BASE Jumper Dies After Jumping Off 6,000-Ft Washington Mountain

A BASE jumper was found dead after leaping from the top of a 6,000-foot mountain peak in Washington, deputies said. The incident took place at about 7 p.m. Aug. 19 at Mount Baring, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said in an Aug. 29 news release.

As reported by the Merced Sun-Star, the 40-year-old man leaped from the summit, followed by his friend who jumped shortly after him, deputies said. His friend heard a crash and saw the man's opened parachute "near the 4,000 foot level (of the mountain) but was unable to see the individual."

The friend contacted authorities, and they found the man dead in an "extremely steep and hazardous section of the mountain's north face, making direct access impossible," deputies said. Multiple agencies worked together to make a plan on recovering his body.

A helicopter hovered about 600 feet from his body as rescuers rappelled down the rocky and steep mountainside to reach him, deputies said. They packaged his body and airlifted him off the mountain.

It took three days for teams to complete the recovery operation, deputies said. BASE jumping is an extreme sport where athletes jump from a fixed object and free fall before opening a parachute, according to topendsports.com.

"BASE stands for building, antennae, span (bridges) and earth," where the athletes jump from, the website says. Mount Baring is 6,127 feet tall and within the Cascade Range, near Baring, which is about a 65-mile drive northeast from Seattle.