Kuala Lumpur - Launching off a 300-meter-high tower platform with only seconds to pull your rip cord might sound like the act of an insane person.
But that's exactly what 103 base jumpers from 20 countries - presumably all of sound mind - did in Malaysia over the weekend.
The jumps were part of the annual KL Tower International Jump 2013, held in Kuala Lumpur from September 27 to 30.
KL Tower International Jump 2013
Over 100 base jumpers from 20 countries took part in this year's KL Tower International Jump, held in Malaysia from September 27-30
Long way down
The "base" in base jumping stands for buildings, antennas, spans (i.e. bridges) and earth (i.e. cliffs). The KL Tower International Jump began in 2005. The KL Tower -- ranked seventh tallest tower in the world -- rises 421 meters. Jumpers take the plunge from a 300-meter-high platform on the tower head.
The ultimate adrenalin buzz
As if jumping off a tower wasn't frightening enough, this base jumper throws in a back flip
Capturing the drop
Many of the jumpers wore cameras on their helmets to capture the wild journey to the bottom of Malaysia's KL Tower.
Experienced jumpers only
From 1981 to the present there have been more than 200 fatalities related to base jumping. In order to jump at the KL Tower, jumpers need to have two years of experience and more than 120 jumps under their belt.
'I jump off buildings for fun'
Oddly enough, some of these guys claim it's difficult to get a date.
Front row seats
Spectators looking for their own thrills were attached to the KL Tower ledge with safety harnesses, allowing them to snap impressive photos of the jumps.
Palms sweating yet?
Forget those Petronas Towers. The base jumpers are far more photo worthy. "It feels better to watch than to do it yourself," says UK tourist Jordan Lott.
Not a sport for everyone
You can't beat the views. But the thought of hurtling towards the ground with only seconds to pull your rip cord is a huge barrier to entry for most of us non-base jumpers.
You can't beat the views. But the thought of hurtling towards the ground with only seconds to pull your rip cord is a huge barrier to entry for most of us non-base jumpers.
Base jumping is dangerous. From 1981 to the present there have been more than 200 fatalities related to the sport. The base jumping community tries to minimize risks. n order to leap from the KL Tower, which opened in the Malaysian capital in 1996, jumpers need to have two years of experience and more than 120 jumps under their belt.
"Bonkers," "mad" and "nuts" were adjectives hurled at jumpers by spectators attached to the tower's ledge with safety harnesses, as they looked over the edge and snapped photos.
"We didn't realize the festival was going on," said UK tourist Jessica Pugh, standing on the open deck of the tower watching jumpers leap.
"We were just sat in Nando's and saw someone fall off the tower - we thought they'd jumped," added her partner, Jordan Lott.
"Thankfully we saw them pull the parachute. That was an experience in itself and then we came up here to see it. It feels better to watch than to do it yourself."
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