Basejumper.com - archive

You are 33 years old!

August 8, 1978.

While there were plenty of fixed object jumps made prior (going back hundreds of years) the Yosemite jumps from El Capitan that were organized and filmed by Carl Boenish actually began the "sport" of BASE jumping in 1978.

On that morning four Lake Elsinore skydivers - Kent Lane, Tom Start, Mike Sherrin, and Ken Gosselin, jumped into BASE history.

The film Carl Boenish shot that day eventually made the rounds of DZs all over the world. And it ignited a fire in the bellies of skydivers everywhere. A fire that still burns today. Carl then, along with what must be called the first BASE crew, named what they were doing "BASE" and he also published the very first BASE magazine.

NickD
BASE 194

Thank you Nick, some of the other jumps prior to that were intended as one of a kind stunts, whereas obviously Carl and his crew intended it as a legitimate repeatable pursuit using fixed objects in place of aircraft for freefalling and parachuting activities. He really was the father of the sport and this should be considered "Ground Zero". Appreciate you putting it in perspective. Thank you Carl.

You get it brother, Rock and Roll . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Hi Nick,

Today is my birthday too, won't tell you which one, but I am a bit older than BASE. Maybe I was born to be connected.

I can't drive 55!

Later,

Joy

happy BASEday to you all

I knew I was going to skydive before I saw the first basejumps, but Carl changed my goals, and gave my dreams life.

 
Although this is all very cool, it should be noted that the following day, August 9 1978, was far more important. Happy birthday to me!

Kerkko
BASE 1184

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY WICKED-AWESOME-SPORT..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!


(and all you other assholes!)

+1

Please guys, a jump is a jump. There were no photographers or reporters around when we made the jump. What kind of a "stunt" could it possibly have been without an audience or camera crew? We did it simply because it had never been done before, and we wanted to be first.

Do you really think Carl and company knew any more about fixed object jumping than we did the first time?

Give me a break! Our jump was a jump, just like their first one.

Where are the other 3 jumpers of El Cap '78"
Ken Gosselin
Peacemakerlaw.com

You are right a jump is a jump, and please don't get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for you and your absolutely ballsy jump on a round parachute off of El Cap. But yes, I do think Carl had something different in mind, I think he saw it as a repeatable, safe endeavour using square canopies(wings/airfoils)to safely jump from fixed objects. I don't mean to sound disrespectful because you are an iconic legend and a very important part of the history of our sport, but when and where did you do your follow up jumps? and thats my point, I was lucky enough to meet Carl and have a long conversation with him just prior to his unfortunate death in Romsdal 27years ago and three days ago I made my first jump from that same Wall,..... thank you Carl,.. and thank YOU Mike,(and I have no doubt that he was inspired by your jump), and thank you to all the visionaries and pioneers that continue to take this incredible sport to new levels...YAHOO!!!!

The round parachutes seem to have an undeserved bad reputation for some reason. They opened nice and easy and let you down softly. The El Capitan jump was my 184th logged jump with rounds and I was completely comfortable with the one I made the El Capitan jump with. I actually landed like a feather on one foot, favoring the ankle I broke on the way down. We should have thought it out a little better and tracked out away from the face before opening obviously, but being too close to the face in freefall and getting a little banged up didn't alter the fact that it was a jump, just like any other.

I have never had anything but praise for Carl Boenish. He was the visionary who saw fixed object jumping as a sport. The thought of creating a new sport out of it never occurred to either of us. We just wanted to do it because it had never been done before.

I'm with you, Mike. A jump is a jump. Drawing an analogy with invention and product development, you and Brian were inventors, while Carl was an entrepreneur.

First is a first. Knowing that someone did successfully jumped this very wall before is a big mental help to do it. But it is a repeat, not a first. It's development, "commercialization", but not an invention.

So, big wall jumping is 45. And who cares about that low stuff masturbation!

Out of curiosity, how long were your delays?

Thanks Yuri,

I sincerely appreciate your kind words.

We both opened at about ten seconds. We had no idea that there would someday be a different opening altitude for fixed object jumping. That extra time would have given us a little more distance from the wall had we been so inclined to take advantage of it :)

By the way, I have always been aware of the two separate birthdays - that is the "big wall" 45, and the BASE sport 33. That makes two of us so far. It seems to be catching on. What do you think?

Seriously, if it hadn't been for Carl, BASE jumping wouldn't exist today. I have no problem wishing BASE a happy 33rd birthday.

Ten seconds! I think it's deliberately going into extended, terminal freefall is what makes you and Brian real pioneers of BASE and sets apart from others who did jumps (or rather stunts) from fixed objects before 1966 (http://www.basejumper.com/Articles/General/BASE_Historical_Timeline_658.html).

No human ever did that before you.



It would. If it hadn't been for Carl, it'd be someone else. Maybe 20 years later than 1978, but someone would come with the same ideas. Maybe it would be called B.E.S.T. instead of B.A.S.E., but the essence would be the same.