So I started this post to tell you more about myself and show off my love of cliff jumping. I have jumped off some fairly good sized cliffs which I wouldn't necessarily encourage anyone else to do. It is hard to really get statistics on cliff jumping and the amount of injuries and deaths that occur but I can tell you that it is VERY dangerous. There is a whole new breed of cliff jumpers out there jumping off cliffs that I thought a person would almost automatically die from the bone jarring impact. That is why the title is the way it is. I felt like I couldn't make the post purely about myself but as a record of my jumps and also as a tribute to these world class bad asses.
My Jumps
I have jumped off a lot of cliffs but I want to mainly showcase 3 of my jumps before I showcase how far the top guys have pushed this dangerous addiction.
Sedona, Arizona
This particular cliff was around 38 feet high. In some ways it almost seemed higher because it was under a bridge and the pool that you jump into isn't huge. So when you are up high it looks like you have a smaller landing area that is safe. With this cliff I had the advantage that other people were jumping off of it before me. I saw about 5 or 6 people jump off of it before me which builds your confidence that it is safe. The odd thing with this one was that I didn't do a depth check because so many people were jumping off and no one was getting injured at first that is.
I jumped off and came up safely no problem. I ended up jumping off of it 3 more times and 2 of the times I touched bottom and scrapped my pinky toe a little bit. It didn't make me feel good that I was touching bottom. I don't like there to be any potential to touch bottom. Usually this means that Cliffs up to 50 need about 15 feet of water and anything 70 and above I like there to be 20 feet of water.
So after I had jumped all 4 times a guy jumps off and partially face smacks the water and actually got knocked out and then was floating face down. Me and another guy were already down in the water and swam over to save him. He came to right when we got to him and his nose was bleeding and he was confused. We got him over to the side and it seemed like he was going to be ok. That was my first time I realized that even this high of a cliff can kill you.
Lake Havasu, Arizona
Lake Havasu is a big time spring break destination and in the past was featured on MTV Spring Break. Back in college one of my friends and I drove all the way from Indianapolis, Indiana to Mesa, Arizona where his aunt lives and one of the major places we were going to hit up was Lake Havasu. We went there and it was everything we could have imagined. Cool blue water, hot girls everywhere, cliffs to jump off of. There is a cove called Copper Canyon that a lot of boats go back in and there is a pretty solid cliff jump. I measured it at 45 feet the first time I was there. The water level was a little lower and some guys there were saying they got up and measured it with a tape measure and it is 47 feet. Which seemed about right.
Jumping off it again this year was a big thrill to be back and know that I still have my edge. Again with this one I had seen several people jump before me and the water is clear enough that you know where to safely jump. Last year 5 people died at Lake Havasu. A couple of them on that cliff. You have to climb up to the peak of it and I guess one girl fell of and hit her head on the rocks. The story alone freaks me out. Also others died from hitting the cold water and it shocked them and caused them to pass out and they drowned.
Again you don't have much room to step on that cliff and your legs are jittery. Drinking alcohol or smoking pot to gain the "courage" or "loosen up" is a bad idea in my opinion and also in the opinion of some of the top guys in cliff jumping.
I don't spend much time up there standing around. My legs feel shaky and I feel sick to my stomach on the first jump. After you successfully complete one jump your confidence builds and it is a lot funner the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th time.
I am notorious for jumping extra far out. I don't want to take a chance of cracking my skulls on the rocks because I didn't jump far enough out. I see some people just trying to step off the cliff. Fuck That Shit!
Summersville Lake, West Virginia
The night before my friend Andrew and I jumped off this cliff one of the locals was telling us about all the accidents that have happened off these cliffs. He said there is a 45 footer, a 55 footer, a 70 footer, and a 90 footer. He then said that he saw one girl jump off and the impact of the water busted her collar bone and it was sticking out of the skin. He also said another girl jump off and the impact was so hard on her leg that it split her skin wide open to where there was a 8 inch gash with meat hanging out. This was enough to make us even more nervous. What made it worse was that when we went back there no one else was there. So we had to test the waters ourselves and start smaller and work up. There was nothing shorter than 45 foot which is already scary. Even though my friend Andrew was a pole vaulter and used to doing dangerous things somehow I became the "progressor" that day doing each jump first.
We got up to the 70 footer and man was it scary!!!! I was up there for a solid 25 minutes trying to figure if it was even possible to jump without getting killed. It was hard to tell how high I really was and I started thinking maybe it was the 90 footer. It is just so scary when you are up there.
It didn't look humanly possible. It was like being in an airplane and looking down at the ocean. That is what it felt like. I was so scared. I really questioned if I was mentally slow for even thinking about jumping. I had heard so many horror stories of people dying or getting VERY seriously injured off cliffs.
BUT.....I had to BEAT ANDREW! I think deep down he didn't want me to jump so that he wouldn't have to jump.
The acceleration you experience is unbelievable. It is actually way more scary than sky diving and way more dangerous. With skydiving you aren't knowingly going to collide with anything. The water hits so hard that it felt like I got punched in the face.
On these bigger cliffs I'm not around them enough to have ever practiced any flips or anything of that nature. The biggest cliff I have really flipped off of is a 15 footer.
So that basically sums up some of the more unique cliffs I have jumped off in my cliff jumping career. Andrew ultimately beat me that day because we went white water rafting and then went back to the lake and were on the other side and he jumped off a cliff we felt was even bigger. I decided that I risked my life enough for one day and jumped off a 55 footer so I could take a picture of him from water level. I don't know what happened to that picture but it was amazing. He looked like a boss flying through the air.
Now I want to dedicate the rest of the post to the guys who are pushing the human limits as far as cliff jumping goes.
The jumps these guys are doing are getting so out of control It has totally blown my mind. I actually didn't think you could live from a lot of these jumps especially when the water is unbroken and not aerated with under water bubble makers. Not only that but they are doing multiple flips and aerial tricks in addition to the extreme heights.
REMEMBER: They risk their life with every jump.
Nick Coulter
This guy hit the scene with a lot of variation on the 50-70 foot jumps and then went with a regular jump on the epic 110 foot Vermont Cliff jump. This blew my mind that he didn't get injured from that high.
Chase Reinford
This guy has literally became a god king in the cliff jumping world. If it wasn't a huge deal to just jump off the 110 footer and live. Chase did a triple gainer. If you don't know what a gainer is it is where you jump out facing forward but go into a back flip. So he flipped 3 times and lived to tell about it. His friend also did a front flip off the same cliff.
Before Chase did the triple gainer he actually did a back flip off of a 140 foot cliff. It must have been at Lake Mead or Lake Powell. It was out in the middle of nowhere and his body would have been traveling over 60 miles / hour when he hit the water. This completely blew everyone away that this was possible.
Laso Schaller
This particular jump as a little more structured than what the other guys do. It was sponsored by Red Bull and he had more equipment to protect his tail bone and prevent him from getting a fire hose enema. They had an air bubble system that created a big air bubble so when he landed in the water it was suppose to lessen the impact. It didn't work as planned and he dislocated his hip temporarily but ultimately was OK and walked away from it. The extreme height was the epic thing on this one. He jumped from around 59 meters or 193 feet high.
It blows my mind that a person could live from this stuff. There have been about 2% of people who have jumped or fallen off the Golden Gate Bridge and lived. It is 245' at the highest point where you could jump off. Often times it is young kids. Like teenagers that can survive it. The same seems to be true when there are sole survivors of airline crashes.
Sendy Convention
Chase and Nick went to Havasu Falls in Northern Arizona recently with their crews and a couple other cliff jumping crews and threw down hard. No one has ever jumped off Havasu falls. It usually isn't deep enough. 93 feet high where the waterfall spills over and then 120 feet from a higher cliff above it. The advantage would be that the water is broken and full of air. It really makes me want to jump from the 93 foot point. I didn't know they were doing this but you have to have passes so far in advance they probably planned it a year ago.
Conclusion
Things To Remember- Check The Water Depth
- Don't Feel Pressured
- Be Willing To Walk Away If You Aren't Comfortable
- Work Up From Smaller Cliffs To Bigger Cliffs
- Never Jump Alone
Even though we might feel like a Baby Back McBitch compared to these top guys that is OK. I have walked away from about 4 or 5 cliffs and I'm OK with that. I climbed all the way up and assessed the situation and decided it wasn't safe. Nick and Chase have seen people get seriously injured and have had friends die cliff jumping. They know the possibilities. They aren't stupid. They just have an adrenaline addiction and live on the edge.