New River Gorge Bridge
New River Gorge Bridge
BASE Jumping in West Virginia
New River Gorge Bridge
Coordinates:
38 04 15N 81 04 48W
The New River Gorge Bridge overlooks the New River and is located in the Appalachian Mountains near Fayetteville, West Virginia. The steel-arch bridge is 3,030 ft long and 876 feet above the canyon below. This bridge was at one time the world’s longest arch bridge. Two other bridges were later built leaving the New River Gorge Bridge the third longest in the world today.
This structure is host to Fayette County’s “Bridge Day” on the third Saturday of every October. It’s a one day annual event that attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators and hundreds of base jumpers. On this day, base jumpers can legally jump for 6 hours weather permitting. Bungee Jumping is no longer allowed and has been banned since 1993. Two lanes were once open for vehicular traffic but now the bridge shuts down completely for this annual event.
The festivities of Bridge Day are on our calendar for next year. Will you be there?
BASE Jumping on Bridge Day at New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia
BASE Jumping at the New River Gorge Bridge in 2010
Equipment for BASE Jumping can include the parachute, harness, helmet, altimeter, action camera (optional), two way radio and gps.
Equipment for BASE Jumping
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