Adventure Anecdotes: “Switzerland Doesn’t Care How you Die”

When staying in the Lauterbrunnen valley we kept our eyes on the horizon searching for a glimpse of something we knew we’d never see stateside, a BASE jumper.

A glimpse was a pretty accurate description as the likelihood of spotting a person free falling among the 500 meter cliffs in the valley is comparable to spotting a needle in a haystack.

So far the closest we had been to spotting one was on our Via Ferrata tour where we stood inches from a base jumping platform. Unfortunately there were no jumpers for us to witness.

Why were we so fascinated by BASE jumping? Months prior to our trip we watched a whole documentary (Sunshine Superman) on the adrenaline seeking sport. BASE stands for building, antenna, span and earth (aka cliff). These are the items that a jumper can launch themselves from. The jumps are much shorter than jumping from a plane and they usually involve one parachute, but a skill of very precise timing is needed as the ground comes much faster.

The most fascinating part about BASE jumping is that it is illegal in the U.S.

But it’s totally legal in Switzerland. In fact it’s quite popular.

We figured our best chance to spot a jumper was when we ourselves went airborne, paragliding off the cliffs in Murren. Unfortunately my guide informed me that one of the rules to jumping in the valley was that BASE jumpers jump in the evening, opposite the flight of all paragliders. Paragliders hang pretty close to the cliff edges utilizing an updraft which is the heat that comes off the cliffs from the sun. This is what allows them to continue their flight. Opposite schedules allows for no collisions.

Later that evening we took advantage of a free drink coupon from our paragliding company at the Airtime Cafe in Lauterbrunnen and struck up a conversation with an American couple from Hawaii. A job with the US military is what brought them to Switzerland and they decided they never wanted to leave. They happened to be in the Lauterbrunnen valley that day because the husband was BASE jumping.

The wife took no time in pulling out the video so we could watch the jump from earlier that day. We watched it twice as the video was nothing more then cliffs and a poof of a parachute. You could hardly see the free fall or the jump for that matter.

We learned that this BASE jumper got his start in jumping after being a professional skydiver. He informed us that most people that BASE jump have experience in skydiving and that’s how they learn how to time the parachute release and be safe about it. But to this day I still wonder how his wife can go out and film his jumps, knowing if something went wrong she could be filming his death.

Our final nagging question was how was it legal here but not allowed in the United States. The husband wasted no time in looking us straight in the eyes and calmly stating, “Switzerland doesn’t care how you die.”

My husband and I didn’t know whether to laugh or be shocked. He went on to explain that in the US there’s always someone that could be sued because of all the private property. A majority of Switzerland is all public land. No one owns the cliffs in the Lauterbrunnen valley so if you die, there’s no one to sue.

BASE jumping is a sport that I never have a desire to do, but our encounter with a jumper created a tagline I’ll never forget, “Switzerland doesn’t care how you die.”