New River Gorge Bridge

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The New River Gorge Bridge, on Highway 19 just northeast of Fayetteville, West Virginia, is the site of an annual BASE jumping event, called Bridge Day.

Bridge Day takes place on the third Saturday in October, timed to show off the fall colors in the gorge. The first Bridge Day took place in 1980.

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Registration

Bridge Day is limited to the first 450 jumpers who sign up. Registration begins July 1 at 2 p.m. EST. Personal information like a Social Security Number or passport number are required, as a background check will be performed.

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Requirements

Jumpers must show up the day before Bridge Day for gear checks and mandatory meetings. Jumpers must be at least 18 before registering, and must have completed a minimum of 150 skydives. (This information is in dispute. Can you help?)

Certain high-performance canopies are not permitted, including Performance Designs Stiletto and Velocity, Icarus Extreme (FX or VX) and others.

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Bridge Day jumping

Jumping begins at 9 a.m., and continues, weather permitting, until 3 p.m.

Jumpers can take as many as 6 jumps, depending on weather and how many rigs you’re using. A shuttle bus runs from the landing zone back up to the bridge.

Jumpers are divided into four groups of 113, determined by sign-up order, and jump in group order.

The landing zone is a gravel parking lot, measuring about 25' x 75'.

The 2006 event included a diving-board launch and a trampoline launch

The bridge stands 876 feet (267 meters) from the New River - a height that gives jumpers 8.8 seconds from launch to unhappy landing, if their parachutes don't open.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators come for the event each year, to watch hundreds of jumpers make multiple jumps each over the course of the six-hour window.

The 2006 event was marred by the death of Brian Lee Schubert. Frequently cited as one of the founders of the sport of BASE jumping, Schubert apparently hadn't jumped in a while, and by some reports was using a style of parachute that he had never used before.

Bridge day also features rappelling and ascending.