Increasing numbers of wingsuit jumpers are dying (2016)
Active BASE jumper and wingsuit pilot here. Instructor of both.<p>2016 was by far and away our worst year on record. We lost newbies, heros, and damn near all levels in between. Since then, a few sites have taken a more locked-down approach where we used to be welcome, and as a community we&#x27;ve made progress to band together to push education and conservative decision making over &#x27;dude that was so sketchy.&#x27;<p>A lot of people have brought up the why - why do people do this when they know it&#x27;s so dangerous? Well, that&#x27;s a question that everyone needs to make for themselves, but for me it&#x27;s quite simply that it&#x27;s the only time I&#x27;ve found my mind to be quiet. It forces me to be present, assess everything in a level of detail that is unparalleled in any other time in my life, and quiet down every other distraction.<p>Also, it&#x27;s beautiful. Being in the mountains, on top of buildings, out on bridges, climbing antennae, all with some of your closest friends? It&#x27;s incredible. There&#x27;s absolutely nothing on the planet like that level of adventure.<p>With all that said, it&#x27;s fucking dangerous. I&#x27;ve managed to have a somewhat clean track record in my two years in the sport, with only two broken bones, but I have probably 20 of the people on the Base Fatality List still in my phone, four of whom I&#x27;d call great friends. It&#x27;s fucking awful losing friends like that, but it&#x27;s who we are. If they wouldn&#x27;t have lived a life like this, would <i>they</i> have been <i>them</i>?<p>A little while back I had the lightning strike closest to my family, when we lost Ian. Here&#x27;s his story:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;vimeo.com&#x2F;167054481" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;vimeo.com&#x2F;167054481</a>