comfortable in providing any pictures to him, then that is ok too.

Tom can be contacted through http://snakeriverbase.​com or if you prefer, I would be more than happy to put you in contact with him. Just shoot me a PM.

Again, I'm sorry that you witnessed the accident. And on a separate note, I very much enjoyed the pictures you posted.

Bryan

Bryan, thanks for positive feedback. I can get ahold of them and ask if it will be of any benefit. I have the recover software already so I am good their. As I understood it, I could be wrong but they had retrieved the info they needed already. Not sure what that meant but it sounded like they had conclusive evidence of the failure or reasons or reason for the mishap.

As you know you meet some of the most interesting people from around the world that come here to jump. And all having their own reasons but as mentioned, have the most outgoing positive spirit for life and that is what gives me so much respect for them. There needs to be more of that in this world today.

I will try to get ahold of them tomorrow and see if their is anything that will help shed light on Mondays events.
Thanks again Bryan.

Stacy,

I really appreciate your outlook. The friendships I've made in the BASE jumping community are very dear to me for the same reasons you noted. They are certainly some of the most interesting people around with a real zest for life.

Thanks for the possibility of helping out (if it's needed) and I hope you continue to meet friendly jumpers. And BTW, you live in a totally awesome state, not only because of the great people there, but you have some of the best photographic scenery around.

Cheers,
Bryan

Damn, sorry to hear about this.

I have a friend that has been skydiving for a million years and did BASE jumping in the past.

I won't give his name but you know he did it a long time ago because he is BASE #7.


Doc

Wow Doc, he was one of the originals that started it all. That's awesome!

So everyone can better understand how it works, BASE is an acronym that stands for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth...the 4 general categories in which you can jump from. Once a jumper completes a jump from each of those 4 objects, they receive their BASE number. In this case, Doc's friend was the 7th person to ever jump from all 4 objects.

Thanks for sharing Doc!
Bryan

Yes, thanks for sharing that doc that is really something. As far as the event that happened, yes sad indeed I hate to see anyone and their family have to deal with any tragic event of this sort. My heart goes out to his friends and Family.

bps wrote in post #17469783
Wow Doc, he was one of the originals that started it all. That's awesome!

So everyone can better understand how it works, BASE is an acronym that stands for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth...the 4 general categories in which you can jump from. Once a jumper completes a jump from each of those 4 objects, they receive their BASE number. In this case, Doc's friend was the 7th person to ever jump from all 4 objects.

Thanks for sharing Doc!
Bryan

He definitely is a very interesting character. We always kid him that he landed on his head one too many times. Fun guy.

Doc