Basejumper.com - archive

What are the youngest and oldest BASE jumpers you know? Or maybe you yourself?

How does age affect your jumping? I mean, do you lose the will to jump the older you get or you just physically (for some reason) can't (or is hard to) do it?

Just curious

yeyeye....

I'm 35, and I believe I am the oldest known jumper.

I'm actually hauling in 40 years old with a crane. Yer just a kid

No. There's that Jim guy who broke himself aged seventy? something at one of the turkey boogies. I've jumped with a grey-haired oral surgeon with more money than sense (a guy not tracking well enough to avoid a wall strike on a 2700' cliff and reminiscing about his last plane crash does not have sense). I remember giving one of the guys I used to jump with turning 50th (dude didn't seem to have problems running ultra-marathons or hanging out with we young people and was not showing signs of aging.). There are lots of 40+ BASE jumpers.

At the bottom end, high school teachers have put students (as in under 18) off bridges.

BASE jumping equipment is pretty affordable (I spent $1000 on my first rig), there are well known objects you can jump off, and you may be able to talk some one who knows something about the sport into helping. It's not a hard sport to get into or remain in. Doing it without getting too broken is the trick.

I'm 42 and have 45 jumps in the last 3 months - I also know 3 regular jumpers that are older than me. I reckon there are quite a few 50+ers still going strong!!

the youngest I know of is Casey Hoover, son of John Hoover (RIP), BASE 95. Casey and his father did a 2 way off a 180 foot bridge. Casey's grandmother held the direct bag. He was 9 years old.

the youngest jumper to stay active was BASE 74. he started at age 16 and made about 100 base jumps before making a skydive. the center page of his high school yearbook was of his base exploits. he was the most experienced jumper in the world for many years. when i met him in 1992, he had 500 base jumps. when i met him again in 1996, he had 900 base jumps.

At Bridge Day 2008 they had 18 or 19 to 70ish.

I have jumped with guys from 19 to about 60.

The range of female jumpers I have seen or got
to jump with has been a little more narrow, say
mid 20's to mid-late 40's...

Of course some of the ladies could have been
much older since I rarely ask people their age.

Maybe some of them were much closer to 70
but BASE has kept them young at heart hence
they do not need Oil of Olay

Im 19, 70 BASE jumps from 12 objects. I started in this past July.

beatcha biatch just turned 18 with 180 jumps from 13 objects. Started when I was 16.

so far amazing (good and bad) things have happened when you give someone with little fear a base rig...

edit: and thanks giving of 07 I did have a photo op with a 70 year old french jumper. Can't seem to find the pictures though

Bastard! Haha. Youre the youngest jumper Ive jumped with thus far.

oldest active basejumper:

http://basejumper.com/...ost=2888147;#2888147

Or maybe you yourself?

 

70+ year old guy doing a gainer off of a 280 foot crane

Dude, I'd stand in line to buy
that bad motherfucker a beer!!

the dude must have been a really wild man when he was young.

He took up skydiving when he was 71. When I met him ( 2003 ), he was 75, had about 1000 skydives and 80 BASE jumps. He had that accident not so long after that and I had no news since then.

Would love to grow old like he did. But I have to wait for 40 more years to check it out...

At BD this year I met a fine young lady at the LZ freezing her ass off from a water landing who must have been close to fifty. I felt real bad for her so I offered up my "dry" sweat shirt. A couple of hours later I met her in the LZ again and this time my sweat shirt wasn't dry. Hard core biatch. Never did get that sweatshirt back?

I just turned 19 in September, my dad is 63 and my aunt is 64

Hi sangi...im 81 and started in 1957, i have 478 objects and 1200 jumps...back in 57` i jumped from my brand new 57 bel air cab out off of a bridge in 50 mph, last year i started with skibase

You can do better than that.

Grade = D-

i know...but you can`t

Watch pastranas new video, nitro circus 6:thrillbillies double wide, his dad jumps of perrine bridge, I believe hes around 70 if not more...first base jump and he trows a gainer of the rail

57 bel air

Was a good touch...

478 objects

Was pretty fucking ridiculous

Especially for a guy supposedly born
in 1927 and using vintage SKY gear,
he would been the first on the list!

he's trying to get recurrent at trolling. he's out of practice.

Casey's jump was a one off thing, but the youngest to earn a BASE number was, so far I believe, 17-years old. Ritchie S. earned his at seventeen in the very early 80s. He lived in the same neighborhood as Carl Boenish and met him while riding his bicycle up and down Carl's street.

Later there was another fellow around the mid-80s who also earned his BASE award at 17, and he was even younger than Ritchie. I met him a few times, but I can't recall his name just now. However, soon after getting BASE, and turning 18, he and some pals stuck up a liquor store for drug money and he went to prison . . .

NickD

Richie, yes, he chased Carl's van down the street because he thought the base jumping sticker was a freebasing reference.

Jamie Walton, is that the other young BASE kiddo?

>>Jamie Walton, is that the other young BASE kiddo?<<

Yes, Jamie. I wrote to him a few times in prison but lost touch . . .

NickD

I envy all the 16-19 year olds

Why when it says on youre little site that you put a link to that you are also only 19 ?

started jumping when i was 21...im 22 with 61 jumps right now...did about 45 in the last 3 months

im old enough to have seen that horrible movie, beaches, starring bette midler. and also the color purple with whoopie. she performed way better in ghost. RIP patrick

Jeff and I show up at a WA bridge to meet the local guy, Jarrett.
This 16 y/o kid gets out of his car, cross-braced canopies and other skydiving gear all piled in the back. Walk out to the exit, he casually throws a sweet gainer.
We do flat-and-happy's.
On the hike out..."Yeah, I do a little speedflying... some AFF... got a couple hundred wingsuit flights... just got my pilot's license"
I'm thinking "Who is this kid?!"
After round two, he says, "Hey, mind if I hike out fast, I have to get to math class in a bit!"
All of his accomplishments at his age are blowing me away, and it's even more amazing when I realize the kid still is in high school!

Hope you're doing well, Jarrett... great jumping with you.

Richard

The average 16-19 year old has no business BASE jumping IMHO. Most have no sense of the finality of the risks involved.

Most 16-19 year olds are idiots. BASEwish just pointed out that your link says you are 19, huh.

maybe, but with a good mentor it might be ok. i think i was more aware of things when i was base jumping at 20 than i am now at 38.

But if your 19 and play it safe are you still an idiot.

What about the 45 year olds with 100 skydives and there they were throwing gainers on their second base jump of their life? What are they? I dont think any 16-19 year olds would try that or think of it! Haha

My post only included 16-19 year old idiots. I was only commenting on them. It would really take too long to type about the rest of you idiots out there.

Do it day by day...it will get done eventually...itll give me something to read!! :)

speaking of that young guy... does anyone have any updates? last i heard he had a severed spine from a stunt gone wrong and was doomed to be paralyzed from the waist down. hope his recovery is going as well as it can.

no matter what your age... don't push too hard, or somethings gonna push back. be careful out there!

Hes working on getting better...on a bike and walking machine trying to get his nerves back on track...send him a PM

what kind of stunt went wrong for him?

Ground launching accident in Hawaii

from incidents

It's Jim Guyer, Drew, not "Jim guy", and I made my last jump at Age 75 when I hit a cliff at Moab. I'd still be jumping if my body was not so broken up. I had ezxactly 50 BASE jumps, 83 Military jumps with T-7s and T-10's and almost 1200 total from aircraft, hot air ballons and helicopters. The most fun was climbing out of the cockpit of a bi-plane onto the wing, waiting for the DZ and jumping off. I miss my former jumping buddies.
BASE 719

My hat is off for you Mr. Guyer. I hope to have the same gusto, guts, balls, and spirit like you if I make it your age! Much respect! The accomplishment is like Evel Knievel.

BASE 460

Your profile is gonna be hard to top, Jim. Sorry you're busted up, gotta quit sometime unfortunately. Makes me feel like a young pup at just 56. Only got 14 in (so far) this year, 5 of 'em were wingsuit, I figure those to be worth about 25 "regular" jumps though.