The Top 5 Highest Base Jumps

 BASE jumping, which is sometimes seen as B.A.S.E jumping, is really an acronym for all the surfaces you can jump from–buildings, antennas, spans/bridges, and earth/cliffs. This is a high-thrill, high-risk sport beloved of adrenalin junkies, and as you might expect, said junkies have achieved some amazing records on their adventure tours.

The Top 5 Highest Base Jumps On Record

May 23rd, 2006: An Australian couple, Glen Singleman and Heather Swan swept down from a soaring precipice of the Himalayan Meru Peak, which was 21, 667 feet high (6604 metres). It took them six years to prepare for the jump, 22 days to climb the mountain in the sub-zero conditions, and just two minutes to soar in their wingsuits all the way back down to their camp at the bottom of the mountain. This is the highest BASE jump in history.

April 9th, 2008: Early that morning, two men, a Frenchman named Herve Le Gallou and his unidentified English friend, disguised themselves as construction workers, and, under the cover of darkness, snuck into the compound of the Burj Dubai. After barreling up the stairs and out the top, they dove off into the cityscape of Dubai–and into the record books, having achieved the highest BASE jump from a building. Although they got away safely, Mr. Gallou returned for another taste just a few days later. His second jump did not go so smoothly: he was arrested and held for months afterward.

January 9th, 2010: Nasr Al Niyadi and Omar Al Hegelan, of Dubai jumped with permission the 2,205 feet (672 meters) from the 160th floor of the world’s tallest building–the Burj Khalifa. They reached speeds of 137 feet per second during their one and a half minute long freefall.

July 11, 2011: The first ever BASE jump as well as wingsuit flight from Mont Blanc was executed by Valery Rozov, who enjoyed 800 meters of freefall. Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps and is 4,810 meteres tall.

January 8th, 2009: three women BASE jumped from the highest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls. This Venezuelan waterfall is 3,212 feet tall (979 metres). The women included Melody Morin, 20 years old, Anniken Binz, 32 years old, and Ana Isabel Dao, who at 28 years old was the first Venezuelan woman to ever BASE jump Angel Falls. The trio had to hike through jungle to reach the Falls, and were aided on their adventure tour by local volunteers familiar with the area.