Michael Pelkey
Encyclopedia
Michael Pelkey and Brian Schubert (born 1940) are considered the founders of BASE jumping
.
, made the first parachute jumps from the top of the El Capitan
mountain in Yosemite National Park
. El Capitan is among the world's tallest sheer monoliths, ascending more than three thousand feet straight up from Yosemite Valley
. It is the second-highest unbroken cliff in the world, the highest being Mt. Thor
on Baffin Island
in the Canadian Arctic.
The sport of BASE-jumping
, practiced worldwide today and one of the original extreme sports, began about twelve years later, inspired in part by Pelkey and Schubert's El Capitan jump.
on 15 October 2005, where 175,000 spectators converged over the course of the day to take part in the festival. Approximately 450 BASE jumpers from all over the world made more than 800 parachute jumps off the New River Gorge Bridge
into the New River Gorge 876 feet below. The New River Gorge Bridge is the second highest span and one of the few places in the United States where BASE-jumping is legal for six hours, one day a year.
Pelkey made his second BASE jump at the 2005 Bridge Day event from the New River Gorge Bridge. He and Schubert planned to jump together at the 2006 event, a few months after the 40th anniversary of their first El Capitan jump. Schubert died jumping at that event, just minutes before Pelkey was scheduled to jump.
BASE jumping
BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E jumping, is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects...
.
El Capitan jump
On 24 July 1966 Pelkey and Brian Schubert, two 26-year-old skydivers from Barstow, CaliforniaBarstow, California
Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 22,639 at the 2010 census, up from 21,119 at the 2000 census. Barstow is located north of San Bernardino....
, made the first parachute jumps from the top of the El Capitan
El Capitan
El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith extends about from base to summit along its tallest face, and is one of the world's favorite challenges for rock climbers.The formation was...
mountain in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
. El Capitan is among the world's tallest sheer monoliths, ascending more than three thousand feet straight up from Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of California, carved out by the Merced River. The valley is about long and up to a mile deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines...
. It is the second-highest unbroken cliff in the world, the highest being Mt. Thor
Mount Thor
Mount Thor, officially gazetted as Thor Peak, is a mountain with an elevation of 1,675 m located in Auyuittuq National Park, on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. The mountain is located northeast of Pangnirtung and features the Earth's greatest purely vertical drop at , with an average angle of 105...
on Baffin Island
Baffin Island
Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is and its population is about 11,000...
in the Canadian Arctic.
The sport of BASE-jumping
BASE jumping
BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E jumping, is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects...
, practiced worldwide today and one of the original extreme sports, began about twelve years later, inspired in part by Pelkey and Schubert's El Capitan jump.
Later years
Pelkey and Schubert were honored as guest speakers at the 26th annual "Bridge Day" event in Fayetteville, West VirginiaFayetteville, West Virginia
Fayetteville is a town in and the county seat of Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,754 at the 2000 census.Fayetteville was listed as one of the 2006 "Top 10 Coolest Small Towns in America" by Budget Travel Magazine ....
on 15 October 2005, where 175,000 spectators converged over the course of the day to take part in the festival. Approximately 450 BASE jumpers from all over the world made more than 800 parachute jumps off the New River Gorge Bridge
New River Gorge Bridge
The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge long over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. With an arch long, the New River Gorge Bridge was for many years the world's longest arch bridge; it is now the third...
into the New River Gorge 876 feet below. The New River Gorge Bridge is the second highest span and one of the few places in the United States where BASE-jumping is legal for six hours, one day a year.
Pelkey made his second BASE jump at the 2005 Bridge Day event from the New River Gorge Bridge. He and Schubert planned to jump together at the 2006 event, a few months after the 40th anniversary of their first El Capitan jump. Schubert died jumping at that event, just minutes before Pelkey was scheduled to jump.