Vintage BASE stories
Hello Nick ! It’s a very nice idea these vintage BASE stories.
I have one or two stories my self. They’re not that as old as yours but back in 1997 I just did my first jump of a bridge in central France. It was one year and a half I was hanging with two french young BASE jumpers. July 1997 they brought me for my first BASE jump. It was two lonnnng years I was looking for this jump.
The landing under this bridge is pretty tricky as we had to land on some kind of small island covered by wet stones. This place was known for broken ankles. The first jump went perfectly ok. I did the best landing ever. What a feeling. I was very proud of my landing as I didn’t have much skydives (nearly 70). Then the wind started to pick up so we drove for some other bridges. The same day I did my second BASE jump of another bridge (110m). It was crossed by an expressway so we decided to be equipped in the car and that one of us would drive the two others. I would jump again. We drove onto the bridge stopped the car , went down the car and over the fence. My heart was beating like never. It was my second jump and it was illegal. My friend went first. It was my turn. Once again everything went fine.
The next days, we reached some canyon in south of France. I could do my first two cliff jumps: hand held slider down. It was beautiful.
Then I was back to Paris. It was time for me to jump from one of the few buildings where the tourists can access the roof. My friend mentor François would go with me for this new thrill.
This building is not extremely high (115 m). It looks like a bridge as it is an arch. So I felt confident with this jump. But it needed a good preparation as we would jump daylight right in front of the security. The building offers a long open air observatory deck for the tourists. Ther’s some kind of anti-suicidal fence 2.30 m high. It wouldn’t be any problem to go over it. The main problem would be more the security guy who’s walking along the fence.
François, his girlfriend (she was there to carry down our big backpacks) and I went to the rest rooms to geared up. The leg strap under the pans. We were dressed up like tourists (sneakers jean’s and T-shirts). But even like this, we had been asked to open our backpacks at the entrance of the building. Fortunatly we had put some dirty towels over our rig. The guy asked us what was inside. We said we had some camping gear. I felt some sweat falling down my fronthead.
So here we are, geared up, ready to jump. We’re still inside the building looking through some wide glass windows at the observatory deck and the security guy. We were waiting he would walk to the very right of the terrace. Then we would run to the opposite side, climb over the fence and jump one by one.
A last check and we start to walk fast not to bring attention on us. Once outside we run over the few stairs focusing on the fence; Then I hear some loud voice screaming: “There! we have to parachutist! I stop them”
We started to run like hell now. François gets first to the fence. He’s smaller than me but more agile. He goes over the fence without problem. I wait he’s over to start the climb. As I climb I feel the security guy getting closer. I’m now on the “good” side of the fence but the guy grabs my shirt. I can’t step back as the edge is 1 meter behind me. He insults my friend and I. We keep cool and François take his pc and jump. I get rid of the hand of the vigil and get ready for the jump. I look down and see François making his final approach. It’s time for me. I jump smoothly, wait for 2 seconds and release my hand held pc. A 90° opening. I grab my toggles and ride my canopy in the proper bearing. I should then have remembered one of my skydiving instructor’s advice: don’t look at the zone you don’t want to land on. Right under and ahead of me stood a public phone. If I wanted it I couldn’t have done it: I did land on the roof of the phone booth. Some pedestrian applauded as they thought I did it on purpose. I jumped down and started to run. But I immediately felt some pain in my ankle.
Some motobiker passing by proposed me a ride as he noticed I did some naughty thing with my canopy. I declined. I feared that my canopy would entangled in his wheels.
Then I could hear the security guys exiting the building. They saw me and started to run. I was caught. I did spend the afternoon at the police station with my broken ankle. They were rather nice with me, even asking me how to start skydiving. Back at home, fearing some drama with my parents I lied to them saying I broke my foot on a construction I was visiting for my architecture school. They bought it.
So I spent all summer long on cruches. Nobody was really aware of what happened to me except my brothers and sisters.
1 month later I was at my cousin wedding in a remote place in south of France. I still had my cruches so I couldn’t really move. I sat all day long talking with the photographer of the wedding someone I never met before. Looking at my plaster he asked how this occurred. I replied I had some skydiving accident. I couldn’t believe his next words. He told me he never did skydive but he saw one month earlier some guy jumping of building in Paris and landing right on top of the phone booth were he was giving some phone call.
Saying the world is small is useless.
Marc
http://12secondes.free.fr