Basejumper.com - archive

Hi there,

I am a 21 year-old university student in the UK and am looking to do a little research hopefully within this forum, this however is not some random spamming attempt there is relevance - let me explain..

I myself have completed only a couple of tandem skydives but have completely fallen in love with the experience and am looking to get a lot more involved as soon as I can fund it!

It has however sparked an interest into a topic which I am hoping to incorporate into my final year dissertation study, which is 'Edgework'. Some of you have probably heard of the term but if not it basically is the study of the sociology of risk taking. It looks at areas such as BASE jumping and seeks to question why do people, such as yourselves, take such extreme risks endangering their lives.

I am studying for a degree in Criminology and I'm basically looking to apply theories and philosophies of Edgework into crime and its many explanations.

Therefore I am here to try and gain an insight into your motivations for doing what you do, what is the main reason for your passion in BASE jumping or any other extreme activities? What makes you want to get up and go jump off a cliff or skyscraper? Is it purely the experience itself?

Any descriptions of your own personal experiences or insights into motivational factors would be HUGELY appreciated!

Sorry for the massive post, thanks!

Take it easy, Rob

Every jumper leaves the object for his/her own reasons!

Many of them have already been discussed and explained
on here as well as in the IMAX movie Adrenaline Rush:
The Science of Risk.

Edgework is a new term to me so I Googled it and found
this book: Edgework and using Amazon was able to read
a few excerpts, I found pages 7 & 8 very interesting (I
would have included the text but was unable to do so).

Basically the author explains that in an economic society
where consumerism is king people search for meaning
through alternative means, Tyler Durden anyone???

Then draws parallels between us who say openly that we
are a tasking a risk for the rush and bond traders who do
the same thing while making obscene wealth.

However, when one us rolls snake eyes the general public
calls us idiots but when wall street craps out we pay up

it's nothing new.

Teddy Roosevelt glamorized putting oneself into harms way.

Jack London wrote about the Yukon gold rush.

""THE EDGE, there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over"
— Hunter S. Thompson

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"
— Hunter S. Thompson

there is a strong anti-authority vibe here as well.

personally, I find peace at the edge. life comes into focus, and the layers of socialization fall away.

hey there!

Firstly thanks for the reply, I really hope this is the 'opening of the can' for this topic as I am very interested to get peoples opinions, and Im sure many members will find it of particular interest.

The Lyng book is very familiar to me and will be one of my key texts for my dissertation, and the debates you raise are exactly the kind of thing I am hoping to tap into with the opinions and experiences of people on this forum such as yourself.

The concept of consumerism and Edgework acting as an escape is an aspect of the study I am particularly interested in, and was hoping this may be reflected in some of the responses, e.g its not necessarily purely about the immediate experience itself, it can induce feelings and thoughts that go way deeper.

Again you are perfectly correct with the issues you raise concerning society's almost disregard with the crimes of the powerful - proven to be significantly more costly financially then say our preoccupation with more predatory crimes such as theft or burglary. this again is one of the topic I hope to be weaving into my final study as it's all relative! Furthering the debate I also hope to apply the consumerism aspect into questioning social definitions of crime, I'm sure many of the members on here are against the fact that BASE jumping is illegal. I hope to be questioning well why is it illegal, who says, and does this represent and apply equality throughout society? This fits exactly alongside your opinion when you say people think you guys are mad when you 'roll snake eyes'.

I am absolutely intrigued into uncovering exactly why such issues are of casual and enjoyable nature to some, and yet opposed by others who may reflect a completely different opinion.

As you can probably tell there is so much this topic has to offer and is why I find it so compelling! From the forum I'm looking to gain in-depth personal experiences and reasons as well as opinions, almost as a form of primary research - I want to hear it from the horses mouth!

Again thank you for the reply, hopefully this will instigate many more!

Rob

Fail.

BASE jumping itself is only illegal in very few specific places, like National Parks and Australia. Jumping off of stuff is generally legal.

something else to consider - i don't necessarily consider base jumping a threat to my life and personal health, because i am safe, conscious, well trained, and operate within my own limits. so i don't feel as if i am endangering myself.

This is far more dangerous than BASE jumping...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7S5BP-tvR8

I somke crak and drink and drive to my local A. That way when i jump im not worried about the legal aspect because it is the most, legal, illegal thing i have probably done that day. I jump because the big hairy granny tranny in the closet is making me do it. Not because its scary, the scary stuff is waiting at home when i get back...


I also like to punch the midget when im driving back playing Edward 40 hands while a cheap prostitute sucks on my nuts in my big ass dump truck. All while wearing a overstretched ass less captain planet costume.http://www.urbandictionary.com/...erm=punch+the+midget

'BASE jumping itself is only illegal in very few specific places, like National Parks and Australia. Jumping off of stuff is generally legal. '

Hey,

I was not aware that this was the case, for some reason I always was under the impression it was, so I apologise for getting this wrong - I'm still at an early stage into my research and BASE jumping is only a part of it, but I should really have checked this out so thanks for the information.
So is this true for all BASE jumping including things like the Petronas towers and other famous skyscrapers like Empire estate?

Many thanks
Rob

'something else to consider - i don't necessarily consider base jumping a threat to my life and personal health, because i am safe, conscious, well trained, and operate within my own limits. so i don't feel as if i am endangering myself. '

hey there,

this is a really interesting concept that you raise, and one that Im hoping to look at a bit harder. I can fully see what you are saying and where you are coming from, the challenge here is that your opinion would differ from a lot of the members of the public who would view BASE jumping as one of the most life-threatening things you could do. There is also a theory, that I dont personally really agree with, put forward within the field of edgework that suggests that people who practice edgework will often justify their risk taking by reassuring themselves with statements such as the one you make saying they are not taking a risk through their safety measures and training/experience etc, so its interesting you make this point.
Like I say I dont fully agree with this but I think what the contributors are trying to do is to source reasons for any voluntary risk taking, for example it is not a life necessity for you to jump off a cliff or bridge, and not what they would term as 'normal' behaviour or practice. What edgework is then trying to achieve is to find out why people who like to 'work the edge' feel compelled to do so, what is it inside you that makes you want to do this?
The suggestions put forward for answering this are that there is a 'seductive' character about the experience itself for edgework activities, whilst other theories claim it is to do with individuals wishing to find ways to free themselves from a consumerism dominated or repressive society. The latter theory interestingly fits in a bit with your statement as it talks about edgework becoming a form of escapism from social control as it is a situation where the person claims full and total control of everything that occurs during a BASE jump for example.
Personally I believe that the answer may be found within a mixture of these answers, and that perhaps each person will take their own form of 'risk' for their own individual different reasons. The purpose of my post was simply to kind of gage what the actual people who practice edgework, in this case BASE jumping, thought themselves, and find out what reasons you guys put forward for doing what you do.

Thanks for the reply!
Rob

for the life of me, I can't understand what is so novel about "edgework."

care to explain?

the average person wants the government or some other entity to eliminate all risk and remove all suffering. it seems absurdly unrealistic.

people living "on the edge" and taking risks once was the norm. immigrating from the "old world." crossing the frontier in a covered wagon. becoming an astronaut. becoming a soldier. starting a business. trying to grow a new crop. building skyscrapers without OSHA. heading underground to dig out minerals. hunting whales. unprotected teenage sex.

human history is replete with risk seekers. risk seekers dominate history textbooks. why does it seem so unique to you?

honestly, what am I missing here?
isn't it about as novel as studying breathing?
has society been pussified to that degree?

Generally, yes.

I remember there being a rumor that New York City was going to pass a law making it illegal to jump off any man made structure taller than 10 feet, but that was only after a man was arrested for attempting to BASE jump the Empire State Building and authorities realized they didn't have a leg to stand on.

This does not mean the property owners don't have rights to their properties and they can push to have someone charged with trespassing, but if said person was invited onto the property, by purchasing an admission ticket or having a tenant let them in, for example, then its fair game.

I own and have read the Edgework book you're writing about in this thread, and I'm interested in the disconnect between society and so-called Edgeworkers.

You say:

Is golfing a life necessity? Bowling? Why would people do it? How about road cycling? How about mountain biking? How about downhill mountain biking with big air? Where does society draw the line?

Something to think about.

PS - The license plate on my Subaru WRX STi used to read EDGEWRX.