Throughout the skydiving season, we where often asked do we fly wingsuits ( WS ), and do we fly our WS in the mountains. YES we do, and we LOVE it!!! This activity is called WS BASE jumping.
Nowadays, thanks to YouTube generations, many people think that BASE and WS BASE jumping is easy. It is NOT!!! It certainly looks easy when professional athletes are performing jumps, but I have to remind you that these flights are carefully planed before and throughout each jump. All athletes performing jumps are skilled flyers and jumpers. Skydivers.
To become a Wingsuit BASE jumper ( BASE is acronym for: Building, Antenna, Span, Earth, which actually means parachuting from fixed objects ), first, you have to become a skydiver. Why? Because skydiving training will provide you with set of skills you need in order to WS BASE jump safely.
First and foremost, you have to be able to keep cool head. In BASE jumping, you only have one canopy, so there’s no place for mistakes. How you behave in the air, being aware of your body position, stability during the jump, flying the canopy, understanding weather conditions and forecasts, knowing your gear…all these skills have to be mastered for the perfect jump.
You need minimum 150 – 300 skydives before you can start with BASE jumping course. Paralel with BASE course, you can start flying your wingsuit. After minimum 60 – 100 skydives with your WS (depending on your skills), you can make your first WS BASE jump.
Bare in mind, for this activity, you have to be fit. You have to have enough climbing and repelling skill and stamina to climb the mountain while seeking the best exit point, with all gear necessary to perform a jump (helmet, WS, hiking shoes, water, BASE rig with the canopy, pilot chutes), all in all, around 10kg to carry up the hill for 1-4 hours, depending on wether you’re jumping from familiar exit point or you are looking for new ones.
And that’s basically it! It takes from 6 months to 3 years of learning and training before you can make your first WS BASE jump. This span depends on your free time and your bank account, because training takes time and it’s quite expensive activity (skydiving equipment- approx. 3500 – 5000€ + skydiving jumps approx. 25€ per jump , BASE gear- approx. 1500 – 2500€…)
With all this information, if you still want to do it (because at the end, the feeling of flying your WS of a cliff is just amazing, and you can’t find the words to describe it), GO FOR IT!!!
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