BASE jumping is one of the most extreme outdoor sports. In short, it’s parachuting without the use of an airplane. BASE jumpers use tall buildings or mountain cliffs to soar into the air before pulling their chute. Recently, someone captured footage of a BASE jumper who jumped from the top of Yosemite’s El Capitan.
Take a look at the video:
The clip only shows the landing. The video was filmed by big wall climber Charles Winstead, who likely noticed the jumper and then pulled out his camera. So, you don’t actually see the jump from the famous rock formation in one of the nation’s busiest national parks.
However, viewers do get to see the parachutist glide down and eventually land near a trail.
“BASE jumpers coming off El Cap in the middle of the day,” wrote Winstead on the post. “Must be taking advantage of the government shutdown to get away with it.”
Even more surprisingly, Winstead captured footage of another BASE jumper later in the day.
There’s a good chance that Winstead is correct. With the ongoing shutdown, there is less staff in the park, creating more opportunity for activities like this—even though it could be illegal.
According to the official rules from the National Park Service, BASE jumping is generally illegal within park boundaries. The only exception requires a lengthy permitting process.
Here’s the wording from a recent memo:
“Although there are no NPS regulations that specifically address BASE jumping, the NPS has a specific policy for BASE jumping in section 8.2.2.7 of NPS Management Policies (2006). This policy states that, although generally prohibited by NPS regulations, BASE jumping may be allowed by permit, but only after it is determined to be an appropriate activity through a park planning process.”