by Nico Colombant, for Speakeasy Magazine, Spring 2001
Parachuting makes extreme athletes think of World War One. BASE jumping is an acronym for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges) and Earth (cliffs). BASE jumpers leap from famous buildings, bridges and important antennas or scenic cliffs, defying authorities and laws of nature, with little time to open their single parachute. If the wind shifts too much or the parachute fails to work, they die. If they land safely, they must escape police to avoid jail. Skiing? That's for people who like waiting in lines and bumping into people on ice-packed trails.
Extreme skiers are dropped by helicopters in mountains where avalanches can engulf them. Marathons used to be the ultimate test of grit and determination, before they were replaced by triathlons, which combine swimming, biking and running. The extreme triathlon used to be the Ironman but now it is the Tripe Iron. Competitors must swim 11.5 kilometers (7.2 miles miles), bike 540 kilometers (336 miles) and run 126 kilometers (78.6 miles). Last year, one Triple Iron took place in the United States and only four athletes competed. The winner - with a time of more than 38 hours - said he felt a little "lightheaded."
Extreme athletes also like to combine different extreme activities to make them more extreme. Skydiving for example, which is free-falling from an airplane from high altitudes before using a parachute, can also involve using skis or a snowboard and having a mountain as a landing pad. Another example kite boarding combines wakeboarding - a water-skiing style of snowboarding -- windsurfing and hang-gliding. It takes place on and above water, preferably an ocean with waves. Riders are harnessed to a giant kite as they steer a water board that is strapped to their feet. The wind and their skills allow them to ride waves, jump, twist, turn and fly in the air before landing back into waves and doing it all over. Kite boarding may be the most fun of these fear-loathing sports but it's not the most extreme.
In my humble opinion (my resume only has downhill in-line skating, storm surfing, powder snowboarding and bungee jumping) the most hair-raising, adrenaline-charged, stress-relieving, endorphin-inducing, sensational, marketable, newsworthy, harrowing extreme sport of them all is kite boarding's close relative -- tornado surfing. First, you must track down a tornado, put on your kite-boarding equipment and hold on to a rope attached to a truck. Then, have a driver pull you into the heart of the twister, let go of the rope and surf the tornado. Good luck, I don't think it's been tried yet. If you succeed, don't forget to have your picture taken or else no one will believe you.
