B.A.S.E. JUMPERS AND WIND GENERATORS - SEPTEMBER 17, 2011

We drove into Twin Falls Idaho this afternoon and saw a really neat steel arch supported bridge over the Snake River Canyon.  About a half mile from the bridge is the site that Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon.  He piloted a steam powered rocket cycle.  The parachute deployed early and although he actually made it all the way across the canyon, the wind caused his cycle to drift back and land on the side of the canyon that he launched from.

This is a view of the golf course and other activities in the bottom of the canyon below the bridge.  The canyon is any where from several hundred to a couple of thousand feet wide and roughly 500 feet deep in the area around Twin Falls Idaho.

This is a picture of the bridge, looking to the west.  The roadway portion is about 1,500 feet long and the roadway is about 480 feet above the water.

When we arrived in the parking lot next to the bridge I noticed a sign on the visitor center that said "you can base jump today".  To clarify BASE jumping involves a parachute in a backpack, a pilot chute which is held by the jumper and released shortly after jumping which in turn causes the main chute to deploy.  BASE stands for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges) and Earth (cliffs etc).  Base jumpers must accomplish and document each type of jump to be considered a base jumper.  There is also a category for base jumping at night.  Base jumping almost always involves gaining access to the jump off point by illegal means and landing in an area without permission, and often results in legal charges and fines.  The Perrine bridge over the Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls Idaho is a notable exception.  It is the only place in the world that base jumping is permitted and even encouraged every day of the year. 

Jane and I walked along the top of the canyon on a scenic pathway and took several pictures of the bridge, canyon and river.  We were returning to the bike when someone standing next to the railing on the pathway said that some jumpers were getting ready to jump.  I went back down the pathway a ways so that I had a clear view of the bridge as well as the landing area.

That mowed patch of grass with a bulls eye painted on it is the landing area, 480 feet below the bridge and about 200 yards east of the bridge.

This is one of the jumpers, walking out to the jump off point.  The other two jumped from the west side of the bridge and then drifted under the bridge to the landing site.

Here the jumper has just jumped off the edge of the bridge.

In this picture you can see the jumper has released his pilot chute, the small pink object about 10 feet above his head.

Here his main chute is deploying.  In the next several pictures you will see him floating down and turning back upwind toward the landing area.

We have touchdown!  From jump to landing is about 15 seconds.  None of the three jumpers we watched actually hit the bulls eye, but they all landed close by and landed standing up.

This is Shoshone Falls.  It is located in the Snake River Canyon about 4 miles upstream from the bridge in the previous pictures.

If you have viewed any of our previous vacation pictures, you know I can't resist a good wind generator picture.  The thing that really got my attention with the windmills in this photo and the 60 or 70 others in the vicinity is that even though there was a very strong steady wind, not a one of them was turning.  I did a little research on the internet but didn't come up with an explanation.