According towards the U.S. Parachute Association, Americans make over 2.6 million jumps annually. But some thrill seekers fall significantly harder for the extreme sport than others, and maintain on keeping’ on—throwing themselves off high bases and out of airplanes until they break a national record or, at the very least, make their own personal contribution to the sport. Below, check out photos that greatest relay the elevated height of excitement for this extreme pastime.
1. Sydney, Australia–based Glen Singleman and Heather Swan, who are the only known husband-and-wife BASE jumping team, are shown above, producing the world’s highest jump in wing suits by leaping off the 21,666-foot-high exit point on Mount Meru, Tanzania. Photo courtesy of Heather Swan and Dr. Glenn Singleman
2. A skydiver in a Santa Claus costume lands in water following a dive over Sydney to promote the Australia-based adventure company Adrenalin, whose festive offerings included tandem skydives with Santa. Photo by Brendon Thorne.
3. On November 7, 2008—at the 7th annual China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai of Guangdong Province—the China Air Force skydiving team performed a parachute show. Photo by China Photos
4. Three fliers in jammies demonstrate the hybrid skydiving formation, in which a vertical flier (hanger) is positioned inside the bubble of airflow to increase overall flying speed by adding weight but minimizing drag, according to skydiving instructor Rick Bray. Photo by Steve Fitchett.
5. In October 2009, Collectors’ Quest—a social network for the collector’s community—organized a promotional “Superhero Skydive” in New Paltz, New York. Those who participated were asked to bring their own costume, though replacement underwear was provided (for the faint of heart).
6. In 2006, this group of 400 expert formation divers—who hailed from 31 countries—jumped from 23,000 feet from five different Royal Thai Air Force C-130s over Udon Thani, Thailand, forming a flower-like arrangement in the sky within 80 seconds. Photograph by Hans Berggren/AFP/Getty Images.
7. On February 17, 1973, the Elsinore Flying Farkle Team—who was known to push the envelope when it came to freefall formation—created the first ever “16-way night star,” which the team of experienced flyers completed at 6,000 feet within 40 seconds.
8. On September 13, 2003, John Fleming and Dan Rossi became the first two blind skydivers to ever be in freefall together—setting the record for the largest freefall formation of blind skydivers. The pair flew from 14,000 feet.
9. Shown is a stacking canopy formation, a type of Vertical Formation Skydiving that requires jumpers to grip each other’s limbs or jumpsuit grippers while positioned in the highest-speed body position. The most common stacking formation is a “4-way,” which includes four jumpers. Photo courtesy of Dan Smith.
10. In 2005, on November 25 and 26, Dave Hillebrandt of United Space Alliance, Kevin Keenan of Lockheed Martin and NASA’s James Bolton were part of the record-setting 81- and 85-person canopy formation dives that took place over Lake Wales, Florida. Photo courtesy of Gustavo Cabana.