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The ONLY way to be guaranteed to survive base jumping is to quit. So I quit. 14 years after I started, I finally survived base jumping.
I did about 500 base jumps, I was a big wall jumper with approximately 200 wingsuit and 250 tracking jumps, the rest is "all the other stuff".
I would consider myself as an above average good tracker and a skilled wingsuit pilot, at least good enough to have a valid opinion.

Since I started base jumping, 176 people have died base jumping.(at the time of posting. I actually had to add a couple since I started writing this a week ago…)
I met a lot of those people, I knew and hung out with quite a few of them, many of them I called friends, some even close friends and finally, I lost my best friend…
But thats not why I quit, I mean, my friends are still dying even if I quit. And they'll continue to do so for many years to come.

So why did I quit?

Well, the main reason is that with the kind of jumping I was doing it didn't give me that much anymore. I didn't get that amazing euphoric feeling we all love so much, cause thats why we do it, isn't it?
It's been 3-4 years since I got that, and I still remember it like yesterday. And I really miss that feeling!
I also knew how I could get it back, I could get into proximity wingsuit flying! (I'll call it proxy the rest of the post)
I chose not to. We are humans and humans do mistakes. I have always tried to leave room for small mistakes in my way of jumping, but accepting that a big mistake could kill me.
I think if you are focused enough, skilled enough and plan your jumps enough, you can usually avoid big mistakes. But small mistakes are in my opinion impossible to avoid.

Proxy

I would absolutely love to do proxy! I mean, it's a dream come true to be able to fly that fast, that close to the terrain! And you have to fly really close to get the true feeling of speed. Flying 50 meters above the ground feels much slower than it actually is, its just the way it is, even 20 meters feels slow. I've done the occasionally flyby, but never closer than 15-20 meters and only that close for about a second or two. I have also flown along a vertical wall, same thing 15-20 meters away and only that close for a few seconds. That was my limit.
Flying 5 meters or less above ground for a sustained period of time is in my opinion a whole different ball game. You don't need a gopro or watch youtube to wanna do that! But I think you need to accept that a small mistake will kill you, and then its just a matter of time until you are dead.
No? Fly fast, speed is your friend, keep energy in reserve so you can "rise" from the terrain? Well, speed is also your enemy, thats why you die when you crash.
I used to think that it was possible to do proxy safely, that it was just me not being experienced and dedicated enough in wingsuit. But after some of the most safety minded, skilled and experienced jumpers I knew started going in, I slowly changed my mind.

What about human reaction time? You are flying 50 meters per second 5 meters(or less) from something. You could argue that you are 100 milliseconds away from death. Maybe not totally true since you are not flying directly towards the terrain, but what if you did a small mistake? The average human reaction time is approximately 190 milliseconds to detect visual stimulus, if you are the best and trained it's rarely less than 130 millisecond. After you react, you act, as the milliseconds fly. How many meters have you flown before you corrected your mistake? 25 meters? Or maybe 50 meters is more realistic? Get my point?
That calls for some heavy planning before flying a line. Do you plan that carefully? What about turbulence from wind and/or thermal? Do you plan for that? Do you know where the thermal usually release in your line? Do you even understand how thermal work? "But I'm flying so fast it doesn't affect me".
Well, I have been thrown around by turbulence, most likely thermal, while tracking. I was pushed sideways, almost like I did a 120 degree left turn, and was suddenly tracking the wrong way. I had enough altitude to correct it and continue tracking. The wind was not strong that day. This is ten years ago and I didn't know much about thermal back then. I know more now.

I think there is only a handful of people that have the skill, talent and the genetics to survive proxy for a long time. You are most likely not one of those. And even the best makes mistakes. If you ask any of the guys you consider the best if they had a close call, I'm pretty sure almost every one of them would say yes. By close call, I mean they put themselves in a situation where only a coincident saved them from the fatality list. (I don't believe in luck. A jar of luck and a jar of experience might sound cool on tv, but its bullshit. If luck exists, why would you run out of it?? A coincident is more precise.)
If what I say is true, then you could say that all the best proxy flyers are alive because of a coincident. Is that okay for you, to survive by coincident?
I have never had a close call. I have been in deep shit, but I have used skill to get out of it. In order to do that you need to leave room for that. I have never done proxy flying…

Death

I have heard several base jumpers say that base jumping is so amazing that its worth dying for. What?? If you don't have friends, family or anyone you care for, then maybe. But then maybe you have bigger issues in your life than to care about if you do something dangerous or not…
If you have friends, a best friend, brother, sister, mother, father, a girlfriend/boyfriend you love, kids that you love, then you try not to hurt them. If you die, you hurt them in one of the worst possible way.
You leave them traumatized. You will hurt them for the rest of their life. Yes, it will get better, but it will always hurt. Is base jumping worth that to you?
In my opinion, the only thing worth dying for is protecting those you love. Base jumping doesn't protect those you love, not even proxy flying does that…

So why did I start??

Well, I wanted to be happy. Different people need different things in their life to make themselves happy. I "needed" base jumping, I didn't just want it.
If I didn't do it, I would spend the rest of my life wondering how it would be like, and that would reduce my quality of life.
If you love someone, it hurts to see them unhappy. That was my justification, if I am happy they will be happy for me. I knew I would worry people, but it was my responsibility to stay alive, not to hurt the ones I love.
I continued base jumping because it gave me so much. Amazing people, nature, feelings. I was good at it. I felt that I could survive it.
And I was right, I did survive base jumping. Not by coincident, but by skill and taking the right decisions, and finally, by quitting.

Thank you for reading and please don't hurt the ones you love!

Atle Dahl

Respekt

Now you just have to figure out how to survive old age And hopefully not mutated protooncogenes.

nice post Atle, I'm glad you made it through your adventure, have fun with whatever else you will be doing.

Respect. Not by dying or severely injured, the only good way to quit is. A wise man you are :)

Vesa

proud you trusted me so much you let me pack for ya!

i also survived

andY

respect? 4 what?!.. he surrendered to fear of dying
do u respect a soldier surrendering to enemy?

You do know that BASE jumping is not a war, right ?

Atle .. You are one of the most respected people in base jumping I have ever met...

I am super fucken lucky to have met you and even watched you fly a few times in person and shared the exit point...

I wonder how many people actually know who you are and what you did for Tracking and base jumping.....

Without you mate I would not be able to fly tracking lines and for anyone out there who don't know what I am talking about ... Maybe you guys should find out who this guy is ...

This is an Awesome post from someone who was at the top of the sport and walked away..

RESPECT my friend...

the title "I survived base jumping. How??" is misleading and pompous

u say u survived base jumping after u retire of old age

he simply gave up
he's a quitter

more appropriate is "I gave up base jumping. Why??"

I don't know you, but it's a really nice post !
Have fun in all the other activities that life offers !

You obviously dont know who the original poster is.

Atle, I respect your decision enormously. You are a true pioneer of the sport and I was glad to get to jump with you. Wandering around china taking pictures with you and Ren is one of my fondest memories of what random places base can take you. Take care of yourself and im sure we'll see some more awesome movies from you in the future.

+1

+1 again.

Atle,
Sad to hear that you are out mate.

Thank you taking the time to type this up.
Glad you were able to get what you needed!

One of my good friends and past students
made ~100 SKY jumps, ~100 BASE jumps,
got his number, then got married, and sold
both of his rigs, and is now happily retired.

I applauded his decision for two reasons:
1. he no longer needs the drug we shoot
2. he will not be injured or killed doing
dangerous sports that I taught him (sure
he can still die and I would cry but that
is cost of caring for any human being).

TO: sky12345

Why be pissy because someone quit BASE?
I do not give any fucks if you quit a habit
because you are an anonymous entity.

If one of my real friends or even a cool person
I only know through the web decides to quit:
cigarettes or alcohol or pot or meat or BASE
or whatever, I would support that decision
because it makes them happy.

Lastly, when I first started parachuting in 2002
I was obsessed to the point of being either sad
or angry on bad weather days. Now my wife
and I laugh when it rains on a Saturday and
say something to the affect: shucks, guess
no one is jumping today, bwahaha then we
spend the day watching movies and relaxing.

I still enjoy jumping but no longer strung out

Respect to you brother.

This world has so much to offer and BASE jumpers tend to be such one dimensional human beings.

Good for you for taking on the next adventure.

That post is full of logic and wisdom. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

To: sky12345

Go fuck yourself.

+1

Well said Atle. You summarized all my feelings with clarity and insight.
Good luck in your future endeavors, you have the skill and determination to do great things. Your art is prominently displayed in our house and I am glad to have shared an exit with you.
-brendan

Lovely and precise post Atle. I think you expressed what a lot of people think but seldom verbalise.

A pleasure to have met you at some different exit points, and I remember a fun dinner@Oberlander many years ago with Jon Inge.

Enjoy the next phase of your life.

Neil.

Congratulations! Post should be sticky!

   ...in short Atle said:
1. I started because I was curious how it feel to jump off the rock and fly.
2. I continue for 14 years as I liked that very feeling of flying but also company, people and travels.
3. I stop because the ''reward'' I get from jump wasn't enough to justify the risk.

Very simple, very natural, mature and very accurate. Such decision is very common in all aeronautical higher risk activity.
Atle, see you around and thank you for being the part of my generation ( we started almost at the same time :) )

I really like this post. especially the bit on whats worth dying for.
To me this is how self regulation should work by fostering beliefs values and cultures.
mucho respecto.

+1

I think something like this should be made permanent on the top of the General Base or Beginner Forum.

Alte..... never met ya but it takes more to write and share what you experienced and feel than jumping off any cliff.

Enjoy the next adventure in your journey.

sky12345 i want punch you
Do you now a shit of Basejumping ??

Do you now how is Atle ????

Show some respect this dude is a Hero you FUCKER

if you ike a trackingsuit should say thanks to this man!

Now get a huge dido and put up in your ass

Atle thanks dude i do respect and i miss the bros too sorry i cant stop now and try my best to not make you sad

Best post on this forum in long time! It would not be a dumb idea to make this a sticky in begginer forum!
I wish You all the best :) And sorry that I'm so horrible with names and my memory is not very good after few glasses of wine but wasn't it you in "track or die" ??? Anyway, big respect to you for surving this long

Atle, awesome post man. It was a privilege to meet you for a bit last summer in Romsdal. To all the haters, I understand your feelings and all I can say is that I feel a bit sorry for you at this time.

I've been in this BASE game for a bit over five years now and have probably a little over 300 jumps although I stopped counting because numbers stopped meaning anything to me. The weird thing is that the longer I've been in the sport and the more skilled and experienced I have become, the more I feel the urge to remain conservative, live for the next jump and experience, and enjoy the game for only for what it is and the awesome friends I have made in it.

No matter how much we try to kid ourselves, BASE is not life and though it may be an awesome part of this experience it is ultimately just a small fraction of our greater existence. To me a game like this is simply not worth dying for, and although I continue to jump actively I always factor that fact into my risk management process. While I can accept the possibility of being rescued off a talus or tower and handcuffed to my hospital bed, losing my "career", my security clearance, and having to deal with lots of stupid legal bullshit for being an active jumper in the eastern USA, the whole death thing just isn't worth it anymore. And while you can always royally fuck up even the easiest of jumps I feel I can safely use my skills, experience, and good sense to avoid that outcome for at least the near future...when I feel that ceases to be the case, I guess I will have some gear to sell after a few proper background checks.

The sport and the lifestyle it entails appears to be so powerfully addicting that it is easy for some jumpers to lose touch with themselves and confuse the game with life. I can usually feel these individuals out just by walking to exit points with them and although I usually remain silent because their decisions are theirs alone, those intentions do not go unnoticed. Maybe along with the whole "is this worth dying for?" thing it would be nice if we started asking ourselves what we would do if we had to quit BASE jumping tomorrow and never pick up a rig again. What would we do with the rest of our lives? To what would we dedicate our efforts and our time?

For me, BASE is only a game and I could easily quit tomorrow if I truly wanted to without missing a beat on the whole life thing. It wasn't always that way however and I've had to go through a lot of fuckups and interesting experiences to reach that point. At this time, I don't really know how many of my friends could make that decision...just a few thoughts...

Cheers,
Brian

And BTW, the whole "BASE is war/surrender" things...one of the dumbest things I have read in a while and I read a lot of dumb shit...although our toughest battles are the ones we wage with ourselves

+1

Great thread. Thanks for eloquently sharing such important and highly relevant points guys.

Blood in blood out dawg! You dont just walk away.

enjoy your new love for crochet.

100%.... I liked reading your post. Utmost 100% respect.

Enjoy retirement, life is beautiful.

Take it easy...

Possibly the best post I have read on this forum in a few years.
Was great to meet you in Norway back in 2008 with JT. Much respect to you dude.

This made me laugh.

You are an "above average" tracker in the same way that Michael Schumacher is an "above average" driver.

Alte, you are one of the jumpers I have heard about and I had hoped would one day share an exit point with. If ever there was a reason that will not happen, this is the best one. There is already one hero of BASE that inspired me to jump, that unfortunately I never got to jump with. Now you are all that much more of a hero to BASE. Thanx

Agreed, one of the best posts on here. It seems I only ever really read about a sad end to someones BASE career on here. It's great to see a positive end for once. I can only hope that all my BASE friends and I can one day make the same decision. If only this weren't so much damn fun!

I know that the day will come when the rewards no longer out weigh the risks, that will be the day it's time to quit.

Whether it's an increase in the risks; family, injury, new jobs, increased chance of arrest or anything else that life may bring or a decrease in the feeling and excitement of BASE. I can see myself reaching the same decision point, wanting to up the adrenaline factor and move into terrain flying, but not wanting that level of risk. I wonder if I will be able to make the same decision.

Boom.

Best op this forum has had in a LONG time.

Good on you Atle.

Totally spot on in every aspect! I admire your decision very much!!

I have been proximity flying quite hard the last two years and guess what: the joy and satisfaction aren't there anymore either. Or at least not to the same degree. One day you'll have flown as close to terrain as you can, one day you'll have flown lines as complex as they get. Where's the challenge then? Maybe discovering and traveling to ever new beautiful places to fly ... but that probably only lasts so long. As such, currently I'm enjoying opening new wingsuit spots all over Switzerland with my best friends a lot. However, I'm sure that one day the fun in this is going to run out as well or I'll be reducing the safety margin in it so much that it won't justify the risk anymore either.

I'm not saying anybody should quit basejumping, for I wouldn't want to have missed this awesome journey. I just hope that one day I'll be as wise as you and quit ... and live to tell the tale :-)

Oh, and sky12345: get a life!

-
Mathias Wyss

Atle,

I have tremendous respect for you, and i agree and resonate with every word you've said here.

Here's a bit i've posted in reply to Anniken's blog "How do you fill that void?" (http://annikenbinz.wordpress.com/...-that-void/#comments) in May:

----------------------------------------------------

I’ve struggled with the same question for the last, uh, 5 or 6 years. What to replace BASE with? Worse yet, in my case i have already replaced the usual BASE with mountain wingsuiting long time ago – can’t even remember when i did a slider-down… anyway, this question has been burning in my mind all this time while i was still jumping. Slowly, the answer is shaping up, though – to the point where i hope i will just stop jumping (we will see this summer! ;)

The answer lies in a brief moment where we push off the edge and fly. I slowly realized it is this moment that i want to live in again and again… all the endorphine rush highs etc are just minor side dishes to this living in a moment. Same thing samurais would talk about, or just about any eastern philosophy is based on. Anyway, i’ve been doing more and more serious yoga over the last 3 years, and for me personally it begins to bring this “living in a moment” into ordinary life. Nowhere near perfect yet, but there’s hope and plenty of happiness, quite unexpectedly. I feel you can find it on many different paths, but they all lead in a roughly the same direction. Buddhism (as a practical path more than religious aspect) leads there, yoga goes there (real yoga, not a stretching class in a local gym) etc etc – you can pick for yourself…. but look at this feeling of being 100% alive and free when you fly away from the cliff, and investigate. This feeling and this moment is with us all the time, but incredibly difficult to dig up – usually we have to be pushed off the edge Trouble is, when you actually do jump off the edge, your senses adjust to such a scale that nothing external will ever replace it. The only way to feel so intensely alive is to look inside you… and it’s already there, it’s always been there and supposedly always will

Good luck! You don’t have to “just accept that”. You cannot replace BASE, but you can outgrow BASE ;)

----------------------------------------------------


Well, a few months have passed since, and i can tell with a reasonable degree of confidence that i did outgrow BASE. I didn't quit - there's nothing to quit, really. I've simply realized that i didn't jump off anything in the last 12 months - because there's no need, no urge to do it. I feel very happy and whole as it is, and whatever BASE used to deliver by truckloads is already here with me all the time. There is no void to fill. I really truly wish that everybody finds this kind of happiness within during this lifetime - in our context, before they go in!

Given a right time and place, it still could happen that i fall or fly off something - but i won't be putting any effort into it, and usually things just don't happen without a conscious effort ;-)

BASE is a great and powerful tool. So is a chainsaw: you can build a house with it, or cut a foot off in a millisecond. Use your brain to the max, listen to yourself, notice the right moment to put your instruments down when the house is complete, and may the force be with you! ;-)

Party on! Yuri.

I remember about you during the last decade. Respect and Peace to you.

Awesome post from an awesome man. Snakkes Atle :)
Magnus

a todo madre o a un desmadre, carnal!

Absolutely. If anyone does not know who Atle is, he is pretty much to big wall tracking what Thomas Alva Edison was to electric lighting or what Henry Ford was to motorized vehicles. Atle has been throughout the years one of the guys I have had utmost respect to and have been unbelievably lucky to call him a friend. All I can say is that i respect a lot this post and the decision made by the legend. :D

Sky12345, you are a worm...

Hands down the best post I've read on this forum.

Keep on rocking.

Cheers!

Sky 12345

I always like to hear people like you who get impressed by BASE to the level that they think that after becoming a BASE jumper / flyer they are very super special
Are you special Sky12345?!
Comparing BASE activity attitude to solder or war situation is childish and very stupid.
BASE is dangerous?!
Sure it is, but it is dangerous as much as the jumper want to make his BASE jump dangerous.
All is in the hands of the jumper, really ALL.
It is starting with good preparation, getting good mentor , friend , advisor in the first place.
Than all what is important are three things:
1. Patience2. Patience 3. Patience
To listen smarter , and more experience is the must in BASE.
To quit BASE is easy too. However for you to realize that now is hard as you are in the ''war'' at the moment. You will learn one day and you will know than that is a bless to know to read the text with understanding too.

In every day life ordinary person dealing with harder and possibly more complicate decision on every day level than what BASE gonna be ever..
Average life this days require more courage and awareness than a jump from 400ft bridge .
Does the BASE jumping require any special training, mental and physical preparation? NO!
Take the average jumper this days and you'll see that ''average Joe'' can't really run or do anything special than ordinary person. In contrary , they often looks very funny!
Enjoy being special and enjoy feeling of being like ''special forces'' cuz you are The BASE Jumper! Wow!
Enjoy this and in the mean time , take a brake , look around and try to realize that in almost any sport you see around your self from watching from your window to become above average in any of those sports , effort needed for it is 1000 x higher than will ever be in BASE jumping activity.
To BASE jump is easy , to screw up in BASE jumping is easy too but the true is that BASE jumping is activity which does not require almost any real preparation. All what you need is to listen your self and trust your self. This is some time very hard. Any aeronautical sport also likes to have people who has something between ears too as it makes all game much easier.

I also like this post very much. This is the sort of stuff that puts things in perspective and will def help keep me alive thanks.

wow.

this is exactly how i've been feeling lately. i cannot compare myself to you other then the fact i've been around almost as long. i haven't officially walked away yet, but mainly only because the people i've explored life with, are simply some of the best in the world.

great post. thanks for putting this out there. what a journey.

I have created a sticky thread in the Beginners forum with a link to this thread (and a few others).

If anyone has suggestions for threads to add to that list, please PM them to me.

Base Jumping is something where you need 2 things to stay alive ,like Robi said, first of all,PATIENCE, and the ability to make decisions.
(the proper ones ;)…)
Atle made a decision and that is his right and NOBODY got the right to bash him for that.

this goes to sky1234!,…what an lame name! Seems you got no idea what person you are talking about, maybe you are one of these :
“2yearsinsport200skydivesnoclue20sliderdownlook@meFacebookbasejumperfuckers”

many people would still live and participate the joy of flying if they had more patience and made from time to time the decision not to jump, not to go that close, not to go low, not yet to fly WS.
And many of us still around would have a lighter heart because we are not missing beloved friends on the exits.
Like Atle I was giving me the same questions, got the same thoughts in my mind and only made another decision, still jumping and share the passion of flying. its all about making a decision.
But that doesn’t make me a hero or a superman.
Sometime it takes more guts to say NO or STOP and that earns respect.
The active community lost another respectful person, luckily this time in the only bearable way

cheers Atle

"the revolution starts to eat their own children"

Well done on a great post and a great call Atle , I respect you more than most for making that decision.

I chuckled at that too.

Well written, a refreshing post, I hope that I live long enough to do the same one day.

Very nice job!! I agree absolutely everything!!

One of the best post ever!
Mucho respect!!!

Great post. Normally I just read them and keep my thoughts to my self, but this one piece really hit me.

Best wishes in continuing your life.

Pleasure to have met you back in 08 with Slambo!

I rarely look here besides to see who has passed and almost never look at "General Base" any more, but for some reason tonight I did and this is hands down the best thing I have seen written here. Cheers to you man! Smart guy making a smart decision. Glad it has been posted to the beginners as well. Very good read for anyone that has been in the sport or thinking about getting in to it...

Base is ONE of the most fun things ever, but it is not life, thanks for posting.

To any jackasses trying to say this is giving up, I also say you are the biggest moron ever and I am glad I never met you and hope to never meet.

A very lucid post and a surgical reflection on our practice, a great lesson of BASE as the thread of Reiner http://www.basejumper.com/...rum.cgi?post=2962352.
You have find the point break and move forward for change on your own way, respect.
Yes love doesn't wait and only life can carry love.
Best Atle under the palm beach

I hope I'll have enough courage to do the same someday

I hoped it would be possible to experience proximity flying in a long term and sustainable way, but I don't believe anymore that is possible, maybe for very few if luck is on your side but not for me.

Yours is truly a success story in BASE, Congratulations, it's nice to see this perspective.

Convex walls in a vert playground would be the the most conservative.But....the horizontal will be calling ya.
That is why the August Attrition peaked IMHO. Also, on east facing walls, Morning thermics can give one 4 meters per second lift. Then, after midday, it goes away. 30secs proxy would = be 120m diff. Peeps should understand the behavior of the air before the jump. I quit jumping in winds I dont understand decades ago. But I understand the call of the edge.
Take care and Rock on Atle!
Tracy

Respekt Atle !
Rock on and Take Care
Hannes