Leap of faith as a hobby

Extreme sports like base jumping are all about the adrenaline rush, and nothing gets the adrenal gland producing more. But let’s hope for the better!

BASE jumping is a highly dangerous sport that can easily injure and kill participants. Think long and hard before making such a jump.

BASE jumping has an overall fatality rate estimated at about one fatality per sixty participants. It has the highest risk of injury and death and so is the most dangerous of identified global recreational activities, with a rate 43 times higher than parachuting from a plane.

The name "BASE jumping" is an acronym for the four types of objects that jumpers leap from: Buildings (or monuments), Antennas, Spans (Bridges), Earth. Antenna towers are popular jumping points because they are often as tall as the world's tallest buildings, but easier to climb and have less security. Spans, or bridges, have to cross over large canyons or gorges to be suitable for a BASE jump. Earth refers to large natural formations that are suitable for BASE jumping: cliffs, canyons, fjords and gorges.

Skydivers use the air flow to stabilize their position, allowing the parachute to deploy cleanly. BASE jumpers, falling at lower speeds, have less aerodynamic control, and may tumble.

During the early eighties, nearly all BASE jumps were made using standard skydiving equipment, including two parachutes (main and reserve), and deployment components. Later on, specialized equipment and techniques were developed for the unique needs of BASE jumping.

I love you (written on the poster)//These stunning photographs were taken by Vadim Makhorov, Russian photographer from Novosibirsk during his base-jumping trip with friends to Europe.

There were 3 of them: Vadim Makhorov, photographer, and 2 base-jumpers - Ratmir from Ekaterinburg and Roman from Novokuznetsk…

Ratmir is an experienced jumper which made more than 400 jumps, and Roman is just a beginner…

The shots were taken in Italy, France, Switzerland and Greece.