Basejumper.com - archive

So, I came across an old longline microwave tower close to home. It is very attractive to me for multiple reasons. It is very rural however the LZ is on a farm. I could just go about jumping the tower around dawn and night time to avoid being detected but I am considering just asking for the landowner's permission instead so I could dayblaze and also just out of respect. The tower is rather close to their house and I know the openings will be loud and might disturb them.

The landowners are Amish if that means anything to anyone. In my experience the Amish are quite agreeable and I even know of one other tower somewhat nearby on Amish property which the owners allow jumpers to land on their property. They just ask that you let them know so that they can watch. I do not know how the permission was originally granted.

I was hoping to get some opinions on this. Should I just go about jumping it covertly until I either get run off the property or fall into permission? Or should I just confront the landowner and hope that they agree with the chance of them saying no, and then any jump I make will be clearly against their wishes and they may try to come after me for it.

Personal experiences or opinions would be appreciated.

If you do ask, and the say no, are you going to just bandit jump it anyway, or are you going to respect their wishes?

I suggest doing a little research, then take an appropriate
gift to the land owners with a short but honest sales pitch.

in 12 years, I have had only 1 home owner come down
to a definitive NO, most others waffle between YES and
who I am to give you permission / I don't care.

Good Luck!

I've been pondering this exact question lately. There are quite a few towers on rural farmland around me. I guess ultimately the landowners generally don't own the tower but they are the ones who are the most likely to see you/call the cops. Sure would be nice to be able to jump all day.

I'd say if you think they'll say yes, then ask, but;

- If they say no, then respect their wishes and just stay away
- Realize they don't actually have a legal right to give you permission, so you're still trespassing


It's a risk, either way, but if you think the odds are in your favor, you have a lower chance of bust if the surrounding landowner has agreed not to call you in.

Tom covered most of it. One thing to keep in mind, a high-vis vest and white hard hat go a very long way. Even more so If you have the helmet specifically for climbing.

It's been about 16 years ago but just outside Austin, TX there was a modest 3 bedroom 2 bath brick ranch on an exact acre with a decommissioned 350' freestander in the corner of the acre. Big 'ol platform at the top and everything, fuck it was glorious. It had a tiny shack at the bottom that kept the Aviation light on top spinning. They wanted less than 300 grand..

Short story gone long, they might own it!

Longline towers are my favorite object to jump. Asking permission is my go to move when I'm jumping an object close to a residence. Never had a No and dozens of Yeses. I go over in daylight hours with a gift that seems appropriate for the demographic; chocolate or booze. I tell them I'd like to "parachute off the antenna" because it doesn't have the criminal connotation of base jumping. Looking presentable, having videos of previous antenna jumps, and assuring people you have years of experience goes a long way. Also I tell them that "I just want to make sure you don't shoot me or call the cops" which gets a laugh. They usually come out to watch but a few said they were worried about liability and "didn't want to know about it".