By Jessica Farrish
The traditional BASE jumps from the New River Gorge Bridge are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. today, and National Park Service law enforcement specialist Chuck Noll said Friday that weather conditions probably won’t delay the jumps.
Some festival-goers were concerned that BASE jumping would be impacted by the weather, which is expected to be around 39 degrees and rainy.
Noll nixed the fears, saying strong winds or heavy fog would be the likely culprits in the event of a cancellation.
“We have an incident meteorologist assigned to the Bridge Day event,” he said. “I spoke with him (Friday) on the phone, and he read to me the report.”
Winds are expected to be steady at about 12 or 14 mph, Noll said. No gusts are expected.
“Generally, we start to get concerned when they’re gusty,” he said. “If they’re steady and below 15 mph, the jumpers can contend with that and prepare accordingly.”
Morning fog isn’t expected to be a factor, either, Noll added.
BASE jumpers at Rivers Expeditions near Fayetteville said Friday they won’t be deterred by lagging temperatures or the threat of precipitation.
“It doesn’t seem windy at all,” Sarah Gearty, 23, of Philadelphia said. “It’s just going to be very cold.”
Gearty, who is making her first jump from the bridge, said she’d only consider not jumping if there is a tornado.
“I’m OK with it,” she said.
Gary Bird, 47, of Pennsville Township, N.J., has jumped from the bridge twice and plans on leaping the 876 feet into the New River Gorge again today.
“It was sunny on the first jump and cloudy and windy on the second jump,” he said. “I’m going to stash dry clothes down at the bottom, just in case I get wet.”
Bird said he would prefer snow to rain, since snow doesn’t interfere with his parachute.
“A snowstorm would be cool,” he said.
Today will be the sixth bridge jump for 28-year-old Steve Giacoppo of Long Island, N.Y. He’s jumped the past three years, and the weather has been varied.
“Last year was pretty cold, too,” he said.
Eric Johnson, 23, of Wildwood, N.J., said he isn’t worried about possible hypothermia since rescue boats are in the river to pull out jumpers who land in the water.
“The only thing you’re trying to avoid is the boat that’s trying to save you,” he said. “(The weather will matter) only for the people who don’t want to jump.”
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Shuttles for Bridge Day-goers will begin their runs at 8:30 a.m. from designated parking lots. BASE jumping, rappelling, highline and more begin at 9 a.m. and will continue until 3 p.m. Vendors will have booths set up alongside U.S. 19 leading to the bridge. A variety of activities are planned all day long in Fayetteville and Montgomery.
— E-mail: jfarrish@register-herald.com
