In 1978 Carl Boenish organized the first expeditions to Yosemite National Park's El Capitan were using ram-air canopies and the ability to track ushered in the modern era of the sport he later named BASE jumping. Through his wonderful films and boundless enthusiasm he showed the world that fixed object jumping is a repeatable act available for any reasonably experienced parachutist. He published the world's first BASE information with BASE Magazine and also began issuing (in 1981) the sequential BASE Number Award (BASE #### ) we still use today. Carl Boenish, and his wife Jean, are in Norway jumping for the cameras of an American TV show called, That's Incredible. After the shoot is finished Carl decides to make one more jump. He jumps from a new launch point, not the one they had been using all week, and the result is his not clearing an outcropping in freefall. Carl Boenish is the first Trollveggen area fatality.

The following is newer (2002) information reported by a local Norwegian BASE jumper. I knew a man who went up to Stabben with Mr. Boenish the day of his fatality. He is a very skilled climber, and knew every rock up there. He helped Mr. Boenish to the top of Stabben (it's a little difficult to get up there) and found himself a good spot to photograph the jump. After Carl's fatality, he threw the camera down the cliff and later said, I didn't want anyone to see pictures of that jump. He then went down and contacted police. This same climber is later killed in an avalanche not far from the Troll Wall in the early 1990s. When Carl Boenish becomes involved in fixed object jumping he's already considered the premier skydiving photographer of his day. He photographed the early days of RW in Southern California, filmed the aerial portions of the MGM movie, The Gypsy Moths, and left us what still are some of the most breathtaking skydiving movies (he called them Film Poems) ever made. With a friendly and inquisitive personality, including an infectious goof ball laugh that heard once is never forgotten, Carl is loved and respected throughout the skydiving world. Now, however, as fixed object jumping begins to make headlines, usually for spectacular mishaps, Carl begins hearing, You are hurting skydiving, from his longtime friends. Carl lost many friends, Jean Boenish later said, because of fixed object jumping, and he never got over that. In 1987 (three years after his death) the skydiving community posthumously forgave Carl Boenish and bestowed their highest honor on him, the USPA Achievement award.

Updated 27th Oct 2024

"Hi JD Walker here, I knew Carl intimately, staying with him, jumping several objects with him, and wanted to correct the record on this accounting of losing him.

The accident gear was a Hanbury Velcro rig, with a hand held 52" Handbury PC, and a 26" chest mounted lopo hand deployed reserve. The canopy was a new ParaFlite "Goliath", 375' 7 cell, UNMODIFED ( he wouldn't let me do a deep brake setting or more modern tail pouch before the trip). Having jumped it myself and seeing Carl use it many times, his canopy had a severe surge upon slider up or down opening - in part responsible for his wall strike and eventual death.

After he died, Jean (his wife, BASE #3) asked me to examine his parachute and sent it to me. I was one of the earliest guys building single container BASE rigs, and am a rigger. It was obvious that the canopy had struck the wall fully inflated, under flight from its damage - there were several broken "A" lines, and multiple snag tears in the nose. The tail of the canopy was virtually undamaged. The climber who filmed it shared
with his local climber friends this story to confirm what happened. After a short delay, Carl pitched his PC & suffered a clean 180 and flew into the wall before he could turn. Carl did not die of impact, he died of a severe chest compression from striking a rock outcropping in the chest. Jean has told me the same conclusion. I had the parachute for 40 years, repairing it enough to jump all 4 objects with my friend Jon Bowlin (BFL in Grand Canyon 1993, that I was involved in) in Carl's memory, in late 1984. To honor my/our friend, on the 40th Anniversary of losing him , despite being now legally blind, I jumped that parachute from the Perrine bridge June 7th, 2024 with a lot of planning and help from my close BASE friends. The parachute is now in the custody of the young man I believe will safeguard it until there is a BASE museum and donate it to that cause when the time occurs in the future (probably in Twin Falls). Carl is sacred man to us early BASE jumpers and its important to us all the record is correct, could please adjust the listing to reflect what happened? Thank you so much, JD - Grand Canyon #1, Arizona BASE #1, BASE arrest #1, Naked BASE #3