BASE Jumping in Yosemite National Park
How the most Extreme Sport became forbidden in the park
Apr 15, 2009
The National Park Service (NPS) prohibits BASE jumping. BASE stands for the four structures BASE jumpers parachute from: Buildings, Antennae, Spans (bridges), Earth (cliffs). Generally speaking, the Park Service has a knee-jerk dislike to anything dangerous and spectacular. NPS believes tourists should come for the scenery in the beautiful western parks, not to watch people hurl themselves off cliffs. Moreover, activities like BASE jumping cause traffic problems on already crowded park roads.
The Park Service has been inconsistent in enforcing this philosophy. For instance, hang gliding is permitted in Yosemite National Park, but BASE jumping is forbidden. Why? To an outsider, they are similar activities in terms of danger and causing traffic problems. How come the Park service approves of climbers free climbing El Capitan, Yosemite's largest cliff, but arrests BASE jumpers who parachute from it? The answer is rooted in the history of BASE jumping in Yosemite.
Legal BASE
The first documented BASE jumper in Yosemite was Carl Boenish, who filmed his dives from El Cap in 1978. Boenish’s film inspired others to repeat his jumps. Not certain how to react to this outré activity, Yosemite banned all jumps in the park based on rules meant to limit skydiving (36 CFR 2.17(a)). At the same time though, Yosemite administration was allowing limited hang gliding.
Some BASE jumpers attempted to work out a similar structure for their sport. Because of their efforts, BASE jumping had a brief period of official acceptance in the summer of 1980. The USPA (United States Parachute Association) was to regulate BASE jumping in the park. Regulations were similar to those placed upon the hang gliders; limited launching points and launching times. The effort failed though.
Some of the BASE jumpers did not want to accept any limitations. They BASE jumped for an unregulated thrill and felt their sport should remain the most extreme of all. When the USPA tried to enforce the Park Service's desired regulations, some BASE jumpers threatened law suits, claiming that the USPA had no legal right to limit BASE jumping. The USPA backed out of any regulatory role in Yosemite and the Park Service banned BASE jumping again.
Base Goes Underground
The last legal jump in Yosemite was Sept. 9, 1980. There were no fatalities jumping the park before this date. Since then, anyone caught BASE jumping in Yosemite is subject to a large fine and confiscation of their expensive gear. While acknowledging the “immaturity” of the sport in its youth, a modern jumper who was interviewed for this article blamed the biases of the USPA and NPS for the failure of BASE jumping in Yosemite in 1980. Maybe BASE jumping would have had another chance in Yosemite, but a tragic summer in 1999 cemented its reputation in the NPS as a dangerous and disreputable activity.
In June, Frank Gambalie jumped successfully from El Capitan, but was met on the ground by rangers who meant to arrest Gambalie and confiscate his equipment. Gambalie ran away from the rangers and jumped into the Merced River to escape. He drowned. On Oct. 22, 1999, five parachutists jumped off El Capitan in protest of Gambalie’s death. One, Jan Davis, died when her chute failed to open. The Park Service blamed the jumpers for violating Park rules. The jumpers blamed the strong-arm tactics of the NPS (Davis was afraid her good parachute would be confiscated, so she jumped in a secondhand chute). A detailed account of both incidents can be found in Bill Gutman and Shawn Frederick's book Being Extreme.
Today, the NPS only allows BASE-jumping in one place; off of New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia one day per year. Despite a good safety record there, the bitter history of non-compliance and death in Yosemite ensures a continued "outlaw" status for jumpers there.
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