Bungee Jumping

September 23, 2004 11:04 AM

How can I start bungee jumping? (The rest is inside.)

I currently live in Ohio. I can't seem to find any organized places to jump. Can I buy my own bungee (where?) and find a good (hopefully unused) bridge (until the cops tell me to stop)? I'm not opposed to covert jumping. I found one link to a European company that sells bungee cords, but I haven't called them yet for prices and availability and details (which are not explained on their site). How about WV, as they have some great old unused train tressels? I really want to jump off a high place, but I don't think I want to land.

posted by Shane to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total)

Hmm. If you jump by yourself... how do you get back to where you jumped from? Anyway -- did you see this page? A lot of those links seem really old, but maybe you could dig around there and find something that'll work.
posted by kittyb at 11:28 AM on September 23, 2004

OMG, please don't do this on your own. Sooooo many chances for human error for someone who isn't experienced. Aren't there any amusement parks in Ohio? Each usually has at least one ride or stand that's very much like/exactly the same as a bungee jump. Last weekend I went to Six Flags in Maryland and am going back again just to try the jump (line was too long) it was called something like Free Fall or Leap to Your Doom, etc.

I'm sure I read somewhere about someone trying to bungee jump by themselves and buying a bungee rope that was just a little shorter than the length of the fall itself. So that of course it stretched and the jumper hit the ground at full speed. Please go with professionals first. Try the amusement parks, or take a little adventure vacation.
posted by onlyconnect at 11:31 AM on September 23, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks folks. No worries! I think there's a place with professionals and a crane somewhere near Columbus -- I'll do that first. And, kittyb, that's something I wondered -- if you jump alone, how do you get back up? I'm sure I'd take a friend.

I guess what I'm wondering is, aren't there groups of people who bungee on their own, the way base-jumpers jump without authorization? Where do these people get their equipment, and how do they scout locations?

As far as amusement parks, last I checked there was one lousy "bungee swing" at [whatever the local park is called now after most recent buyout]. Been there, done that, expensive and not much fun -- the cord is attached to one structure and you are pulled up to the top of an adjacent structure, you get a millisecond of actual freefall then you swing the rest of the way. Not fun.
posted by Shane at 11:52 AM on September 23, 2004

Um. Yeah. Ditto on the not so much with the doing it yourself, at least not until you've got a couple of hundred jumps under your belt. It's best to work with professionals when jumping off of bridges and the like.
posted by waldo at 11:55 AM on September 23, 2004

This is old but states that there is a group in Cambridge, OH that does this.
posted by mmascolino at 12:50 PM on September 23, 2004

That Cambridge group has some photos here. I was going to suggest Bridge Day, which is coming up in October at the New River Gorge in WVA, but it looks like they don't do bungee anymore, just BASE jumps and rappelling.
posted by Otis at 7:53 AM on September 24, 2004

Also, Equipment and the book "Bungee Jumping: For Fun and Profit"
(out of print, but used available).
posted by Otis at 8:02 AM on September 24, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks again, folks.

(614) 432-JUMP in Cambridge, OH is disconnected. Looks like Adrenaline Dreams in PA is still alive, though.

Otis, thanks, a book looks like a damn good place to start.

I promise to post pictures someday :-)
posted by Shane at 9:14 AM on September 24, 2004

Response by poster: On further investigatory amblings, the book looks brilliant, Otis:

Define Bungee jumping. Be prepared for what you will experience. Discover bungee jumping's history in the jungles of the Vanuatu Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Locate sites for bungee jumping and make them safe. Prepare cords and rig all types of sites. Know what is needed to start a commercial site or a private site. Find suppliers of cords. Train Site-operators. Prevent injuries as a result of negligence. Publicize, promote and finance your own bungee business. Jump from a bridge, hot air balloon, crane or tower. Utilize cords, ankle harnesses and body harnesses. Understand legalities and zoning regulations of bungee jumping as well as health and age concerns as they relate to insurance validity. Judge the quality of a commercial site with personal satisfaction.
posted by Shane at 9:17 AM on September 24, 2004