Danger of 'an Act of Meditation'

June 1, 2006 — -- Twin Falls, Idaho, is home to one of the most-popular spots in the world for BASE jumping.

It is also the site where this Memorial Day weekend Shannon Dean, a fearless practitioner of the sport, died.

The tragedy highlights once again the risks BASE jumpers take to participate in this extreme sport, and why they continue to do it.

Dean, like many BASE jumpers worldwide, came to Twin Falls for the thrill of free-falling 486 feet off the Perrine Bridge over the Snake River Canyon.

It is one of the most-popular sites not only for its spectacular beauty, but because it is legal to jump there 365 days a year. At many sites, local authorities limit when people can jump.

Before Dean's jump this weekend, the veteran skydiver had been out of commission for several months following back surgery. On her Myspace.com page, she said, "I'm finally back in the air now."

Because of her passion, Dean couldn't stay away. Even after back surgery, she was still seeking more chances to jump.

On her fourth jump that day, Dean's parachute failed to open, leading to the 34-year-old's death. The tragedy was caught on multiple video cameras by fellow jumpers on the scene, and the recordings will be analyzed to determine what exactly went wrong with the jump. It was described as "a total parachute malfunction."

"We get calls like this every year -- no less than people who get lost in the hills in the winter," said Nancy Howell, a spokeswoman for the Twin Falls Sheriff's Department.

BASE jumping -- which stands for the buildings, antennae, spans and Earth from which participants jump -- has been around since the early 1980s. Since then, there have been approximately 100 BASE jumping deaths worldwide. There have been four fatalities in the United States this year, according to dropzone.com.

Tom Aiello, a BASE jumper who has logged more than 500 jumps, offers some insight into the mentality of a BASE jumper. He says the activity is an "act of meditation" and a "calming experience."

"You limit your risk by good training and modern equipment," Aiello said.

It's a sport that despite its apparent dangers, is largely unregulated. The only real controls on it are that in some places, after you hit the ground, you may get arrested.