The Europa Bridge or Bridge of Europe ( Europabrücke ) is a 777-metre-long (2,549 ft) bridge carrying the A13 Brenner Autobahn (and European route E45 ) over the 657-metre (2,156 ft) Wipp valley just south of Innsbruck , Tyrol , Austria . The bridge spans the Sill River , and forms part of the main route across the Alps from western Austria to South Tyrol in Italy . It is also part of the main route between southeastern Germany and northern Italy.
41-598: The longest span between pillars is 198 metres (650 ft). It hosts a 192-meter Bungee Jump , the fifth highest in the world. Built between 1959 and 1963 and standing 190 metres (620 ft) high above the ground, it took the title of Europe's highest bridge , surpassing the Gueuroz Bridge in Switzerland . The Italia Viaduct took over this title in 1974. [REDACTED] Media related to Europabrücke (Brennerautobahn) at Wikimedia Commons This article about
82-471: A body harness , if only as a backup for an ankle attachment. Body harnesses generally derive from climbing equipment rather than parachute equipment. Milad tower bungee jumping with a height of 280 meters is the highest jumping platform in the world In August 2005, AJ Hackett added a SkyJump to the Macau Tower , making it the world's highest jump at 233 metres (764 ft). The SkyJump did not qualify as
123-530: A catenary rope, from a cliff, across a Sydney-area river, braking with carpet, releasing mid-river, and swimming to an accessible river bank. The first modern bungee jumps were made on 1 April 1979 from the 76-metre (250 ft) Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol , England, by David Kirke and Simon Keeling, members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club , and Geoff Tabin,
164-452: A kangaroo -shaped balloon, suspended beneath helium balloons, leading to his prosecution for flying without a pilot's licence . Other Club activities included expedition hang gliding from active volcanoes ; the launching of giant (60 ft) plastic spheres with pilots suspended in the centre ( zorbing ); microlight flying; and BASE jumping (in the early days of this sport). The Oxford Stunt Factory , which shared many members with
205-519: A "Guide cable" system that limits swing (the jump is very close to the structure of the tower itself) but does not have any effect on the speed of descent, so this still qualifies the jump for the World Record. Kushma Bungee Jump is the world's second-highest bungee jump with a height of 228 metres (748 ft). It is located in the gorge of Kaligandaki River and world-first natural canyon bungee jump. Another commercial bungee jump currently in operation
246-465: A bridge in Austria is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bungee Jumping Bungee jumping ( / ˈ b ʌ n dʒ i / ), also spelled bungy jumping , is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord . The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a bridge across a deep ravine , or on
287-532: A group of adventurers and extreme sports pioneers based in Oxford and London , England. They were active from the late 1970s for about ten years, during which they developed modern bungee jumping and experimented with a variety of other innovative sporting activities. The Dangerous Sports Club was co-founded by David Kirke , Chris Baker, Ed Hulton and Alan Weston in the 1970s. They first came to wide public attention by inventing modern day bungee jumping , by making
328-436: A harness. Those bungee cords are linked to steel cables along which they can slide due to stainless pulleys. The participants bicycle, sled or ski before jumping. SCAD diving (Suspended Catch Air Device) is similar to bungee jumping in that the participant is dropped from a height, but in this variation there is no cord; instead the participant free-falls into a net. Untrained SCAD divers use a special free fall harness to ensure
369-402: A natural geographic feature such as a cliff. It is also possible to jump from a type of aircraft that has the ability to hover above the ground, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter . The thrill comes from the free-falling and the rebound. When the person jumps, the cord stretches and the jumper flies upwards again as the cord recoils, and continues to oscillate up and down until all
410-730: A number of jumps from bridges and other structures (including the Eiffel Tower ), building public interest in the sport, and opening the world's first permanent commercial bungee site, the Kawarau Bridge Bungy at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge near Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand. Hackett remains one of the largest commercial operators, with concerns in several countries. Several million successful jumps have taken place since 1980. This safety record
451-940: A professional climber who tied the ropes for the jump. The students had come up with the idea after discussing the " vine jumping " ritual of Vanuatu . The jumpers were arrested shortly after, but continued with jumps in the US from the Golden Gate Bridge and the Royal Gorge Bridge . The last jump was sponsored by and televised on the American programme That's Incredible , spreading the concept worldwide. By 1982, Kirk and Keelling were jumping from mobile cranes and hot air balloons. Colorado climbers Mike Munger and Charlie Fowler may have bungee-jumped earlier in Eldorado Springs, CO in 1977. Both were cutting-edge alpinists, preparing for
SECTION 10
#1732855405045492-604: A sculpture mounted on skis and ride it down a mountain. Entries included a grand piano , a Louis XIV dining set , and an 8-man boat. The event reached its limits when the Club arrived in St. Moritz with a London double-decker bus , wanting to send it down the ski slopes, and the Swiss resort managers refused. In 1986, David Kirke was sponsored by Foster's Lager to cross the English Channel in
533-621: A stop. The designer engineer suggested that for safety the ground below "be covered with eight feet of feather bedding". The proposal was declined by the Fair's organizers. The word "bungee" originates from West Country dialect of the English language, meaning "Anything thick and squat", as defined by James Jennings in his book "Observations of Some of the Dialects in The West of England" published 1825. In 1928,
574-403: A supporting feature. Their activities were recorded by photographer Dafydd Jones, including an image of a young Nigella Lawson playing croquet from a sedan chair during a club tea party. The group split into various factions over the years. Monty Python member Graham Chapman was perhaps their most famous member, who worked on a feature film about the club. When making personal appearances in
615-474: A trip to Monte Fitzroy in Patagonia by simulating long falls onto a springy, 46-metre (150 ft) nylon climbing rope. They scrambled up to a large tree at the top of the 210 m (700 ft) wall, above a severely overhanging climb appropriately named "Diving Board", and tied one end of the rope into the tree. With a piece of flat seat belt webbing around his waist and some homemade leg loops, Mike tied into
656-420: A world's record for the longest bungee jump from a fixed structure. In "Catapult" (Reverse Bungee or Bungee Rocket), the jumper starts on the ground. The jumper is secured and the cord is stretched, then released and shooting the jumper up into the air. This is often achieved using either a crane or a hoist attached to a (semi-)perma structure. This simplifies the action of stretching the cord and later lowering
697-432: Is already significant at the cord's natural length. This gives a harder, sharper bounce. The braided cover also provides significant durability benefits. Other operators, including A. J. Hackett and most southern-hemisphere operators, use unbraided cords with exposed latex strands. These give a softer, longer bounce and can be home-produced. Accidents where participants became detached led many commercial operators to use
738-656: Is at the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado. The height of the platform is 321 metres (1,053 ft). However, this jump is rarely available, as part of the Royal Gorge Go Fast Games—first in 2005, then again in 2007. Previous to this the record was held in West Virginia, USA, by New Zealander Chris Allum, who bungee jumped 251 metres (823 ft) from the New River Gorge Bridge on "Bridge Day" 1992 to set
779-399: Is attributable to bungee operators rigorously conforming to standards and guidelines governing jumps, such as double checking calculations and fittings for every jump. As with any sport, injuries can still occur (see below), and there have been fatalities. A relatively common mistake in fatality cases is to use a cord that is too long. The cord should be substantially shorter than the height of
820-617: Is just 13 metres (43 ft) smaller, at 220 metres (720 ft). This jump, made without guide ropes, is from the top of the Verzasca Dam near Locarno, Switzerland. It appears in the opening scene of the James Bond film GoldenEye . The 216-metre (709 ft) Bloukrans Bridge Bungy in South Africa and the Verzasca Dam jumps are pure freefall swinging bungee from a single cord. Guinness only records jumps from fixed objects to guarantee
861-426: Is the most frequently reported complication. Impaired eyesight secondary to retinal haemorrhage may be transient or take several weeks to resolve. In one case, a 26-year-old woman's eyesight was still impaired after 7 months. Whiplash injuries may occur as the jumper is jolted on the bungee cord and in at least one case, this has led to quadriplegia secondary to a broken neck. Very serious injury can also occur if
SECTION 20
#1732855405045902-413: The jumping platform to allow it room to stretch. When the cord becomes taut and then is stretched, the tension in the cord progressively increases, building up its potential energy . Initially the tension is less than the jumper's weight and the jumper continues to accelerate downwards. At some point, the tension equals the jumper's weight and the acceleration is temporarily zero. With further stretching,
943-573: The kinetic energy is dissipated. The land diving ( Sa : Gol ) of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu is an ancient ritual in which young men jump from tall wooden platforms with vines tied to their ankles as a test of their courage and passage into manhood. Unlike in modern bungee-jumping, land-divers intentionally hit the ground, but the vines absorb sufficient force to make the impact non-lethal. The land-diving ritual on Pentecost has been claimed as an inspiration by A. J. Hackett , prompting calls from
984-706: The 1980s, Chapman would show films of Club activities. The Club, although later achieving a degree of social diversity, was rooted in the English upper class and centred in Oxford and, later, the West End of London . The style of dress adopted by members during their activities often included top hats and tailcoats, gaining a champagne-swilling image. In addition to bungee jumping, the club specialised in high risk and surreal activities. The Club pioneered surrealist skiing, beginning in 1983 and holding three events at St. Moritz , Switzerland , in which competitors were required to devise
1025-493: The accuracy of the measurement. John Kockleman however recorded a 670-metre (2,200 ft) bungee jump from a hot air balloon in California in 1989. In 1991 Andrew Salisbury jumped from 2,700 metres (9,000 ft) from a helicopter over Cancun for a television program and with Reebok sponsorship. The full stretch was recorded at 962 metres (3,157 ft). He landed safely under parachute. One commercial jump higher than all others
1066-437: The correct falling position. Free-style SCAD divers do not use harnesses. The landing into the huge airtube framed net is extremely soft and forgiving. The SCAD was invented by MONTIC Hamburg, Germany in 1997. Bungee jumping injuries may be divided into those that occur after jumping secondary to equipment mishap or tragic accident, and those that occur regardless of safety measures. In the first instance, injury can happen if
1107-578: The dam later makes an appearance as a Roadblock task in the 14th season of the reality competition series The Amazing Race . A fictional proto-bungee jump is a plot point in the Michael Chabon novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay . In the film Selena , in which Jennifer Lopez plays Selena Quintanilla-Perez, her character is shown bungee jumping at a carnival. This actual event took place shortly before Selena's murder on 31 March 1995. In Valiant (comics) #171 (January 8, 1966),
1148-757: The first modern jumps on 1 April 1979, from the Clifton Suspension Bridge , Bristol , England. They followed the Clifton Bridge effort with a jump from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (including the first female bungee jump by Jane Wilmot), and with a televised leap from the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge in Colorado , sponsored by and televised on the popular American television program That's Incredible! Initially, bungee jumping
1189-476: The islanders' representatives for compensation for what they view as the unauthorised appropriation of their cultural property . A tower 1,200 metres (4,000 ft) high with a system to drop a "car" suspended by a cable of "best rubber" was proposed for the Chicago World Fair, 1892–1893. The car, seating two hundred people, would have been shoved from a platform on the tower and then would have bounced to
1230-532: The jumper has an increasing upward acceleration and at some point has zero vertical velocity before recoiling upward. The Bloukrans River Bridge was the first bridge to be used as a bungee jump launch spot in Africa when Face Adrenalin introduced bungee jumping to the African continent in 1990. Bloukrans Bridge Bungy has been operated commercially by Face Adrenalin since 1997, and is the highest commercial bridge bungy in
1271-530: The jumper's neck or body gets entangled in the cord. More recently, carotid artery dissection leading to a type of stroke after bungee jumping has also been described. In the film GoldenEye and its associated videogame, James Bond makes a jump over the edge of a dam in Russia (in reality the dam is in Switzerland: Verzasca Dam , and the jump was genuine, not an animated special effect). The jump in
Europa Bridge - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-399: The name suggests, running along a track (often inflatable) with a bungee cord attached. One often has a velcro-backed marker that marks how far the runner got before the bungee cord pulled back. This activity can often be found at fairs and carnivals and is often most popular with children. Bungee jumping off a ramp. Two rubber cords – the "bungees" – are tied around the participant's waist to
1353-537: The other end of the rope and, after no small amount of trepidation, he jumped. He then ascended the rope mechanically to the tree and untied. Then Charlie tied in and jumped. The total fall was about 40 m (130 ft). Organised commercial bungee jumping began with the New Zealander, A. J. Hackett , who made his first jump from Auckland 's Greenhithe Bridge in 1986. During the following years, Hackett performed
1394-460: The participant to the ground. "Bungy Trampoline" uses elements from bungy and trampolining. The participant begins on a trampoline and is fitted into a body harness, which is attached via bungy cords to two high poles on either side of the trampoline. As they begin to jump, the bungy cords are tightened, allowing a higher jump than could normally be made from a trampoline alone. "Bungee Running" involves no jumping as such. It merely consists of, as
1435-435: The safety harness fails, the cord length is miscalculated, or the cord is not properly connected to the jump platform. In 1986, a man died during rehearsals for a bungee jumping stunt on a BBC television programme , because the cord sprang loose from a carabiner clip. Injuries that occur despite safety measures generally relate to the abrupt rise in upper body intravascular pressure during bungee cord recoil. Eyesight damage
1476-405: The same time, something that he has done hundreds of times since 2017. The elastic rope first used in bungee jumping, and still used by many commercial operators, is factory-produced braided shock cord. This special bungee cord consists of many latex strands enclosed in a tough outer cover. The outer cover may be applied when the latex is pre-stressed, so that the cord's resistance to extension
1517-451: The two boys from Worrag island in "The Wild Wonders" in a circus story, jump from high up and seem ready to crash to their deaths, but are stopped by elasticated ropes tied to an ankle of each one. In the video game Aero the Acro-Bat , Aero will perform bungee jumping to obtain items like keys to open gates in a level. Dangerous Sports Club The Dangerous Sports Club was
1558-453: The word started to be used for a rubber eraser . The Oxford English Dictionary records early use of the phrase in 1938 relating to launching of gliders using an elasticated cord, and also as "A long nylon-cased rubber band used for securing luggage". "Bungy" is the usual spelling in New Zealand and other countries. In 1963, Jim Tyson, a Sydney, Australia commando , slid down
1599-579: The world's highest bungee as it is not strictly speaking a bungee jump, but instead what is referred to as a 'Decelerator-Descent' jump, using a steel cable and decelerator system, rather than an elastic rope. On 17 December 2006, the Macau Tower started operating a proper bungee jump, which became the "Highest Commercial Bungee Jump in the World" according to the Guinness Book of Records. The Macau Tower Bungy has
1640-452: The world. In 2008, Carl Dionisio of Durban performed a 30 meter bungy jump attached to a cord made of 18,500 condoms. He currently runs the only Ocean Touch bungy jump in the World at Calheta Beach in Madeira, Portugal, and claims to be the only person operating in the bungy industry single-handed. He holds the world record for being the only person to bungy jump while driving a tower crane at
1681-471: Was a niche novelty; it was popularised by A J Hackett , and has become a mainstream activity. David Kirke died on 21 October 2023, at the age of 78. The club's activity and membership peaked in the 1980s, with several dozen active members and holding a wide range of events. The Club was heavily covered in the press, and made a film released in 1982 ("The History of the Dangerous Sports Club") as