I see from the TV listings that Channel 4 (UK) will tomorrow be airing  The Men Who Jump off Buildings: a documentary about the extreme sport of base jumping.  Launching from Buildings, Antennas, Spans, Earth (hence BASE), base jumping practitioners have only seconds to control their descent  and deploy a parachute.   Jumps from buildings and cliffs are particularly demanding due to the danger of hitting something sideways on the way down.

While the Channel 4 show promises to focus more on jumps from buildings, it reminds me of a base jump from a cliff side I witnessed in 2007, in Switzerland’s Lauterbrunnen Valley.  The rapid-fire sequence of photos I took at the time should convince you that stamp collecting isn’t such a bad hobby after all.

I later discovered Lauterbrunnen is something of a base jumping hot-spot, famous for the quality of the jumps, but also for the number of related deaths in recent years.

The sequence of 16 pictures in the gallery below shows the various stages of the jump, including the free-fall glide and chute deployment; the main chute is activated by a smaller chute the jumper holds and throws out at the critical moment.

Although the guy in the pictures landed safe and sound – I had a chat with him later – the sequence  shows him fighting to unravel a tangled harness.  Jumpers say every jump is different, so an ability to think quickly on the spot is as important as understanding the theory.

The timing and manner of the chute’s release depends on many factors, including the jumper’s velocity, which in some cases may be below the terminal velocity of around 120 mph.  It goes without saying that the time available to avoid objects and adjust parachutes is severely limited.

Apart from one holiday paragliding experience in the Med., I’ve only worn a parachute while flying gliders – and thankfully never had to use it.  And for now, exhilarating as I’m sure base jumping is, I think I’ll stick to walking up mountains rather than jumping off them.