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00:0631 line out in the following order five-way split altis reading minus 90 mill cyprus reading 1017
00:15expert cyprus reading 90 arrow up portable altimeters on and set checkers go on
00:37for as long as humans existed we've been obsessed with flight
00:43the question is why
01:18the first parachute jump happened over 200 years ago in france since then it's evolved one of the
01:26biggest changes was the birth of a completely different kind of jumping sport known as
01:33base jumping and that's going to be the focus of our story hey doc
01:47the best things in life are on the other side of fear
01:51if i feel adrenaline it usually means something is going wrong
01:58a lot of people live their entire lives without really living
02:08always a dream to be able to fly it's a feeling of freedom
02:23if there was a mecca for base jumping it would be here
02:26the purine bridge in idaho one of the few places they can legally jump year round oh there's someone
02:37there
02:38unlike skydiving from an airplane these jumpers leap from fixed objects with no backup parachute
02:44because there's no time to release it they only have four seconds before hitting the ground
02:53base jumping has become so popular that first jump training schools like this one
02:57have popped up around the world the only variable that we're throwing into the mix here is we're
03:03going to have our pilot shooting our hand you can jump and then throw immediately after you jump
03:08just don't throw before you jump scotty a former marine now makes a living out of teaching people
03:14how to base jump safely gear checked when we get to the middle of the bridge guys ready
03:18yeah check it up and have fun laying on the ground safely to get to this point these first-time
03:25base
03:25jumpers needed to have hundreds of skydives give it gas but base jumping is 50 times more likely to
03:32result in death than jumping from a plane
03:38all right gear checks guys you got the drill
03:40good to go solid looks great totally good who's ready me coming out
03:50all right dude good set hands up eyes up square up all right three two one
04:04okay
04:07don't throw the pile shoot in front of you jordan
04:14beautiful
04:19square up eyes up
04:27you got a little too deep in the pocket jake
04:45eyes up
04:53that was a little crazy that one
05:04three two one see ya oh geez
05:15he landed exactly on the target
05:23it seems the hike back up to the bridge is almost as precarious as the jump off
05:27it's better to go that way where he is i'm just trying to challenge myself here
05:34within a matter of minutes the students are back up for the next jump
05:40oh yeah you're in a really good spot you are okay i'm keen to know how they're feeling
05:46yeah
05:47yeah
05:48do you ever think about dying all the time dude every day man maybe you can think about it until
05:53the room
05:53starts spinning you know but uh i'm much more terrified of working an office job we're here once
05:59dude if something happened to you though that's tragic i don't know dude you know you talk about quality of
06:06life and the excitement of life and the excitement therein versus length and i think that my personal preference after
06:11some years of thought is i'd rather
06:14potentially be the one that burns right but half the length
06:28you're a young harvard graduate are you chasing adrenaline you get to put yourself in a situation where
06:35you're beyond your comfort and you have to do that emotional control being able to remain calm and like
06:43that is a virtue and that is like that kind of character control is really really compelling yes
06:50so why do you do this about two years ago a very close friend of mine passed away by suicide
06:57the outcome for them was kind of living in fear and i didn't want to do that so i started
07:04kind of doing
07:05everything that scared me the most so i started skydiving which then led to base jumping which i said i
07:11would never do
07:20you're right man you're right first battle ending i've had in 10 years yeah it punctuated the moment
07:27nikki is one of scotty's newest graduates she's been base jumping for just over two months
07:33it's interesting that in some ways it was the death of a friend that inspired you to live
07:40but you're doing something that potentially brings you closer to death than anything else you could do
07:46yeah uh you're right i can't argue that fact what i will say is that i think a lot of
07:53people
07:53live their entire lives without really living
07:59and base jumping is the only time it's acceptable for a girl to spit
08:02yeah
08:10at least i know that i really did things i was passionate about and that i loved and felt like
08:15i
08:15took every opportunity and this is my opportunity to be able to do something for myself
08:44i'm in idaho trying to understand why people are attracted to base jumping
08:49to help with that i thought i'd get to know a bit more about nikki we'll get two wristbands
08:54yes my tiny wrist so what do you want to go first uh ferris one i think you're not afraid
09:01of heights
09:01you know i actually am afraid of heights oh god so you decided to skydive yes skydiving and base jumping
09:08is one of the few times in your life that you get to be totally present just what's happening in
09:14that
09:14moment and that in itself is such a liberating experience that you kind of crave that experience over and
09:21over again you're getting on getting on the pink one it's our turn all right thank you
09:30what does base jumping give you a sense of community an opportunity to challenge myself mentally
09:38physically emotionally and in some ways a purpose in life every time you do it it's and you survive it's
09:47a
09:49win have you known anyone who's died in the sport yes only been in the skydiving and base jumping world
09:56for
09:58november of 2022 and there's six or seven people i can think of that have died either in skydiving or
10:04in a way it's part of the sport and it sucks yes uh but the other on the other hand
10:12um
10:14you almost feel a duty to continue to do the sport on their behalf what do you want to do
10:22next you choose
10:24what is this star sizzler we could do this
10:28oh you want to embarrass me now three two one
10:37what's the trick with this this is tragic should we go in this bunny house we got to get the
10:4360
10:44dollars for
10:48holy you didn't really come down like face jumping this one really makes you sick so do you want to
10:55do
10:55it she's all over it are you all online oh oh dear sweet baby jesus are we both putting a
11:04seatbelt on
11:04i think that's how it works okay ask me a question okay so we're going to the fun house what
11:12about
11:12community how important is that face jumping i think it's really important absolutely you know it's one
11:18of the most beautiful things about the sport one of the things that happens a lot when people are on
11:23exit is they do these like fist bumps or handshakes or hugs telling the people that they're with how
11:29much they love them and care about them which if you think about a predominantly male dominated sport
11:35men expressing their emotions in that way to others and genuinely meaning it is a really incredible
11:43moment to be able to witness
11:48what would you do if you were not base jumping probably baking and cooking i did not see that
11:54coming really yeah let's all go at the same time three two one see ya oh god here we are
12:03oh wow you're
12:04really getting some traction okay so what would it take to stop you from base jumping
12:14i'd probably have to injure myself pretty badly or die that's the scary part right like there's a saying
12:22that there's only two ways out of base jumping you quit for real or death so i don't know i
12:28don't think
12:28i've found my why not yet i know my why's but there hasn't really been a why not
12:44the next day we get our first why not it doesn't even look bad
12:54good good release
12:57it's amazing everything perfect yeah so all good nothing yeah just flying a parachute man coming in
13:04nice nice flare right there and that was it just caught my just caught it in a
13:11root or a ditch or something i knew it was pretty wrecked oh wow so it's broken
13:19there along there ripped out the ligaments on the one side i think does it make you question
13:27why you do it no but a lot of people would potentially turn around now you know not like
13:33yeah because when you get in it that's not a you're so cash yeah so easy and but that's a
13:38serious injury
13:39like yeah it's pretty pretty good what about not doing it again you got to push through you can do
13:44anything you put your mind to get your knees in the breeze dude
13:50if you want me to pack your rig and watch rio well are you going to help them with real
13:56yeah i can do
13:57that scotty's wife julia is also a base jumping instructor you got it dude it's yours and it looks
14:03like their son rio is well on his way i can see the jumper in him yeah julia
14:10yeah did your view of jumping base jumping change when rio was born for sure i think i used to
14:17put
14:17myself in a lot more risk than i do now i'm sure you understand that for people watching it may
14:24almost
14:25seem incomprehensible the level of risk you would take not just you but both of you are jumpers yeah
14:31yeah yeah i know i actually i jumped until uh eight months pregnant
14:40so that was even harder for people to see hey bud do you get nervous watching your wife jump
14:48uh not really we've been jumping together for a very long time now is that mummy mummy
14:58real mummy look at real looking intently is that mummy
15:09what got you into this in the first place what's your why i started jumping out airplanes in the
15:14military so i didn't really need a why back then they just kind of told me to do it
15:19it turned out i really liked it it was really really fun
15:26but then why teach it because i know you have a moral dilemma don't you because in some ways
15:34you enable it but you want to enable it safely a lot of it was from years and years of
15:41having
15:41friends getting hurt seeing people will make a lot of the same mistakes over and over and over and over
15:47again and you're just like either i just keep doing this for me for fun and just you know
15:52which after a long time that kind of just seemed a little selfish
15:57but at least this way when we're we're teaching or guiding or coaching or feel like we're helping
16:03stem that curve a little bit and keep people from getting hurt and doing the same mistakes
16:12so super easy so you can grab here and then there's a bar at the back yeah on the frame
16:19and
16:19just up we go three one up oh i'm a fat bastard god jeez is that it's the burgers right
16:27now you get a real
16:28taste of what it is i ask my friends to do right it's like holy that's a lot of work
16:34man 20 years
16:36ago lonnie jumped from this bridge grab that frame here we go cool it left him a paraplegic what they
16:43call a solid guy you're a salt guy yes you are he's back and i want to know why thank
16:49you thanks guys
16:50that's it when you look at it now and you think back 20 years ago what comes to mind oh
17:03man you
17:04know the the first thing that comes to mind is the great times we were having when we were my
17:09friends
17:09you know all of us together as a kid i had always dreamt of flying just stepping out into nothing
17:21and i was lucky enough to find something that really was a passion three two one see ya high
17:30speed high adrenaline everything about the sport is so amazing this is what makes me happy uh here we
17:40are at the prime bridge in idaho the day of the accident i had decided that we can do a
17:47new canadian
17:47record the year before we had sat in record of six people leaving the object at the same time and
17:55we had seven here hey have a good one sherry we had some lesser experienced people that were there
18:02so i was helping them climb over and then when i was ready to leave i know i was rushed
18:11three three two one as soon as i laughed i was like oh whoa i'm flipping way too slow so
18:19i rushed the
18:20deployment i threw the pilot shoot out and my legs hadn't finished that last rotation yet and just
18:27wrapped around my foot i hit the water it was just one massive impact and i was on the bottom
18:40oh jesus
18:41someone get down there you know my body started going into convulsions gasping for air and i just
18:46kept saying i can't drown i have to survive for my boys lonnie spent nearly three minutes underwater
18:53before being rescued i was a couple weeks in intensive care they kept me medically induced when
18:59i woke up the first question i had for the doctor was how long do you think it'll be before
19:04i can jump
19:05again straight up she said lonnie listen i'm i'm sorry to tell you you've suffered a spinal cord injury
19:09you'll never jump again and i just looked at her i was like i'm sorry you don't know who you're
19:16talking to i will jump again you know i always joke you know a smart guy would have quit right
19:22you know a lot of people they know they say oh bass jumpers you know you have a death wish
19:27all this garbage and it's the exact opposite right we have a life wish we wish to live life to
19:34the
19:34absolute fullest
19:53it's a little farther than we thought exactly right yeah i'm looking at it now yeah we got like couple
19:59inches so the concern here is that the wheelchair will not have enough space uh one to rotate three
20:06two one and go but more concerningly is not enough of a push-off so there's a potential of his
20:12pack would
20:12hit on the back of the platform which would be well it'd be disastrous
20:23yeah yeah i'm not gonna say good luck no i'm gonna say enjoy exactly man yeah it would be awesome
20:36it's always scary this is the altitude that if i mess up the exit then i can be in a
20:43lot of trouble
20:44really fast my feet is off it's super dangerous because as the chair flips you know the chair is
20:55full of snaggy bits that will just chew up a parachute yeah yeah okay we good yeah going in to
21:04the chair
21:11he's up on the platform just looks crazily high from here it's 20 years since his accident and he's
21:21back the same bridge i'm excited for lani to jump and on the other day i feel sort of complicit
21:28and
21:28worried that something bad could happen sure it's always scary yeah buddy but the best things in life
21:38are on the other side of fear let go let him go love you man love you too brother you
21:45have to face fear every day
21:58you have to face fear every day when i roll off of the edge like that for those few seconds
22:05i'm me again
22:12there's no more obstacles there's no more restrictions
22:19it's a feeling of freedom just always a dream to to be able to fly
22:25i just i need to do this for me
22:33being in a wheelchair is a tough life places aren't accessible there's stairs doors aren't wide enough
22:44but when i roll off at the edge like that right i'm i'm fully i'm fully able there's no more
22:51obstacles you know i'm just me i'm just lonnie i'm just i'm able to fly my parachute of course until
22:58it comes to time to land right there's like all right here we go again
23:11before i leave the world of base jumping i'm heading to utah to meet pat and hartman
23:16two of the best wingsuit jumpers on the planet which one is it yeah it's right here the biggest
23:21most sheer thing in the middle out there it's about a thousand meters above us two thousand
23:25meters away it takes about a minute to get here from there a minute a minute yeah and where do
23:31you
23:31land yeah we're gonna be landing right over here for context going from base jumping to wingsuit base
23:36jumping is like getting out of a go-kart and into a formula one car now pat oh hns warning
23:43oh yeah you're
23:44wearing sandals yeah of course it could be dangerous on this decline it's hard to find a
23:51landing area that's this nice this is good yeah okay so the flight path right so we'll be jumping
23:57off this middle cliff here there's a ridge that you can see that comes down below the middle cliff
24:02so if you were to watch someone from here they would be in sight for about five seconds and then
24:08they drop below the tree line before popping out through that little canyon there you make it sound
24:13so easy fly over here and yeah it's clearly not easy but what makes it possible is this
24:24how does one come up with this suit all the development comes from skydiving by the time
24:32we get it the stuff has been fully fully tested in the skydiving environment we have the vents in
24:38the top right here for the arms and then two more for the legs once you get a little bit
24:42of airspeed
24:42it's going to go pressurize up the inlets in here and make it into one solid wing so you don't
24:47have
24:47to use that much effort it just kind of puts itself in the position it wants to be flown in
24:51so you're traveling 160 kilometers an hour right yeah so how do you how do you control it at 160
25:00kilometers an hour so with enough time it really becomes effortless where you just think about going
25:05that way you'll end up doing a little bit of weight shift a little bit of change in
25:08in body position and it will end up doing it
25:13oh it feels good to stand in the sun yeah a little bit of warmth
25:19i mean it's it's totally disarming as if we're going for a sunday stroll just totally chilled
25:29the common belief is that anyone who does this must be an adrenaline junkie someone who's searching
25:35the thrill you don't come across like that to be honest if i feel adrenaline it usually means
25:41something is going wrong i didn't make the right plan there's a mistake that's happening
25:50base jumping is considered the most dangerous sport in the world
25:54but like everything else there are levels to that wingsuit base combined with low proximity flying
26:02has to be the most dangerous sport arguably one of the most dangerous things you could do
26:09sitting here at their launch point it seems almost unfathomable that they would leap from here
26:32so we know exactly what the risks are if the weather conditions are good things should be consistent
26:38you should be able to perform just like you have every other time so after that the bigger risk is
26:44decision making if you step back a little bit and and control your decision making process
26:51then i think you can go keep it safe
26:55all right yeah yeah i'm gonna see you on the bottom all right on the bottom yeah
27:04everyone's ready okay turn gopros on yeah oh yeah pat
27:13yeah okay let's do it okay we're good to go have fun and ready three two one see ya
27:45we all dream of flying to soar to be free to be in the moment
27:51and for an instant totally in control of our destiny
28:02for these base jumpers their greatest fear isn't death it's not living enough
28:12flight has always captivated humans from parachuting to base jumping and now wingsuiting
28:19who knows what will come next
28:24one thing is certain we'll never stop looking to the sky for inspiration
28:31whoo hoo hoo
28:42yeah
28:43armin
28:45yeah
28:48nice
28:49Peace.