A blue thread snaked almost 900 feet below the New River Gorge Bridge as people catapulted themselves into the air, some scrunching into flips before floating to the ground with billowing parachutes.

Saturday, Oct. 18, was the 35th anniversary of Bridge Day, an international event in West Virginia. This was the sixth year Shippensburg University’s Adventure Club attended, Adventure Club President Patrick Peck said.

Forty-four Adventure Club members left Friday by carpool and stayed at a campground that included white water rafting in the package. Although Bridge Day was free, the camping and rafting would have been $168, but was knocked down to $40 per person through Adventure Club.

Bridge Day provides an opportunity for people to B.A.S.E. jump, which stands for building, antenna, span and Earth.

B.A.S.E. jumping, which is jumping from any fixed structure or cliff, is more dangerous than skydiving because there is less time to react, Peck said. B.A.S.E. jumpers have about three or four seconds to orient themselves and pull their parachute, compared to the several minutes a skydiver has to react.

For this reason, no one from the Adventure Club B.A.S.E. jumped from the bridge; only professionals were permitted. There were a total of five tandem spots awarded to amateurs through an online lottery, which allowed people to jump attached to an experienced jumper, Peck said.

Bridge Day is one of the few times that B.A.S.E. jumping is legal. Because it is so dangerous, establishments allow it sparingly to avoid legal ramifications, Peck said.

People packed together on the New River Gorge Bridge to see the B.A.S.E. jumpers. Some people leaped from a diving board rigged to the bridge while others were catapulted into the air.

“They’re just trying to outdo each other,” Peck said of the jumpers, some of them competing to get the most flips before righting themselves in time to open their parachutes.

The jumpers aimed for a target just off shore, but the wind blew most of them into the trees or the river, senior Lily Berish, Adventure Club member and Bridge Day participant, said.

The only injury was a broken leg of a jumper who was blown off course, Peck said.

The Sunday following Bridge Day, club members got up early for whitewater rafting on Class 5 rapids on the Upper Gauley River.

Rapids are ranked on a scale of one to five, with one being the tamest. They are judged by the technical skill required and the level of damage that would result from a mistake, Peck said.

Berish rode the bull, she said, a term rafters use to describe a dare-devil trick down the rapids. With legs draped over the edge of the raft, Berish said she held on to a strap attached to the front of the raft with one hand and pretended to lasso with the other. Berish demonstrated, waving her right arm in the air like a cowgirl.
“I want to flip on every rapid,” Berish said, who was tossed from the raft.

The longest bull rider, however, was Marilyn Miller, who said she was eventually pushed back into the raft by a big wave.

“Don’t fall off,” was the thought Miller had racing through her head as she rode the bull through the foaming water.

As a sophomore and Adventure Club’s supply manager, this was Miller’s second time at Bridge Day and her second time whitewater rafting.

“This year, it wasn’t as terrifying because I kind of knew what to expect,” Miller said of the whitewater rafting, which was her favorite part of the trip.

After a weekend of tent camping, watching B.A.S.E. jumpers and white water rafting, Peck held a meeting at the rec pavilion Tuesday, Oct. 21, to regroup with the club members.

“Did everyone recover?” Peck asked the group of 15 as he stood on top of one of the picnic tables.

Adventure Club members barely had chance to respond before Peck began to announce the Club’s next activity—bouldering, which would be the upcoming Friday.

Bouldering, Peck said, is just like rock climbing except there is no harness and the climbs are restricted to 30 feet. Set out on the ground are mats which help to break a fall if someone were to slip.
The kind of activities that Adventure Club organizes depends on the current leaders and their interests and skill sets, Peck said.

Adventure Club’s main goal is to get people outdoors and loving it, Peck said. The only requirement to join the club is interest. Membership consists of showing up to events, which vary from hiking, caving, and scuba diving, Peck said.

“I love being in the Adventure Club,” Berish said, “They’re a special bunch.”

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