2 BORN TO BE WILD

In the summer of 2014, I was invited to Twin Falls, Idaho, to

speak to a group of mental health counselors. I was there to discuss

the details of the new psychological diagnostic system. Having

never been to Idaho, I expected to encounter super-nice people,

incredible landscapes, and potatoes. Twin Falls had something

much more thrilling in store for me.

As I greeted the workshop participants, I mentioned my

interest in sensation-seeking. One person chimed in, “Oh, then

you’ll want to visit The Bridge.” I was confused. How exhilarating

could a bridge be? Over the course of my visit, one person after

another mentioned The Bridge.

The Bridge turned out to be the I. B. Perrine Bridge, which is

famous for being one of the only bridges in North America where

you can BASE jump year-round without a permit. Imagine, jumping

off of a bridge with a parachute whenever you’d like. People travel

from all over the world to The Bridge to BASE jump.

BASE – or Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth – is an acro-

nym created from the favorite jumping off points of BASE enthu-

siasts. BASE jumping is similar to skydiving, but a bit more

dangerous. Instead of dropping out of a plane, you plummet from

fixed objects such as a building, antenna, span (bridge), or the earth

(cliff) with a parachute or other specialized equipment. Why is

BASE jumping more dangerous than skydiving? Well, sky divers

start their descent from an airplane at heights ranging from 3,000

to 15,000 feet. Since you are falling from such a high altitude you’ll

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