[Closed] Jumping off cliffs, how hard is it?

I've not done that ^ but I have done three skydives.
I was really worried I would bail the first one and just not be able to do it, but when I was called I shuffled over to the door, stuck my legs out and then the wind just pulled me out🤣
Knowing what to expect for the second and third ones made it a bit better, it's that initial jump which is terrifying, once you are out it's great. Solo/static line if that makes any difference.
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I found a 4m diving board much scarier,couldn't bring myself to dive at all and after bottling it a few times basically just jumped off the end.
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BASE jumping, probably a no from a me. Although I would love a go in a wingsuit!

Just don’t look at the accident statistics.

Jumping off cliffs is not hard. But the landing might be...

We did a one week parapente course years ago. It's surprisingly straightforward. Our first solo flight was day 3 I think. We got a certificate / beginners licence of some kind at the end but never used it since. I can't remember anything and would obviously crash into the trees without taking off (hopefully) if I tried it now. Recommended. The most adrenaline came trying to sleep the night before that first flight.

Although I would love a go in a wingsuit!

I would love not to have this irrational fear of heights...

Is confusion.

OP the picture looks like parapente rather than BASE. Which is it you want to do?

I’ve not done that ^ but I have done three skydives.

I don't think you have.

Solo/static line if that makes any difference.

I think you've done three parachute jumps, no?

parapente course years ago. It’s surprisingly straightforward

Joe Simpson, of Touching the Void fame, would seem to disagree. 🤩

You are correct generalist.
What is the difference between a parachute jump and a skydive? Does skydive refer to 'proper' freefall? If so, no I've not done that, just a brief bit before I get to the end of the rope (it feels like a long way!)

Like savoyad above I did a week's paragliding course (mine was in the Pyrenees). A fantastic combination of tranquility when floating in the air mixed with genuine jeopardy realising that you're hundreds of metres up in the sky with only a fancy hanky keeping you there.
The jumping off a cliff bit came on the last two days after building up from fairly shallow slopes.

I loved it but the weather in the UK is too unpredictable for my liking.

I would love not to have this irrational fear of heights…

It’s not the heights, its depths, and the abrupt stop at the bottom.

I would love not to have this irrational fear of heights…

It’s not the heights, its depths, and the abrupt stop at the bottom

and it's not irrational..... it's entirely rational to be scared of being several hundred feet in the air attached by some rope to a square of nylon. If you aren't a bit scared even as an experienced parachutist / parapenter / base jumper you probably are the one being irrational, you just have overcome that better.

Proper phobias are totally irrational. Being terrified that a duck is looking at you, for example.

 but I have done three skydives.
I was really worried I would bail the first one

I'm intrigued by the notion of bailing out of a skydive 🙂

A guy I know has been running paragliding in Lebanon for 30yrs, its on my bucket list to go there. He took Simon Reeve up in his documentary about the med.

I’m intrigued by the notion of bailing out of a skydive

Instructors normally ask you "Are you ready to skydive?" before you set up for leaving the plane. It's a positive confirmation step and you can say no, but by that time you are normally ready to do it.

I did a weekend paragliding course in the Lakes years back. Loved it, but as others have said the less than stable conditions in the UK make it so frustrating getting the right conditions on the right hill, especially as a beginner. It took three attempts for the course to actually run and when it did there was a fair bit of driving about to find the right hill.

I'd love to parachute jump or skydive, but I don't think I'll ever do it now with a knee replacement. A school friend is/was a BASE jumper, I've seen him on TV doing it, also seen him have some nasty crashes and broken limbs.

Jumping off cliffs, how hard is it?

If at first you don’t succeed, it’s not for you.

I learnt to paraglide here in the lakes last year, and it’s amazing. The simplest and cheapest access to human flight, and a lovely way to come down for the high summits. The good guys can stay up for hours in the right conditions and fly 100s of km. not without its risks, but a really good new sport for me. Watch some YouTube (but not the paragliding fails films!)

Thought this was going to be about jumping into water for some reason. Grew up around Devils Bridge in Kirkby and jumped off that once as a teenager but not sure I could do it now (plus it's been made illegal!).

Have also done a day paragliding course which was great but was put off when some other people on the course said this was their 7th time and the first they'd actually been able to fly due to weather conditions.

Wingsuit base jumping looks like pretty much the ultimate rush but I think I'd only do it if I had a terminal illness!

Wingsuit base jumping looks like pretty much the ultimate rush but I think I’d only do it if I had a terminal illness!

Or the plane was going down, I think you need the right encouragement for these things 🙂

So what’s the diff between parapente & paragliding? I noticed some of these guys/girls were sitting in a fabric chair of some description & some were just hanging. This is on Tenerife, Costa Adeje.

I’m intrigued by the notion of bailing out of a skydive

I’m intrigued by why anyone would want to jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft.

OP the picture looks like parapente rather than BASE. Which is it you want to do?

Absolutely neither thanks. I was just curious of how difficult it is. Still looks cool whatever.

In about 1990 in one day we went from running around in a field to jumping from the top of Winhill. Which gave a flight long enough to get in a couple of turns.

But the risks are real and the right conditions rare. One matter told me that the stats are that 1 day in 30 give good conditions in the uk. Another made seemed to spend every weekend driving round the Dales shouting into his mobile “is it any good where you are?”

BASE is really different than normal skydiving. Really different. The equipment is not the same and the metal and physical skills are, well, you need to be better.

As an example: I skydive and have about 353 jumps. I have had close calls and made some really shaky decisions, had to throw away a canopy at far too low a height (because I spend too long trying to fix a twist), but I knew that the safety systems I had in place gave me a measure of security. I know i will always have two altimeters telling me my height, one visual, one audible as a backup. I know I have a reserve in case, like when I chopped, I can't fix a problem with my main. I never jump without an AAD that, should the worst happen, will throw out my reserve for me.

With BASE, you don't have all or most of those safety systems. No reserve, no AAD, maybe two altimeters. How your canopy opens can dictate a good jump or a very bad landing and injury. Your skills and decision making ability need to be utterly on point and, even then, you can/might still get injured.

I am in no way ready to do BASE. Maybe when i get near 1000 jumps, but not now. Normal wingsuit, sure. I can do that now. I can practice it in a tunnel, but not off a building.

Instructors normally ask you “Are you ready to skydive?” before you set up for leaving the plane. It’s a positive confirmation step and you can say no, but by that time you are normally ready to do it.

it was the term ‘Bail’ I was intrigued about which can mean either scooping water out or something with a bucket or making a rapid unplanned exit from an air craft.

I know quite a few people who parapente and they absolutely love it, and it's the easiest way to get off certain mountains. I do know one girl who messed it up badly and shes's three years into treatment I think.

One of the tandem jumps in the alps with a paraglider looks like a super duper into without so much training :-)I

This is like that thread I saw on Wingsuitworld where someone asked how hard it is to ride a bike and some reply’s were about stabilisers whilst others cautioned that the Megavalanche wasn’t for the faint hearted…

after a few drinks one day in olu deniz, watching the constant stream of paragliders down to the beach, my wife and i both plucked up the (dutch) courage to book tandem jumps from the mountain (babadag?) the next day. next day obviously had us questioning the sense of such a decision. my wife dropped out but i thought i mebbes wont get another chance so 'push yourself lad'!

i can honestly say that after the drive up the mountain in that minbus, wheels on the edge of a sheer drop as it (seemingly) raced around corners, driver steering with one hand as he was using his mobile phone with the other, taking his eyes off the road, that there was no way i was going back down with him too! it would have been far safer just to jump off the mountain instead 😀
it honestly felt like one of those 'worlds most dangerous roads'. after 10 minutes or so of this i just closed my eyes so i couldnt see how close to death i was, and forced myself to think 'no cars ever come off the mountain, none crash, hes done this trip hundreds of times before'. i havent googled whether this was true or not.

the paraglide down tho was ace, loved it.

My policy is never to be more than a few feet from the surface of the planet for hobbies. So that's private planes, helicopters, parachutes, potholing and scuba diving all covered. I feel happy with that decision.

Why is that duck wearing a dig faced mask?

As an example: I skydive and have about 353 jumps.

Grrrrr.....  353 is exact, 350 is 'about' 😉

That’s not a duck in a mask. It’s a dog with an afro a couple of nice marigolds in its hair,

@sadexpunk we did the same thing some years ago. Terrifying and great at the same time. The wifes pilot asked her if she liked rollercoasters and then did a bunch of spiral turns. To me a few hundred feet away, dangling from a miserable Turk who didn't say a word, it looked like it was going to crash...

Have never felt the urge to try it again!

PS Travis Pastrana is currently in hospital after a base jumping accident so it happens to the best of them.

Eldest daughter did a tandem one for a surprise 15th birthday present whilst we were out riding with Bike Verbier. She thought she was going for end of ride pizza but got the flight from the top lift to the valley floor.
Work colleague who I've known since school has taken it up and does it on a regular basis home and abroad. We have egged each other on since been teenagers with windsurfing, mtbing, snowboarding and loads of daft things but I've not taken him up on this. A couple of weeks ago he was talking about getting a motor to strap to his back.

I did find myself drawn to hang gliding many years ago after watching the Chamonix Delta Club leaping off the Grand Montet, but managed to avoid it! Parapente has never held any interest as it just looks like floating around rather than flying. I'm sure it isn't.

Slowoldman- watch some YouTube footage of events like the red bull x alps- paragliding (or parapente in French) is very much flying. Trim speed of racing wings somewhere above 40kmh.