Learn To BASE Jump

First,

BASE Jumping is probably the most dangerous sport in existence. It is also, we think, one of the most intense and amazing experiences that a human can have.

If you decide to embark upon a BASE journey, then The Great Book of BASE may serve as a reference during your training and your BASE career. But you can't learn to BASE jump from a book. Really, you can't. It would be ridiculous and completely stupid to try.

The path is not too long and not too complicated. It requires a bit of patience and a bit of training. First, you will need to learn how to skydive. People have skipped the skydiving step, but no one has ever claimed that doing so is a good idea. Skydiving provides the foundation of canopy skills and freefall control that will be a part of every BASE jump that you make.

Skydiving can be expensive and inconvenient. You have to travel to a dropzone and pay for lessons. You'll then need to purchase skydiving equipment because you'll be doing more jumps than you'll want to do with rented equipment. And you'll have to pay for all of those jumps, of course...

But, the truth is that skydiving is a lot cheaper and easier than BASE jumping. If you think skydiving is expensive, wait until you want to travel thousands of miles to some of the world's best BASE sites. While it's easy to get 10 skydives in a day, you'll be lucky to get just 1 or 2 BASE jumps in a day, most of the time. So if the expense of skydiving is a turn off for you, then you're not ready to BASE jump, either.

BASE jumping requires a massive commitment in terms of time, energy, and mental focus. It’s a bit like dedicating your life to risking your life, and you should expect it to take up a lot of your time and energy.

The Steps:

1Become an experienced and accomplished skydiver: This involves taking an AFF course from your local skydiving center (dropzone), and then making 150-250 skydives, or more.

2Find a First Jump Course:

NEXT LEVEL provides cutting edge instruction from a large and diverse team.
Contact NEXT LEVEL to be referred to the right course for you (not all available BASE courses are listed on the website, contact them for more info).

3Find a Mentor:

Once you have completed your First Jump Course, you still won't know enough to BASE jump safely on your own. It is very important to become a part of the BASE community and find people who will help you to begin your career safely. Expect to 'Ground-crew' for local BASE jumpers, which may entail helping them setup and execute BASE jumps, driving for them, or providing other logistical support.

4Train consistently:

BASE jumping makes a terrible part time sport. It is highly important to maintain a level of currency with skydiving and BASE jumping in order to jump safely.

5Keep an open mind:

You will learn something from every BASE jump and from every interaction with other BASE jumpers if you pay attention. In BASE, knowledge is safety. Ignorance and complacency are the leading causes of fatal accidents.