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MAN: They had a perfect moment in time.
4
00:00:57,586 --> 00:00:59,838
That's as much as that cliff
was going to give them.
5
00:01:05,761 --> 00:01:08,847
I'm glad that she got in her car
and drove off.
6
00:01:08,972 --> 00:01:11,850
Because if she would have hung out
any longer,
7
00:01:11,975 --> 00:01:14,520
it was like the entire mountain
was going to fall on top of her.
8
00:01:14,645 --> 00:01:17,064
That cliff had it out for them
or something.
9
00:01:17,189 --> 00:01:20,901
I don't know what it was but it just
didn't end well for the Boenishes.
10
00:01:21,944 --> 00:01:24,655
Nothing happens by chance.
11
00:01:24,780 --> 00:01:27,866
Every single thing that ever happens,
happens for a reason.
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00:01:27,991 --> 00:01:30,786
Happens due to the law of the universe.
13
00:01:30,911 --> 00:01:32,788
And it's just incumbent upon me
14
00:01:32,913 --> 00:01:36,875
to figure out enough
what those laws are and obey those laws.
15
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,961
I feel that when I jump off a cliff,
16
00:01:39,086 --> 00:01:43,257
I'm obeying those laws of the universe,
including gravity.
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00:01:51,807 --> 00:01:52,975
- Ready?
- WOMAN: I'm ready.
18
00:01:53,100 --> 00:01:54,977
OK. Four, three, two, one, go.
19
00:01:55,102 --> 00:01:57,729
We've moved over to the mid-point
of our newsroom
20
00:01:57,855 --> 00:01:59,982
to get away from
the mainstream news of the day
21
00:02:00,107 --> 00:02:02,484
and look at some more unusual things
going on.
22
00:02:02,609 --> 00:02:04,027
Of course, I have been the one
23
00:02:04,152 --> 00:02:06,488
with the more unusual things going on
for most of the day.
24
00:02:06,613 --> 00:02:09,408
One of them is the growing fad
of parachuting from skyscrapers.
25
00:02:09,533 --> 00:02:12,995
Especially here in Los Angeles. And you
pursued that yesterday afternoon.
26
00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:15,747
MAN: Downtown Los Angeles is a natural
for this sort of thing.
27
00:02:15,873 --> 00:02:18,750
In particular, the high-rise
construction boom is a big attraction.
28
00:02:18,876 --> 00:02:21,795
Because the unfinished buildings
usually have little security,
29
00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:24,548
jumpers can make it secretly
to the top and make their jumps.
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00:02:24,715 --> 00:02:28,135
Not too many years ago, this sport
wouldn't have worked in Los Angeles
31
00:02:28,260 --> 00:02:30,470
because there were no true
high-rise buildings.
32
00:02:30,596 --> 00:02:33,765
But now several buildings
are above 50 stories tall
33
00:02:33,891 --> 00:02:38,562
and skyscraper skydiving is a big sport.
It is also illegal.
34
00:02:49,823 --> 00:02:52,576
MAN: We almost feel like we're
astronauts walking on the moon.
35
00:02:52,701 --> 00:02:56,580
It just gives us a feeling of power
and of joy.
36
00:02:56,705 --> 00:02:59,708
We want to share it with the world
but every time we try to,
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00:02:59,833 --> 00:03:03,337
people can't relate because,
in a sense, it's out of their realm.
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00:03:03,503 --> 00:03:06,548
When I first started this story,
I thought that's a crazy thing.
39
00:03:06,673 --> 00:03:07,925
Why would anyone want to do that?
40
00:03:08,050 --> 00:03:09,968
But after talking for a while
with those people
41
00:03:10,093 --> 00:03:11,803
and hearing the thrill they get from it,
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00:03:11,929 --> 00:03:14,431
I have to admit it's a little tempting.
43
00:03:14,556 --> 00:03:17,225
- No!
- Only a little, but it is.
44
00:03:17,351 --> 00:03:18,894
- Doofus!
- (LAUGHS)
45
00:03:19,019 --> 00:03:22,189
My guest's name rhymes with Danish.
His name is Carl Boenish.
46
00:03:22,314 --> 00:03:26,360
You are a cinematographer, A,
but you are, B, a cliff jumper.
47
00:03:26,526 --> 00:03:28,820
I want to say that again
so people know I meant to say it.
48
00:03:28,946 --> 00:03:31,323
Cliff jumper. You jump off cliffs, Carl.
You do do that?
49
00:03:31,531 --> 00:03:32,783
Yes, I do, Pat.
50
00:04:37,597 --> 00:04:40,517
CARL: One of my mottos is
there's no future in growing up.
51
00:04:40,642 --> 00:04:42,686
I just never want to grow up.
52
00:04:42,811 --> 00:04:46,231
Most people, I guess they grow old.
I don't want to grow old or grow up.
53
00:04:46,356 --> 00:04:47,441
(WOMAN LAUGHS)
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00:04:47,649 --> 00:04:49,568
I don't want to be childish.
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00:04:49,735 --> 00:04:53,071
But I think there are a lot of virtues
in being childlike.
56
00:04:53,196 --> 00:04:57,367
Because if you study a child, he hasn't
been taught what he can't do.
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00:05:00,746 --> 00:05:04,791
- WOMAN: We all do a lot of praying.
- MAN: You do pray?
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00:05:04,916 --> 00:05:08,086
CARL: I think a lot of this comes
from a metaphysical basis, even.
59
00:05:08,211 --> 00:05:09,629
A spiritual basis.
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00:05:09,755 --> 00:05:13,925
I think that the biggest aspect to why
I do this is for rejuvenation.
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00:05:14,051 --> 00:05:18,764
Because if I can master these goals, it
improves every other department in life.
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00:05:18,930 --> 00:05:22,726
I think that if a group of people
can watch me jump off a building
63
00:05:22,851 --> 00:05:25,937
and be successful, they can say,
"Well, I probably don't want to do that
64
00:05:26,063 --> 00:05:29,149
but maybe I could bowl
that perfect 300 game."
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00:05:29,316 --> 00:05:33,111
LONG: He was a guy that was everything
and everywhere all at once.
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00:05:33,236 --> 00:05:36,907
And he had this crazy infectious
enthusiasm. And he would laugh.
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00:05:37,032 --> 00:05:39,785
And he would fly over to the piano
and play some classical riffs
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00:05:39,910 --> 00:05:42,245
and then he would talk about
quantum mechanics.
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00:05:42,370 --> 00:05:44,498
And then he would get a little weepy
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00:05:44,664 --> 00:05:49,002
and then he'd wax nostalgic
about some job that he had.
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00:05:49,127 --> 00:05:51,838
Then we'd go out
and jump on the trampoline.
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00:05:54,091 --> 00:05:56,510
It was like a stream of consciousness.
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00:05:56,676 --> 00:06:00,722
Half from hell and half from, you know,
some better world somewhere.
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00:06:00,847 --> 00:06:05,018
I mean, it was really an interesting
kind of thing being around this guy.
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00:06:05,143 --> 00:06:07,229
WOMAN: Our father's name was Carl.
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00:06:07,354 --> 00:06:11,233
And Ronnie was Carl,
so at home, we always called him Ronnie.
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00:06:12,692 --> 00:06:16,488
My brother got polio
from a polio vaccine.
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00:06:16,655 --> 00:06:18,907
They weren't sure he was going to live.
79
00:06:20,242 --> 00:06:21,952
MAN: But he survived it.
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00:06:22,077 --> 00:06:25,247
And for his recovery he was in
a wheelchair and couldn't walk.
81
00:06:25,372 --> 00:06:26,957
His legs were really weak.
82
00:06:27,082 --> 00:06:30,168
So he spent his time
playing the piano.
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00:06:34,464 --> 00:06:38,760
PRICE: When he had polio, he missed
a whole year of elementary school.
84
00:06:38,885 --> 00:06:42,806
But once he finally got cleared
and could go back to school,
85
00:06:42,931 --> 00:06:46,101
he challenged every boy in his class
one at a time
86
00:06:46,226 --> 00:06:47,936
until he could beat them
in a foot race.
87
00:06:48,061 --> 00:06:51,815
And he beat every one of them.
88
00:06:51,940 --> 00:06:56,486
He talked to me a lot about
his birth mother leaving.
89
00:06:56,653 --> 00:06:59,156
And I think that touched him deeply.
90
00:07:01,908 --> 00:07:04,911
Then he was in high school
and he was, you know,
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00:07:05,036 --> 00:07:08,456
very intellectual
and always doing his calculus.
92
00:07:08,582 --> 00:07:12,377
BOB: So he had just finished college
when I was born
93
00:07:12,544 --> 00:07:16,214
and started working for Hughes Aircraft
as an electrical engineer.
94
00:07:17,507 --> 00:07:19,718
WENTZEL: Once he got into skydiving
he just changed.
95
00:07:19,885 --> 00:07:22,387
They're always pulling you in.
You're part of a group.
96
00:07:22,512 --> 00:07:25,140
You have to fly together.
So he changed completely.
97
00:07:56,546 --> 00:07:59,758
WOMAN: You used to be an engineer.
Pretty safe, secure type job.
98
00:07:59,883 --> 00:08:02,427
When and how did you make
the decision to give that all up
99
00:08:02,594 --> 00:08:05,764
and go into doing this,
what you like to do, full time?
100
00:08:05,889 --> 00:08:09,309
It's funny.
My boss at Hughes Aircraft told me,
101
00:08:09,434 --> 00:08:12,437
"Carl, the man who knows how
will always have a job."
102
00:08:12,562 --> 00:08:15,357
"The man who knows why
will be his boss."
103
00:08:15,482 --> 00:08:18,944
And at that time I knew how to design
electrical circuits.
104
00:08:19,069 --> 00:08:20,195
I knew how to skydive.
105
00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,281
But I knew why to skydive
106
00:08:23,448 --> 00:08:26,117
much better than I knew
why the electronic circuits worked.
107
00:08:29,955 --> 00:08:35,377
OK, new sheet of paper.
New heading entitled The Gypsy Moths.
108
00:08:35,502 --> 00:08:38,296
PRICE:
He was working at Hughes Aircraft.
109
00:08:38,421 --> 00:08:42,300
And he got the opportunity
to do Gypsy Moths.
110
00:08:42,425 --> 00:08:44,803
And that was a big MGM production.
111
00:08:44,928 --> 00:08:46,972
CARL: I was asked by MGM
112
00:08:47,097 --> 00:08:51,685
to be in charge of the aerial free-fall
filming sequences.
113
00:08:52,644 --> 00:08:53,937
MAN: John Frankenheimer,
114
00:08:54,062 --> 00:08:57,691
the director who created
the excitement of Grand Prix,
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00:08:57,899 --> 00:09:00,068
now captures the drama and spectacle
116
00:09:00,193 --> 00:09:06,908
of the death-defying game called
skydiving in The Gypsy Moths.
117
00:09:07,033 --> 00:09:09,828
So he went and took the Gypsy Moths job
118
00:09:09,953 --> 00:09:12,747
and that was the end
of his electrical engineering career.
119
00:09:12,872 --> 00:09:15,542
CARL: I didn't know how I wanted
to film the aerial sequences.
120
00:09:15,667 --> 00:09:18,503
I had to experiment
and try all kinds of things.
121
00:09:18,670 --> 00:09:21,423
And I had to find really young guys
who were willing to do that.
122
00:09:24,134 --> 00:09:27,095
Pull it! Pull it!
123
00:09:32,017 --> 00:09:35,353
Carl was an innovator. He was
probably the only one in Hollywood,
124
00:09:35,478 --> 00:09:38,732
or the area, that was known
for free-fall photography.
125
00:09:38,898 --> 00:09:42,319
MAN: Background of Carl Boenish
and his films.
126
00:09:42,444 --> 00:09:45,447
Carl Boenish's early start.
127
00:09:45,572 --> 00:09:50,910
He has been able to put off going back
to work two months at a time
128
00:09:51,077 --> 00:09:56,333
such that for over the last ten years,
he's never had to go back to work,
129
00:09:56,458 --> 00:09:59,627
and is accustomed to making film
payments instead of car payments.
130
00:09:59,753 --> 00:10:01,755
As it's worked out in the past,
131
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:05,925
Carl Boenish usually spends
about two years
132
00:10:06,051 --> 00:10:09,012
to make one 15-minute film.
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00:10:09,971 --> 00:10:12,724
If you were jumping with Boenish,
it was expected
134
00:10:12,932 --> 00:10:15,852
that you'd wear a helmet-mounted camera
or possibly two.
135
00:10:16,019 --> 00:10:19,647
Carl's main focus was to share
the wealth. Share that feeling.
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00:10:19,773 --> 00:10:22,525
To share the feeling with people
that didn't understand it,
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00:10:22,650 --> 00:10:25,528
that thought we were absolutely crazy
to do something like this.
138
00:10:25,653 --> 00:10:28,406
But once you see it
and see the beauty of it,
139
00:10:28,573 --> 00:10:31,076
I think people tend to understand
the motive.
140
00:10:55,266 --> 00:10:58,436
CARL:
I've been skydiving for 18 years now
141
00:10:58,561 --> 00:11:01,189
and I've been filmmaking
for just as long.
142
00:11:01,314 --> 00:11:06,236
Primarily, I consider myself a filmmaker
first and a skydiver second.
143
00:11:06,361 --> 00:11:09,447
So whatever he did, he wanted to capture
on film the best way he could.
144
00:11:29,801 --> 00:11:37,058
I think he wanted to show the humanity,
the freedom, that is felt
145
00:11:37,183 --> 00:11:43,731
when you are pushing the envelope of
what the human spirit can accomplish.
146
00:12:00,707 --> 00:12:04,377
MAN: Yosemite is beautiful.
It's breathtaking.
147
00:12:04,502 --> 00:12:07,630
Many people cry when they first see it.
148
00:12:09,299 --> 00:12:13,887
It's beyond their expectation,
beyond their experience.
149
00:12:15,472 --> 00:12:18,141
I was the chief ranger in
Yosemite National Park.
150
00:12:18,266 --> 00:12:21,311
And my job was protection.
151
00:12:21,436 --> 00:12:26,483
So protecting the park from the people
and the people from the park
152
00:12:26,608 --> 00:12:29,068
and the people from the people.
153
00:12:29,194 --> 00:12:31,362
Where did you get the inclination
to jump off a cliff?
154
00:12:31,488 --> 00:12:36,075
Well, this comes from making
1500 parachute jumps over 15 years
155
00:12:36,201 --> 00:12:39,370
and becoming so proficient at it
that you wonder,
156
00:12:39,496 --> 00:12:41,122
well, what else is out there?
157
00:12:44,501 --> 00:12:48,755
MAN: El Capitan.
3,600 feet of polished granite
158
00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:51,299
rising from California's
Yosemite Valley.
159
00:12:51,466 --> 00:12:53,510
For climbers, its vertical ascent
160
00:12:53,635 --> 00:12:56,721
is one of the great challenges
of North America.
161
00:12:56,846 --> 00:12:58,932
A group of professional parachuters
162
00:12:59,098 --> 00:13:02,477
traveled to this unique spot
to experience flight.
163
00:13:04,354 --> 00:13:07,524
When I organized the first load
to go to El Capitan,
164
00:13:07,649 --> 00:13:10,777
we spent nearly all summer there,
four or five trips,
165
00:13:10,902 --> 00:13:16,115
scouting of the geography, finding,
hopefully, places suitable to jump.
166
00:13:16,241 --> 00:13:19,327
Then we stumbled upon
this really idyllic place
167
00:13:19,452 --> 00:13:23,790
that's about 3,000 feet tall
168
00:13:23,915 --> 00:13:27,168
with an overhang
of a couple hundred feet.
169
00:13:27,293 --> 00:13:29,754
And as soon as I saw it I yelled,
"Eureka!"
170
00:13:30,797 --> 00:13:32,840
MAN: The pioneers of this remarkable
attempt
171
00:13:32,966 --> 00:13:36,219
are skydivers Kent Lane and Tom Stark.
172
00:13:37,095 --> 00:13:41,307
Along with Kenny Gosselin, Mike Sherrin
and helper Sally Wentzel.
173
00:13:42,392 --> 00:13:45,728
Expedition leader Carl Boenish
with Dave Blattell.
174
00:13:45,853 --> 00:13:50,483
Carl, on his own, was doing
a lot of research on El Cap.
175
00:13:50,608 --> 00:13:53,152
He then asked me
to help him with the filming of it.
176
00:13:55,446 --> 00:13:57,949
I wanted to figure out a way,
if possible,
177
00:13:58,157 --> 00:14:00,910
to film a person running off a cliff.
178
00:14:01,077 --> 00:14:05,331
But from a vantage point
looking back toward the cliff.
179
00:14:05,498 --> 00:14:08,459
The first jumps were going to be made
off El Cap
180
00:14:08,585 --> 00:14:12,297
and Carl wanted to get
motion-picture footage
181
00:14:12,422 --> 00:14:18,261
of the first jumpers running towards him
jumping off the cliff
182
00:14:18,386 --> 00:14:22,974
and then that way he could then follow
them down as they were in free fall.
183
00:14:30,523 --> 00:14:32,650
CARL: Actually, I made a homemade ladder
184
00:14:32,775 --> 00:14:34,902
that's about 20 feet long
out of aluminum.
185
00:14:35,028 --> 00:14:39,115
I perched on the end of this ladder
so I could film toward the cliff.
186
00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,035
BLATELL: It was a long pole.
187
00:14:42,201 --> 00:14:44,329
And it had some crosspieces on it
188
00:14:44,454 --> 00:14:46,914
to kind of make it like
a little bit of a ladder.
189
00:14:52,629 --> 00:14:58,301
When it was set up
by the rock climbers on El Cap,
190
00:14:58,426 --> 00:15:01,429
it was just this rod sticking out
from the mountain
191
00:15:01,554 --> 00:15:03,640
with a little bicycle seat.
192
00:15:05,391 --> 00:15:08,144
And if you were going to sit on
that bicycle seat,
193
00:15:08,269 --> 00:15:11,898
there's nothing between you
and 3,000 feet below you.
194
00:15:12,023 --> 00:15:14,150
I mean, it was just nothing.
195
00:15:26,162 --> 00:15:27,830
He would go out there...
196
00:15:27,955 --> 00:15:31,042
and then he'd have to get up the nerve
197
00:15:31,209 --> 00:15:35,380
and swing 180
so that he could sit on that seat.
198
00:15:40,009 --> 00:15:42,095
He was nuts.
199
00:15:44,722 --> 00:15:48,101
He was absolutely nuts.
Then you would hear his laugh
200
00:15:48,267 --> 00:15:49,977
and you were guaranteed
that he was nuts.
201
00:15:50,103 --> 00:15:52,563
And he talked us into jumping off
this thing.
202
00:15:52,689 --> 00:15:54,232
So we're all nuts.
203
00:15:57,026 --> 00:16:01,781
We were all young and not knowing
any better. We're ready to go.
204
00:16:02,990 --> 00:16:06,661
BLATELL: Kent Lane,
first jumper off of the first trip.
205
00:16:06,786 --> 00:16:09,580
Two and a half years' jumping,
600 jumps.
206
00:16:10,790 --> 00:16:14,419
My name is Kent Lane.
The first time I heard about it,
207
00:16:14,544 --> 00:16:17,547
it sounded like really a neat thing
to do.
208
00:16:17,672 --> 00:16:19,716
I was scared to death.
209
00:16:24,429 --> 00:16:27,390
When I was out on this ladder,
I'd make sure everyone was ready.
210
00:16:27,515 --> 00:16:29,225
And I would start the countdown.
211
00:16:29,392 --> 00:16:34,105
Five, four, three, two, one, go!
212
00:17:01,466 --> 00:17:08,222
I saw a wall, a huge granite wall,
accelerating right next to me.
213
00:17:08,347 --> 00:17:13,269
When you exit off of a cliff,
there's no wind to work with.
214
00:17:13,394 --> 00:17:14,854
And so how you go off
215
00:17:14,979 --> 00:17:18,941
is how you're going to stay
for the next four or five seconds.
216
00:17:19,984 --> 00:17:22,069
Can't wait to do it again.
217
00:17:27,325 --> 00:17:29,494
And so once we got down
on the ground
218
00:17:29,619 --> 00:17:31,788
we had ground crew
that took our gear
219
00:17:31,913 --> 00:17:36,375
and they placed them under rocks
or under logs. It is all mapped out.
220
00:17:36,501 --> 00:17:40,379
We were all dressed up as hikers.
All we did was we'd land and stood
221
00:17:40,505 --> 00:17:43,674
and ground crew changed us
from skydiver to hiker.
222
00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:45,843
And then we just, you know, dispersed.
223
00:17:49,388 --> 00:17:53,684
We were entirely successful
in all our cliff jumps
224
00:17:53,810 --> 00:17:58,689
because I feel that we were
constantly led by the idea
225
00:17:58,815 --> 00:18:05,404
that we were glorifying mankind's
beautiful spirit of seeking adventure
226
00:18:05,530 --> 00:18:09,826
and that we were within our rights of
freedom and dominium over all the Earth.
227
00:18:13,162 --> 00:18:17,208
There are many man-made laws that aren't
laws at all that need to be broken.
228
00:18:17,375 --> 00:18:20,711
One is a belief that it's impossible
to jump off a cliff.
229
00:18:24,465 --> 00:18:26,968
I felt the activity
I thought was exciting.
230
00:18:27,134 --> 00:18:31,973
And to do it off of El Cap
just trigged my imagination.
231
00:18:32,098 --> 00:18:33,891
I thought that was wonderful.
232
00:18:34,016 --> 00:18:36,519
I didn't feel adversarial,
233
00:18:36,644 --> 00:18:39,939
but it didn't keep me
from doing my job at times.
234
00:18:40,064 --> 00:18:42,900
It didn't seem
like it was going to stop.
235
00:18:43,025 --> 00:18:45,278
How do you herd a bunch of cats?
236
00:18:48,906 --> 00:18:51,951
We had word that there were
going to be cliff jumpers
237
00:18:52,118 --> 00:18:54,412
coming into the top of El Cap.
238
00:18:54,537 --> 00:18:57,540
And it was against the law.
239
00:18:57,665 --> 00:19:00,418
This is a cat-and-mouse part of it.
240
00:19:02,879 --> 00:19:04,922
LANE: A couple weeks later
when Carl and I went back
241
00:19:05,047 --> 00:19:07,174
and we jumped off,
I got caught by the ranger.
242
00:19:07,300 --> 00:19:12,430
I was the first person ever caught
for BASE jumping in Yosemite.
243
00:19:13,472 --> 00:19:18,060
MAN: Tom Stark, Dave Blattell
and Jill Morgan got citations.
244
00:19:18,227 --> 00:19:20,062
I was an attorney for
the Federal Government.
245
00:19:20,187 --> 00:19:21,564
So I couldn't represent them.
246
00:19:21,689 --> 00:19:24,025
But I did a lot of pro bono work
for them
247
00:19:24,150 --> 00:19:27,445
and we were trying to challenge
their park's regulation.
248
00:19:30,114 --> 00:19:33,326
Speaking of El Capitan, there have been
some controversies around that.
249
00:19:33,492 --> 00:19:36,954
Apparently the park did not want people
jumping off their cliffs.
250
00:19:37,079 --> 00:19:40,833
Yeah. That's true. And we can
certainly see their point of view.
251
00:19:40,958 --> 00:19:42,877
But they just didn't understand.
252
00:19:43,002 --> 00:19:46,422
In fact, they couldn't even believe
that we just jumped off.
253
00:19:46,547 --> 00:19:49,800
Basically, we will just jump off
and fall for ten seconds
254
00:19:49,926 --> 00:19:51,344
and fall over a thousand feet.
255
00:19:54,555 --> 00:19:57,975
I found most of the jumpers
very agreeable.
256
00:19:58,100 --> 00:20:03,606
Carl was special. You kind of have
an instinct about the ringleaders.
257
00:20:03,731 --> 00:20:08,444
He was easy to remember.
He had this aura of life.
258
00:20:08,569 --> 00:20:13,074
You don't have to dislike someone
to take away their freedom.
259
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,912
My name is Carl Boenish.
I'm expedition of this leader.
260
00:20:18,037 --> 00:20:20,998
(LAUGHTER)
261
00:20:21,123 --> 00:20:22,124
Cut.
262
00:20:22,249 --> 00:20:25,252
MAN: The park ranger at the time
that issued these citations
263
00:20:25,378 --> 00:20:27,922
was aware that Carl was involved in it.
264
00:20:29,006 --> 00:20:31,926
MAN: What did you say
with respect to the filming?
265
00:20:32,051 --> 00:20:35,763
CARL: OK, they asked me, you know,
whose equipment it was
266
00:20:35,888 --> 00:20:38,182
and first of all they said,
"Where is Carl?"
267
00:20:38,307 --> 00:20:40,518
You know, I mean,
where is Carl Boenish?
268
00:20:40,685 --> 00:20:43,980
- Really?
- Yeah. They're out for blood.
269
00:20:46,983 --> 00:20:50,945
WENTZEL:
Somehow we got involved with rangers.
270
00:20:51,070 --> 00:20:53,447
The film was confiscated.
271
00:20:53,572 --> 00:20:56,701
Carl was very concerned about his film.
272
00:20:57,368 --> 00:20:59,537
MAN: One of those what was there
was the park ranger
273
00:20:59,662 --> 00:21:01,956
that sort of had this vendetta
against Carl
274
00:21:02,081 --> 00:21:06,335
and they continued to press
the litigation aspect.
275
00:21:06,502 --> 00:21:09,255
We don't want to be limited
by anything except nature.
276
00:21:09,380 --> 00:21:12,174
We always have to listen
to nature's laws.
277
00:21:12,299 --> 00:21:14,802
But not necessarily man's laws.
278
00:21:16,721 --> 00:21:19,515
The US Magistrate, Don Pitts,
279
00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:24,854
he was kind of tired of seeing
this parade of cliff jumpers coming in.
280
00:21:24,979 --> 00:21:27,606
So he was throwing the book at him.
281
00:21:30,735 --> 00:21:36,115
MAN: I know that the park ranger
was really trying to focus on Carl.
282
00:21:38,367 --> 00:21:40,661
CARL:
I don't mind being called paranoid,
283
00:21:40,786 --> 00:21:43,914
if that's what you want
to call it or me.
284
00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:48,044
I do admit to being extreme and radical.
285
00:21:48,169 --> 00:21:53,466
And I feel that I'm justified
in being extremely radical
286
00:21:53,674 --> 00:21:55,968
if it's based on truth and principle.
287
00:21:56,093 --> 00:21:58,387
I believe that truth is radical.
288
00:22:00,097 --> 00:22:04,769
WENTZEL: My time with Carl ended
at the beginning of '79.
289
00:22:04,894 --> 00:22:10,316
You were either all in or,
you know, there were challenges.
290
00:22:13,277 --> 00:22:18,365
At some level he was really trying
to kind of close that gap
291
00:22:18,491 --> 00:22:24,371
of getting that unconditional,
forever love by his side.
292
00:22:26,582 --> 00:22:29,877
The fact that Carl was around
40 years old and not married
293
00:22:30,002 --> 00:22:32,671
told me that he either wasn't
interested in women
294
00:22:32,797 --> 00:22:34,090
or not interested in marriage.
295
00:22:34,215 --> 00:22:37,426
He was a geek, a nerd, everything
you can imagine in that scope.
296
00:22:37,593 --> 00:22:40,596
I wouldn't say he was popular
with the ladies.
297
00:22:43,432 --> 00:22:50,106
I know that when it came to Jeanie,
something really captured him about her.
298
00:22:51,899 --> 00:22:57,655
His whole life just changed
and the focus of his life was Jeanie.
299
00:22:59,949 --> 00:23:04,870
Those of us who met Carl,
anybody, would go away
300
00:23:04,995 --> 00:23:07,998
with part of his goodness,
it becomes a part of you.
301
00:23:08,124 --> 00:23:10,417
And whenever
anybody expresses goodness,
302
00:23:10,543 --> 00:23:13,129
it travels away with that person.
303
00:23:15,339 --> 00:23:20,010
Carl and I first met in April of 1979.
304
00:23:20,136 --> 00:23:22,930
I was a sophomore at Pomona College.
305
00:23:23,806 --> 00:23:28,936
Carl was showing his most recent film,
which was Skydive.
306
00:23:39,155 --> 00:23:41,240
(APPLAUSE)
307
00:23:43,826 --> 00:23:46,537
Afterwards, he had us get in a circle.
308
00:23:46,662 --> 00:23:50,708
He said, "Everybody stand up.
Get in a circle and hold hands."
309
00:23:50,833 --> 00:23:54,712
So the group of us stood up and
held hands the way he had requested.
310
00:23:54,837 --> 00:23:58,382
We're thinking, "This is a bit odd.
Where is he going with this?"
311
00:23:58,507 --> 00:24:03,053
And, of course, he just wanted us
to experience the position
312
00:24:03,179 --> 00:24:07,474
that skydivers would be in
when they came into a star formation.
313
00:24:15,149 --> 00:24:19,528
His purity
was a very attractive quality.
314
00:24:19,695 --> 00:24:22,114
And everybody recognized that.
315
00:24:23,157 --> 00:24:24,283
When we were all departing,
316
00:24:24,408 --> 00:24:28,537
I saw another girl was talking to him
and giving him her phone number.
317
00:24:28,704 --> 00:24:34,418
And I thought, well, she's very
interested. So I just let it be.
318
00:24:35,211 --> 00:24:38,214
It had been fun to see Carl's movie.
319
00:24:38,380 --> 00:24:42,635
It was nice to meet
and talk with a parachutist.
320
00:24:42,801 --> 00:24:48,057
I wanted to pursue this somehow.
321
00:24:48,182 --> 00:24:51,352
And I thought to myself, "I know Carl."
322
00:24:51,477 --> 00:24:55,272
I believe that I wrote him a letter,
actually.
323
00:24:57,524 --> 00:25:01,445
He ended up calling me
and telling me,
324
00:25:01,570 --> 00:25:05,783
"I'll come out and get you.
It's right on the way to drop zone."
325
00:25:05,908 --> 00:25:09,286
And this ended up being our first date.
326
00:25:09,411 --> 00:25:13,457
Carl and I talked a lot
going out to the drop zone.
327
00:25:13,582 --> 00:25:16,168
It was a long drive.
328
00:25:16,293 --> 00:25:20,172
We talked about things
that we believed in.
329
00:25:20,297 --> 00:25:22,800
Principles that we held to.
330
00:25:32,226 --> 00:25:35,980
While we were at the drop zone
Carl said, "Let's have a foot race."
331
00:25:36,105 --> 00:25:38,607
And I thought, "OK."
332
00:25:46,407 --> 00:25:49,785
I think we were running
next to the airplane
333
00:25:49,910 --> 00:25:52,413
as the airplane
was starting to take off.
334
00:26:03,590 --> 00:26:07,469
It was just something
that came to him to do.
335
00:26:07,594 --> 00:26:11,265
I guess maybe in a sense,
it was just a gauge.
336
00:26:11,390 --> 00:26:14,101
A gauge of possibilities.
337
00:26:20,316 --> 00:26:23,819
It had gotten late in the day
after our day at the drop zone
338
00:26:23,944 --> 00:26:26,030
and it was a long drive back.
339
00:26:26,155 --> 00:26:28,490
Carl had told me that
his sister had her house
340
00:26:28,615 --> 00:26:33,662
right there at Lake Elsinore
and that she wasn't home.
341
00:26:33,829 --> 00:26:36,623
He said it will be fine
if we just spent the night there.
342
00:26:36,749 --> 00:26:40,461
So he said,
"Well, you can sleep here on the couch
343
00:26:40,586 --> 00:26:44,006
and I'll go sleep in the bedroom
where I usually do."
344
00:26:44,131 --> 00:26:48,844
After a couple of hours
he came in and said,
345
00:26:48,969 --> 00:26:52,306
"Can I lie down here
beside you on the floor?"
346
00:26:52,431 --> 00:26:57,186
Then I said, "Well, that's OK."
347
00:26:57,311 --> 00:26:58,562
"That's OK."
348
00:26:58,687 --> 00:27:01,482
Then he said, "Can I hold your hand?"
349
00:27:01,607 --> 00:27:04,985
And so I said, "Yeah."
350
00:27:18,499 --> 00:27:20,918
And so he was lying there
parallel to me
351
00:27:21,085 --> 00:27:25,297
and we're holding hands
and that's the way we spent the night.
352
00:27:36,058 --> 00:27:38,894
In a matter of just a few weeks,
353
00:27:39,019 --> 00:27:44,900
we covered all the ground
that each of us felt was necessary
354
00:27:45,067 --> 00:27:50,114
to figure out if we were sufficiently
compatible to start a life together.
355
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:54,284
It wasn't start a relationship,
live together, any of that.
356
00:27:54,410 --> 00:27:57,121
It was start a life together,
get married.
357
00:27:57,246 --> 00:27:59,248
You're about to get married in a week.
358
00:27:59,373 --> 00:28:01,250
Yes. I'm very excited about that.
359
00:28:01,375 --> 00:28:04,253
Does your fiancée jump off cliffs?
360
00:28:04,378 --> 00:28:09,675
Well, not yet. She would like to.
Since we met, she's made eight skydives
361
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,594
and she has a natural affinity
for the air.
362
00:28:12,719 --> 00:28:15,013
I think she's going to be
a very fine skydiver.
363
00:28:25,441 --> 00:28:28,068
She didn't seem like
the skydiver type to me.
364
00:28:31,321 --> 00:28:38,454
I remember she wore this
red and yellow and blue bright clothes.
365
00:28:38,579 --> 00:28:42,040
And she kind of looked like she worked
at the little hot-dog stand
366
00:28:42,166 --> 00:28:44,126
where they dip the hot dogs.
367
00:28:44,251 --> 00:28:47,588
This girl just does not look like
a skydiver.
368
00:28:51,133 --> 00:28:55,762
JEAN: More than once, people at
the drop zone pegged me as a librarian
369
00:28:55,971 --> 00:28:57,097
and some as a nun.
370
00:28:57,222 --> 00:29:00,601
They were trying to figure out
where I was coming from.
371
00:29:07,608 --> 00:29:10,777
There's this psychologist named Jung.
372
00:29:10,903 --> 00:29:14,990
And he always talked about
the marriage of opposites, right?
373
00:29:15,115 --> 00:29:18,327
And if you wanted
the diametric opposite of Carl Boenish
374
00:29:18,452 --> 00:29:19,620
that would be Jean Boenish.
375
00:29:22,789 --> 00:29:29,796
JEAN: I had that thoughtful demeanor,
and Carl did too.
376
00:29:29,922 --> 00:29:35,427
We were both very analytical,
very detail orientated,
377
00:29:35,552 --> 00:29:40,599
and interested in
an intelligent approach to everything.
378
00:29:40,766 --> 00:29:47,147
We were two people who were
a very good coupling. A unique coupling.
379
00:29:47,272 --> 00:29:52,903
We were very well fit for each other
and we loved each other very much.
380
00:29:53,070 --> 00:29:55,447
And now, ladies and gentlemen,
here we are.
381
00:29:55,572 --> 00:29:57,491
I am interviewing you live
382
00:29:57,616 --> 00:30:02,746
from the church of the marriage
of Jean and Carl Boenish.
383
00:30:02,871 --> 00:30:06,375
Jean, would you like to come here
and say a word? Quick. Hurry, hurry.
384
00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:09,711
We ran out of tape. And this is...
385
00:30:11,421 --> 00:30:14,591
Alright, one word. I don't know
what I've gotten myself into.
386
00:30:14,716 --> 00:30:18,845
- One word is, "I do!"
- Those are two words.
387
00:30:20,847 --> 00:30:23,850
JEAN: When I was considering
BASE jumping,
388
00:30:23,976 --> 00:30:26,311
when it was presented to me by Carl,
389
00:30:26,436 --> 00:30:32,150
it was something that struck me
as pleasant as camping.
390
00:30:34,444 --> 00:30:39,616
MAN: One of the most interesting and
incomprehensible love stories ever.
391
00:30:39,741 --> 00:30:41,493
But they got along great.
392
00:30:41,618 --> 00:30:44,413
She was sort of the brains
of the operation.
393
00:30:47,291 --> 00:30:49,835
JEAN: So I was marrying into
his established business
394
00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:54,881
and joining him in partnership
as the team.
395
00:30:55,841 --> 00:30:57,134
Fifteen seconds!
396
00:31:00,804 --> 00:31:03,432
Camera goes on at five. Here you go.
397
00:31:03,557 --> 00:31:08,478
Five, four, three, two, one, go!
398
00:31:08,604 --> 00:31:10,564
There she goes!
399
00:31:11,815 --> 00:31:15,110
(WHOOPS) Alright!
400
00:31:15,235 --> 00:31:17,279
JEAN:
It was a wonderful thing for both of us
401
00:31:17,404 --> 00:31:22,242
to begin our life
working together on a daily basis.
402
00:31:22,367 --> 00:31:24,786
Beautiful. Perfect form. Oh, man.
403
00:31:24,953 --> 00:31:29,041
Hey, Carl. It went really well.
Let me tell you something, though.
404
00:31:29,249 --> 00:31:32,461
It takes more than four seconds to open.
405
00:31:32,586 --> 00:31:34,671
Well, at least the count of four
when you're scared.
406
00:31:34,796 --> 00:31:38,675
Roger. I copy. Yeah, I'll tell you...
407
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:40,552
You had such flawless form.
408
00:31:40,677 --> 00:31:42,888
You were rock steady.
Everything went mint.
409
00:31:43,013 --> 00:31:46,391
You make a hard act to follow, Jeanie.
That was flawless stability.
410
00:31:46,516 --> 00:31:49,353
I'm going to try to do the same thing.
Even I bend the knee.
411
00:31:49,478 --> 00:31:52,439
It's pretty easy, though.
Have a good one.
412
00:31:52,564 --> 00:31:53,815
Okey doke.
413
00:31:53,940 --> 00:31:57,819
It's a rush, you know? I'm using
the word scared because it's not...
414
00:31:57,944 --> 00:32:00,155
When you're counting the seconds,
it's not that.
415
00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:03,033
It's just that you seem to count
extra fast.
416
00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:05,786
It's what skydivers call a rush.
417
00:32:05,911 --> 00:32:08,080
You jump off
and there's absolutely nothing
418
00:32:08,205 --> 00:32:09,790
because you can't work with anything.
419
00:32:09,915 --> 00:32:13,502
You're at the mercy of nothing.
You're falling.
420
00:32:13,627 --> 00:32:15,462
Jean Boenish,
if I saw her in the street,
421
00:32:15,587 --> 00:32:17,297
the last thing in the world
I would think
422
00:32:17,422 --> 00:32:19,925
is that she would put a parachute on
and jump off a rock.
423
00:32:20,050 --> 00:32:22,010
But she believed and loved him so much,
424
00:32:22,177 --> 00:32:27,015
and if Carl said that you could
jump off a cliff, do this, she did it.
425
00:32:27,182 --> 00:32:29,893
And she did it better than
most of the men at the time.
426
00:32:31,770 --> 00:32:34,564
CARL: Well, we're kind of used
to people calling us crazy.
427
00:32:34,690 --> 00:32:37,484
But at least in our opinion,
we're not crazy.
428
00:32:37,609 --> 00:32:41,947
We're basically fun-loving adventurers
and we really have fun skydiving.
429
00:32:42,114 --> 00:32:45,992
It's almost become a way of life for us,
we take it so seriously.
430
00:32:46,118 --> 00:32:49,746
Interestingly enough,
if it weren't for the camera,
431
00:32:49,871 --> 00:32:53,333
I, personally, probably wouldn't be
that interested in skydiving.
432
00:32:53,458 --> 00:32:57,295
Because the camera captures
something not only for ourselves
433
00:32:57,421 --> 00:33:01,258
but for everybody,
over a vast amount of time.
434
00:33:01,383 --> 00:33:06,471
And it's really a sense of creativity
that we do a lot of things in skydiving
435
00:33:06,596 --> 00:33:08,348
just for the sake of the camera,
436
00:33:08,473 --> 00:33:10,809
and hence for millions of people,
to see what we do.
437
00:33:13,228 --> 00:33:17,149
BOB: Pretty much all the BASE jumping
was called into the Manor Drive house.
438
00:33:17,315 --> 00:33:20,110
"We're going to go jump El Capitan
at six o'clock tomorrow morning."
439
00:33:20,277 --> 00:33:21,319
"Want to come and film?"
440
00:33:24,114 --> 00:33:28,368
Carl and Jean, this is Mary Todd.
Well, I'm over here.
441
00:33:28,493 --> 00:33:32,914
We did El Cap yesterday
and it just went so fantastic.
442
00:33:33,039 --> 00:33:35,125
Piece of cake. Everything.
443
00:33:35,333 --> 00:33:39,671
As you can tell, nothing happened.
No rangers.
444
00:33:39,796 --> 00:33:43,383
BOB: So to say he was a ringleader,
yes, he didn't tell people to go jump
445
00:33:43,508 --> 00:33:45,802
but he knew about it.
446
00:33:45,927 --> 00:33:50,265
Even though we had had problems
with the National Park Service
447
00:33:50,390 --> 00:33:55,479
as far as arrests or people
wanting to fine or prohibit,
448
00:33:55,604 --> 00:34:00,859
BASE jumping
was not an illegal activity.
449
00:34:00,984 --> 00:34:04,196
And in the park service specifically,
450
00:34:04,362 --> 00:34:06,907
it should easily have been
a permitted activity.
451
00:34:07,032 --> 00:34:11,077
Currently it's pretty illegal to jump
off of the top of most of those cliffs.
452
00:34:11,203 --> 00:34:14,039
And I know that you've been instrumental
in fighting that.
453
00:34:14,164 --> 00:34:15,415
What's going on with that now?
454
00:34:15,540 --> 00:34:17,751
Is that going to be legalized
in your opinion?
455
00:34:17,876 --> 00:34:20,504
Well, we hope that in time,
just like mountain climbing,
456
00:34:20,629 --> 00:34:22,589
that it will be unregulated.
457
00:34:22,714 --> 00:34:26,593
Right now, we want to work
hand in hand with the park service.
458
00:34:30,430 --> 00:34:33,809
WENDT: We both wanted the same thing.
To legalize it.
459
00:34:33,934 --> 00:34:38,438
To reduce the danger
of jumping illegally.
460
00:34:38,563 --> 00:34:42,526
Because they're doing it at night.
Trying to evade us.
461
00:34:43,401 --> 00:34:47,155
MAN: Bill Wendt is the National Park
Service director for Yosemite.
462
00:34:47,364 --> 00:34:51,159
El Capitan happens to be
inside of Yosemite National Park.
463
00:34:51,326 --> 00:34:53,703
And it's one of the few cliffs
in the world
464
00:34:53,829 --> 00:34:55,914
where they can safely jump
from the top of a cliff
465
00:34:56,039 --> 00:34:58,708
and parachute down
to a suitable landing site.
466
00:34:58,834 --> 00:35:02,212
We have finally, after a year of
negotiating back and forth,
467
00:35:02,337 --> 00:35:05,549
you might say, convinced the park
service that it can be done safely.
468
00:35:05,674 --> 00:35:08,552
The park service is issuing permits.
469
00:35:53,638 --> 00:35:55,765
WENDT: It worked,
and it worked for a while,
470
00:35:55,891 --> 00:35:58,894
but it really started to be untenable.
471
00:35:59,019 --> 00:36:01,771
There were just too many free spirits.
472
00:36:02,814 --> 00:36:06,276
And we had to shut them down.
The ninth of September.
473
00:36:06,443 --> 00:36:09,446
CARL: Jumping off El Capitan
was first unregulated
474
00:36:09,571 --> 00:36:11,781
because it was unthought of.
475
00:36:11,907 --> 00:36:15,619
And then it was regulated
because it was feared.
476
00:36:15,744 --> 00:36:18,330
And then it was banned
because it was abused.
477
00:36:18,455 --> 00:36:22,292
WENDT: We got it started
because I recommended it.
478
00:36:22,459 --> 00:36:25,170
And it was stopped
because I recommended it.
479
00:36:25,337 --> 00:36:28,006
So I'm responsible.
480
00:36:30,300 --> 00:36:34,054
And maybe I was too impatient
and didn't...
481
00:36:34,804 --> 00:36:36,640
That... that I will admit.
482
00:36:42,020 --> 00:36:44,064
It really has no connection
with what we consider
483
00:36:44,189 --> 00:36:46,733
to be an International Aviation sport.
484
00:36:46,858 --> 00:36:50,654
It's more closely related
to circus acrobats and circus tricks.
485
00:36:55,325 --> 00:36:58,912
MAN: OK, the Granite Circus
was one of Carl's dreams.
486
00:36:59,955 --> 00:37:02,540
The last day of jumping,
he wanted to make it spectacular.
487
00:37:02,666 --> 00:37:06,211
So he arranged for one person
to be on stilts, that was me.
488
00:37:06,336 --> 00:37:09,130
Mayfield was going to walk
on his hands, doing a handstand.
489
00:37:09,255 --> 00:37:10,715
Carl was on a pogo stick
490
00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:12,968
and one other guy
was going to be on a skateboard.
491
00:37:15,971 --> 00:37:20,350
I got up on the stilts, made about
two or three steps and I was gone.
492
00:37:33,947 --> 00:37:35,991
It was so cool
493
00:37:36,157 --> 00:37:40,036
that that kind of set my heels in.
I was into BASE jumping.
494
00:37:40,161 --> 00:37:43,289
Even though it wasn't called
BASE jumping at the time.
495
00:37:43,498 --> 00:37:45,583
That was the program for me.
496
00:37:47,252 --> 00:37:50,255
After the permitted season
of jumping from El Capitan,
497
00:37:50,380 --> 00:37:56,136
the number of jumpers interested
doing this activity was growing.
498
00:37:56,261 --> 00:38:01,891
And Carl in his foresight knew
that we needed to be able
499
00:38:02,017 --> 00:38:05,729
to call it something other
than fixed object skydiving
500
00:38:05,854 --> 00:38:09,441
or skydiving from fixed objects
or cliff-jumping.
501
00:38:09,649 --> 00:38:13,194
There were boundaries
beyond just cliffs.
502
00:38:13,319 --> 00:38:18,033
I found some other objects around that
I thought might be interesting to jump.
503
00:38:18,158 --> 00:38:21,077
MAN: Phil Smith, Smitty,
came up with a couple ideas.
504
00:38:21,202 --> 00:38:23,663
One of them was jumping off TV towers.
505
00:38:23,788 --> 00:38:27,751
He had a TV tower in Houston
that was over a thousand feet high.
506
00:38:29,419 --> 00:38:33,423
He also mentioned that there was a
building going up at a construction
507
00:38:33,631 --> 00:38:38,011
that was ultimately going to be
about 900 feet high, a little bit more.
508
00:38:38,136 --> 00:38:39,554
One thing led to another.
509
00:38:39,679 --> 00:38:42,724
Carl and Jean decided to come out
in January of 1981.
510
00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:47,020
The four of us would go down
and jump the TV tower.
511
00:38:47,145 --> 00:38:48,188
That was the prime focus.
512
00:38:48,313 --> 00:38:50,565
The building had been mentioned
almost in passing.
513
00:38:50,690 --> 00:38:53,151
It seemed like not having done
either one
514
00:38:53,318 --> 00:38:56,362
that a TV tower jump would be
a lot more feasible than a building
515
00:38:56,571 --> 00:38:59,199
just because of the logistics
of getting onto a building.
516
00:39:00,075 --> 00:39:02,077
Smitty did all the homework
and lined it up for us.
517
00:39:02,202 --> 00:39:04,746
And by that I mean figured out
when we need to be there
518
00:39:04,913 --> 00:39:07,665
and how to get onto the tower
because we'd have to climb a fence.
519
00:39:07,791 --> 00:39:11,002
How to get away and how many sets of
cables there were on the tower
520
00:39:11,127 --> 00:39:15,298
so we could avoid hitting those.
Bottom line is we jumped that.
521
00:39:39,697 --> 00:39:43,743
JEAN: Carl and I had traveled out
to Phil Mayfield's house
522
00:39:43,868 --> 00:39:47,205
and we met Phil Smith there as well.
523
00:39:47,330 --> 00:39:51,334
MAYFIELD: And we started talking about
Carl's latest ideas. His grand idea.
524
00:39:51,459 --> 00:39:53,211
His big picture of fixed object jumping.
525
00:39:55,130 --> 00:39:59,175
SMITH: That evening we were up
in Phil's house in Arlington.
526
00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:01,427
And we were planning
our next day's jump.
527
00:40:01,553 --> 00:40:05,431
And Carl had been daydreaming all week
and brainstorming this thing.
528
00:40:05,557 --> 00:40:07,934
He came up with the idea
of making an organization
529
00:40:08,059 --> 00:40:09,561
where to be a member,
530
00:40:09,727 --> 00:40:12,438
you had to have jumped
these four different kinds of objects.
531
00:40:12,647 --> 00:40:18,319
MAYFIELD: So we started brainstorming
different acronyms, different names
532
00:40:18,444 --> 00:40:21,447
so that we could come up with
something that was kind of catchy.
533
00:40:21,573 --> 00:40:25,869
I don't really know who came up with it,
but it evolved into the word BASE.
534
00:40:25,994 --> 00:40:29,622
And all of the guys instantly
just grabbed hold of BASE
535
00:40:29,747 --> 00:40:32,083
and said, "Well, that's the one."
536
00:40:32,208 --> 00:40:34,377
- MAN: What's your group called?
- CARL: We don't...
537
00:40:34,544 --> 00:40:36,421
Crazy Men of the World.
No, what are you called?
538
00:40:36,588 --> 00:40:39,007
That's what most people call us.
539
00:40:39,132 --> 00:40:41,259
But we've got an organization.
540
00:40:41,384 --> 00:40:42,844
We have to be members of it
541
00:40:42,969 --> 00:40:46,222
although we don't have a roster
of official members yet.
542
00:40:46,347 --> 00:40:47,765
It's too new an organization.
543
00:40:47,891 --> 00:40:52,145
The type of jumping that we do,
first of all, is called BASE jumping.
544
00:40:52,270 --> 00:40:58,818
B-A-S-E is an acronym for Buildings,
Antennae Towers, Spans and Earth.
545
00:40:58,943 --> 00:41:02,113
SMITH: So at that time nobody had
jumped off four things.
546
00:41:02,238 --> 00:41:05,825
We had kind of planned
to do the building in Houston.
547
00:41:06,993 --> 00:41:10,079
At that time, it was called
Texas Commerce Tower.
548
00:41:10,205 --> 00:41:13,374
You jumped off a cliff. What's next?
I heard you want to jump off buildings.
549
00:41:13,499 --> 00:41:16,961
Well, yes. It's just mankind's spirit
that's bubbling out saying,
550
00:41:17,086 --> 00:41:19,005
"If there are mountains
let's climb them."
551
00:41:19,130 --> 00:41:22,592
"If there are buildings,
let's jump off of them."
552
00:41:22,759 --> 00:41:24,928
SMITH: Houston was going through
a lot of growth.
553
00:41:25,053 --> 00:41:26,846
They were building several new buildings
554
00:41:26,971 --> 00:41:28,723
that would be
about a thousand feet high.
555
00:41:28,848 --> 00:41:30,725
At that time,
that was kind of our criteria.
556
00:41:30,892 --> 00:41:32,977
I didn't want to do
much lower than that.
557
00:41:33,102 --> 00:41:36,564
The nice thing about those buildings is
when a building is under construction,
558
00:41:36,731 --> 00:41:39,817
they're really vulnerable
to people like us.
559
00:41:44,405 --> 00:41:47,825
Often the building would have
just a chain-link fence around it.
560
00:41:47,951 --> 00:41:51,537
You could just pull it apart and find
some place to get in or climb over it.
561
00:41:51,746 --> 00:41:53,831
It was really easy to do.
562
00:42:01,923 --> 00:42:03,883
There is a stairway, no elevator.
563
00:42:04,008 --> 00:42:07,428
But there's a stairway and we just
went up to the top, no problem.
564
00:42:07,553 --> 00:42:09,722
With Carl Boenish,
you have to understand
565
00:42:09,847 --> 00:42:12,183
the number-one thing is the film.
566
00:42:12,308 --> 00:42:15,520
So it didn't matter the security
of getting away and making the jump
567
00:42:15,687 --> 00:42:18,648
and getting all that stuff;
that was secondary to getting that film.
568
00:42:18,856 --> 00:42:21,901
So we got in there real early. We could
have made a jump then and got out
569
00:42:22,026 --> 00:42:24,112
but the light wouldn't have been good.
570
00:42:25,446 --> 00:42:28,908
So we always had to wait on Carl
for perfect light.
571
00:42:29,033 --> 00:42:32,453
About the time we started seeing a
little bit of traffic down the streets,
572
00:42:32,578 --> 00:42:36,291
Carl let us know that time
is right. The conditions are good.
573
00:42:36,457 --> 00:42:39,794
Once we put the jumpsuits on and
the cameras on and plugged them in,
574
00:42:39,919 --> 00:42:43,131
we knew that it was just about the time.
575
00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:55,393
As soon as we got the go-ahead,
"OK, we're ready down there."
576
00:42:55,518 --> 00:42:58,938
"The helicopter's ready.
OK, you guys, we're waiting on you."
577
00:42:59,063 --> 00:43:01,858
We knew that we had to start
the countdown, turn the cameras on.
578
00:43:06,029 --> 00:43:08,072
I didn't want to screw up.
Neither one of us did.
579
00:43:09,949 --> 00:43:15,330
OK. Five, four, three, two, one.
580
00:43:25,506 --> 00:43:30,053
The thing that I remember most was
looking down as I was pushing out
581
00:43:30,178 --> 00:43:32,472
at the windows on each floor going by.
582
00:43:32,597 --> 00:43:35,683
The first second,
I saw two or three go by.
583
00:43:35,850 --> 00:43:38,728
Then by the third second
they're going by just incredibly fast.
584
00:43:38,895 --> 00:43:41,147
(MAKES WHOOSHING SOUNDS)
585
00:43:42,857 --> 00:43:45,193
Step off and then...
(EXHALES)
586
00:43:51,616 --> 00:43:54,577
You'll see the building behind you
or the cliff or whatever it is.
587
00:43:54,744 --> 00:43:56,537
As it just goes...
(MAKES WHOOSHING SOUND)
588
00:44:01,376 --> 00:44:03,878
MAYFIELD: I let go of my pilot chute,
which opens my canopy,
589
00:44:04,003 --> 00:44:05,880
because I see Smitty's over here.
590
00:44:06,005 --> 00:44:07,715
His is already starting to string out.
591
00:44:07,882 --> 00:44:11,928
I let mine go.
I opened probably 150 feet below him.
592
00:44:12,053 --> 00:44:15,556
And just as soon as I got open
and I was not facing the building,
593
00:44:15,681 --> 00:44:17,975
I breathed an enormous sigh of relief.
594
00:44:18,101 --> 00:44:20,645
Because now the whole thing is over.
All the danger is over.
595
00:44:20,812 --> 00:44:23,022
All I got to do is land
and hopefully get away.
596
00:44:23,147 --> 00:44:25,900
But even if I don't get away,
if I get detained by the police
597
00:44:26,067 --> 00:44:28,361
because I was trespassing,
I'm OK with that.
598
00:45:08,359 --> 00:45:12,029
So Phil Mayfield and I,
I guess we skyrocketed into history
599
00:45:12,155 --> 00:45:15,241
and made the first completed
BASE members.
600
00:45:15,366 --> 00:45:18,077
MAN:
Phil Smith is BASE jumper number one.
601
00:45:18,244 --> 00:45:21,372
He was the first person to jump
all four required objects
602
00:45:21,497 --> 00:45:23,708
and has since made
over 50 successful leaps.
603
00:45:23,833 --> 00:45:27,628
Skydiving then was just as much
a challenge as BASE jumping is now.
604
00:45:27,753 --> 00:45:30,506
So it's that challenge
that we're seeking.
605
00:45:30,673 --> 00:45:36,012
And we really want to...
We want to expand our environment
606
00:45:36,137 --> 00:45:38,347
to include bigger
and more and greater things.
607
00:45:38,473 --> 00:45:41,476
BASE jumping, there's so many things
out there that haven't been tamed
608
00:45:41,601 --> 00:45:44,395
that I'm really excited to tackle them.
609
00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:48,858
SMITH: 1981, that's when
the BASE program started.
610
00:45:49,025 --> 00:45:53,070
We actually told the public,
told the world, about BASE.
611
00:45:53,196 --> 00:45:55,364
Of course,
it grew exponentially after that.
612
00:45:55,490 --> 00:46:00,119
MAYFIELD: Almost immediately, Carl was
bent on legitimizing it to the world.
613
00:46:00,244 --> 00:46:02,705
Are you bored with your life
nine to five
614
00:46:02,830 --> 00:46:04,916
looking at the clock,
check in, check out?
615
00:46:05,124 --> 00:46:07,919
Look, you only go around once.
You might as well go for it.
616
00:46:08,085 --> 00:46:10,880
MAN: Carl and Jean Boenish are here.
They're BASE jumpers.
617
00:46:11,047 --> 00:46:13,674
You jump off of buildings,
antennae towers and bridges?
618
00:46:13,799 --> 00:46:16,010
Yes. And cliffs.
619
00:46:16,135 --> 00:46:18,262
- And you're both crazy.
- No, we're not.
620
00:46:18,387 --> 00:46:22,099
As the equipment got better
and word spread about this thing
621
00:46:22,225 --> 00:46:24,519
then the numbers began
really accelerating.
622
00:46:24,644 --> 00:46:26,270
Then it became a worldwide thing.
623
00:46:26,395 --> 00:46:30,107
Not just the United States
or not just Texas and California.
624
00:46:30,233 --> 00:46:31,859
It took off.
625
00:46:58,636 --> 00:47:06,143
MAN: The still uncompleted 54-storey
Crocker Center in downtown LA
626
00:47:06,269 --> 00:47:09,814
may have seen the last skydiver
jump from its lofty heights.
627
00:47:09,939 --> 00:47:12,942
A group of intrepid divers have been
climbing to the top of the building
628
00:47:13,109 --> 00:47:15,236
and parachuting off
for about four months.
629
00:47:15,361 --> 00:47:17,321
But always at two or three
in the morning.
630
00:47:17,446 --> 00:47:19,991
The jumpers say it's a new sport
called BASE diving.
631
00:47:20,199 --> 00:47:21,576
Police aren't sure what to call it.
632
00:47:21,701 --> 00:47:25,371
But they say there's no law against it,
except maybe trespassing.
633
00:47:25,496 --> 00:47:30,668
Question: why did you jump
off the Crocker Center building
634
00:47:30,793 --> 00:47:33,170
in downtown Los Angeles?
635
00:47:33,296 --> 00:47:37,466
Answer: because it was there
and a lot of fun.
636
00:47:38,092 --> 00:47:42,972
Carl, how can you justify breaking
the law to jump that building?
637
00:47:43,180 --> 00:47:46,142
Answer: what laws am I breaking?
638
00:47:46,309 --> 00:47:49,270
He assigned a lot more importance
to the laws of nature
639
00:47:49,437 --> 00:47:50,479
than he did the laws of man.
640
00:47:50,605 --> 00:47:54,692
The laws of man, in Carl's eyes,
were temporary at best.
641
00:47:56,527 --> 00:47:59,030
JEAN: There were buildings
in downtown Los Angeles
642
00:47:59,155 --> 00:48:00,906
that were under construction.
643
00:48:01,032 --> 00:48:05,119
The Crocker Center happened
to start construction
644
00:48:05,244 --> 00:48:08,581
when we were interested
in jumping off of buildings.
645
00:48:08,706 --> 00:48:12,168
CARL: Well, you know, Jean and I
have each jumped from a building.
646
00:48:12,335 --> 00:48:15,296
A thousand-foot, 75-story skyscraper.
647
00:48:15,463 --> 00:48:17,340
And people say why?
648
00:48:17,506 --> 00:48:19,342
Why did you do it, Jean?
649
00:48:19,467 --> 00:48:21,135
I actually do it for the fun of it.
650
00:48:21,260 --> 00:48:24,055
It's the feeling that you get
when you jump off of a high dive.
651
00:48:24,180 --> 00:48:25,640
There's nothing to push against
652
00:48:25,806 --> 00:48:28,017
like when you're swimming
through the water.
653
00:48:28,184 --> 00:48:30,686
You are falling, literally,
for the first two seconds.
654
00:48:30,811 --> 00:48:32,396
And you can't control your fall.
655
00:48:32,521 --> 00:48:36,525
That's why you have to be very careful
in the manner in which you exit.
656
00:48:36,651 --> 00:48:42,782
One morning, Carl had gone
to do an early morning jump
657
00:48:42,907 --> 00:48:44,700
after it was already light.
658
00:48:44,825 --> 00:48:47,411
MAN: Yesterday three men jumped off
the unfinished building,
659
00:48:47,536 --> 00:48:51,165
the Crocker building in Los Angeles,
in their sport of skydiving.
660
00:48:51,290 --> 00:48:54,085
And today I talked to one of the three,
Carl Boenish.
661
00:48:54,251 --> 00:48:57,380
You're standing there and no matter
how seasoned a skydiver you are,
662
00:48:57,505 --> 00:49:00,466
or a BASE jumper, you're very
apprehensive and you're nervous.
663
00:49:00,591 --> 00:49:02,593
But you know in your mind you can do it,
664
00:49:02,718 --> 00:49:05,221
even though your physical body
says you'd better not do it.
665
00:49:05,346 --> 00:49:07,473
I mean, that's 700 feet straight down.
666
00:49:07,640 --> 00:49:10,935
So finally you say,
"Here we go. Ready, set, go."
667
00:49:11,060 --> 00:49:15,147
And the first second you start
accelerating incredibly fast.
668
00:49:15,272 --> 00:49:18,067
It leaves you almost breathless.
669
00:49:18,234 --> 00:49:23,489
And then the second second you
have a feeling of freedom and power
670
00:49:23,614 --> 00:49:26,200
and confidence, almost euphoria.
671
00:49:26,367 --> 00:49:28,786
You think, "Wow, I feel like Superman."
672
00:49:30,287 --> 00:49:34,542
JEAN: The next day, the LA Times
had this photograph of Carl
673
00:49:34,709 --> 00:49:37,420
right on the front page
jumping off of Crocker Center.
674
00:49:37,545 --> 00:49:39,255
Plain as day, literally.
675
00:49:44,677 --> 00:49:46,429
Mr Boenish, my name is Fred Gooch.
676
00:49:46,554 --> 00:49:50,433
I'm an attorney for the owner
of the Crocker Center.
677
00:49:50,558 --> 00:49:55,771
I want to advise you
that at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon
678
00:49:55,896 --> 00:49:59,942
in department 85 to the
Los Angeles County Superior Court,
679
00:50:00,067 --> 00:50:04,989
the owners of the property are going
to seek an injunction against you.
680
00:50:05,114 --> 00:50:09,577
An X party application for a temporary
restraining order against you,
681
00:50:09,702 --> 00:50:12,496
members of your group,
and any other skydivers
682
00:50:12,621 --> 00:50:16,000
from jumping off of the Crocker Center.
683
00:50:16,125 --> 00:50:20,629
I suggest that you have your attorney
call me.
684
00:50:20,755 --> 00:50:22,882
And I pick up the LA Times one day
685
00:50:23,007 --> 00:50:25,968
and I see this picture of somebody
jumping off Crocker Bank.
686
00:50:26,093 --> 00:50:28,345
And I read the article
and, OK, that's Carl.
687
00:50:28,471 --> 00:50:31,474
Then a day or two later I get
this phone call from Carl saying,
688
00:50:31,599 --> 00:50:34,518
"Jim, I think I'm in
a little bit of trouble."
689
00:50:35,561 --> 00:50:37,688
Here's the message.
690
00:50:37,813 --> 00:50:42,109
Carl and Jean, this is Jim Winkler.
691
00:50:42,276 --> 00:50:45,196
Give me a call as soon as possible.
692
00:50:45,362 --> 00:50:48,574
Crocker Bank apparently
does not want to settle.
693
00:50:48,741 --> 00:50:53,162
JEAN: They wanted to get control
over this situation.
694
00:50:53,287 --> 00:50:56,874
So the Crocker Center decided that
they wanted to start legal proceedings
695
00:50:57,041 --> 00:51:01,629
specifically against Carl
because he was named in the newspaper.
696
00:51:02,671 --> 00:51:04,840
BOB: They couldn't catch him
most of the time.
697
00:51:04,965 --> 00:51:09,845
Then, when he was caught,
I would guess the prosecutor at the time
698
00:51:09,970 --> 00:51:12,556
basically told the judge,
"We know this guy's doing this."
699
00:51:12,723 --> 00:51:15,893
So the court ordered that
he could not go into anything
700
00:51:16,018 --> 00:51:19,814
over a 30-story building
without a judge's approval.
701
00:51:19,980 --> 00:51:22,733
CARL: Why do you do your homework
and know what you're doing?
702
00:51:22,858 --> 00:51:27,112
A lot of us do this day in and day out
and we do it very systematically.
703
00:51:27,321 --> 00:51:31,575
The difference in attention to detail
is being a hero or being dead.
704
00:51:33,911 --> 00:51:36,455
MAN: Some BASE jumps are illegal,
others are not.
705
00:51:36,580 --> 00:51:37,957
Tomorrow in Memphis, Tennessee,
706
00:51:38,082 --> 00:51:40,251
as part of that city's annual
Cotton Carnival
707
00:51:40,417 --> 00:51:42,127
BASE jumpers Jean and Carl Boenish
708
00:51:42,253 --> 00:51:45,714
plan to parachute from the top
of a downtown office building.
709
00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:48,634
JEAN: That building is called
the Hundred North Main Building
710
00:51:48,759 --> 00:51:53,806
and it's 432 feet
to the top of the 36th floor.
711
00:51:53,931 --> 00:51:56,725
A man came up and introduced himself.
712
00:51:56,851 --> 00:52:01,772
He happened to also be the president
of the Union Planters Bank Building,
713
00:52:01,897 --> 00:52:05,943
which was the largest building
in Memphis, Tennessee.
714
00:52:06,068 --> 00:52:10,114
And he said, "Would you like
to jump off of that building
715
00:52:10,239 --> 00:52:11,490
for the Cotton Carnival?"
716
00:52:11,615 --> 00:52:14,451
Carl and I just looked at each other.
717
00:52:14,577 --> 00:52:17,454
We both turned back to him
and we said,
718
00:52:17,580 --> 00:52:21,375
"Well, that would be great.
We'd be very interested in doing that."
719
00:52:21,542 --> 00:52:23,460
They had a parade
720
00:52:23,627 --> 00:52:28,465
and they had arranged for Carl and I
to ride on one of the floats
721
00:52:28,591 --> 00:52:33,262
so that we would be
the co-grand marshals of the parade.
722
00:52:33,387 --> 00:52:35,806
(CARNIVAL MUSIC)
723
00:52:50,237 --> 00:52:57,036
So we were co-grand marshals and our
job was to jump down from the building
724
00:52:57,161 --> 00:52:59,371
with crystal medallions
725
00:52:59,496 --> 00:53:04,710
that were made especially for the king
and queen of the Cotton Carnival.
726
00:53:04,835 --> 00:53:07,421
LONG: If you were around the Boenishes
long enough
727
00:53:07,546 --> 00:53:10,090
you got the feeling of people
that really didn't belong.
728
00:53:11,300 --> 00:53:13,761
They weren't weird, alright.
They were different.
729
00:53:13,886 --> 00:53:15,971
A little eccentric, even.
730
00:53:16,096 --> 00:53:18,933
They didn't really fit anywhere, right?
731
00:53:20,100 --> 00:53:21,226
See you at the bottom.
732
00:53:21,352 --> 00:53:22,811
But they fit together.
733
00:53:22,937 --> 00:53:24,772
Here we go.
734
00:53:24,897 --> 00:53:31,070
Five, four, three, two, one, go!
735
00:54:58,741 --> 00:55:00,576
We've just reached the Trollveggen,
736
00:55:00,701 --> 00:55:03,620
which is the largest cliff face
in Europe.
737
00:55:03,746 --> 00:55:08,375
It'll be the site for our assault
on the world BASE jumping record.
738
00:55:08,542 --> 00:55:11,920
Standing over here on this ledge
is Carl Boenish and his wife, Jean.
739
00:55:12,046 --> 00:55:14,715
They're about to fling themselves
off the mountain
740
00:55:14,840 --> 00:55:16,675
in something called BASE jumping.
741
00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:23,390
At that time, I was a recently
graduated dude with no career
742
00:55:23,557 --> 00:55:26,977
from graduate school
studying literature and philosophy.
743
00:55:27,102 --> 00:55:30,314
I had no idea what I was going to do
other than what I had been doing
744
00:55:30,439 --> 00:55:33,192
which was rock climbing and sea kayaking
745
00:55:33,358 --> 00:55:36,320
and generally doing things
that were really fun that made no money.
746
00:55:36,487 --> 00:55:40,074
So I just took my expertise in adventure
and applied it to production,
747
00:55:40,199 --> 00:55:42,993
and I ended up working for David Frost.
748
00:55:43,118 --> 00:55:47,372
We needed to have a centerpiece
for an ABC special.
749
00:55:47,498 --> 00:55:49,917
That special being
The Guinness Book of World Records
750
00:55:50,084 --> 00:55:54,922
which showed on ABC and also on BBC.
We needed to have a centerpiece thing,
751
00:55:55,047 --> 00:55:57,841
which was an international
big action-adventure thing
752
00:55:57,966 --> 00:55:59,718
that could carry the whole show.
753
00:55:59,843 --> 00:56:01,970
I figured BASE jumping
was going to be it.
754
00:56:02,096 --> 00:56:06,600
JEAN: Carl was thrilled to be contacted
by the Guinness people
755
00:56:06,767 --> 00:56:08,936
and given the opportunity it was...
756
00:56:09,061 --> 00:56:12,481
This was really an opportunity
being given to us.
757
00:56:12,648 --> 00:56:15,442
Meeting Carl Boenish was...
758
00:56:18,612 --> 00:56:20,781
...not like anything
I'd ever experienced.
759
00:56:20,906 --> 00:56:24,535
By that time, I had been in New Guinea
and the fricking North Pole.
760
00:56:24,701 --> 00:56:29,206
I'd been all over and had seen just
about every kind of person imaginable.
761
00:56:29,331 --> 00:56:31,458
But I had never seen anybody
like Carl Boenish.
762
00:56:33,627 --> 00:56:37,214
Super energetic.
He had plans to do everything
763
00:56:37,339 --> 00:56:40,175
and he documented everything,
he had pictures of everything.
764
00:56:40,300 --> 00:56:45,013
He was everything. Everything about Carl
was out there right from the beginning.
765
00:56:45,139 --> 00:56:47,099
And it was like running into a geyser.
766
00:56:47,224 --> 00:56:50,227
It was just like,
"Whoa, look at this guy!" You know?
767
00:56:50,352 --> 00:56:52,020
Carl, what's the old record?
768
00:56:52,146 --> 00:56:54,857
The tallest BASE jump ever made
is 4900 feet.
769
00:56:54,982 --> 00:56:57,818
And that was made at Half Dome
at Yosemite National Park.
770
00:56:57,943 --> 00:57:01,029
High by anybody's standards. Jean,
what are you going to attempt today?
771
00:57:01,155 --> 00:57:03,490
Well, I'm not exactly sure
what the height is here
772
00:57:03,657 --> 00:57:05,951
but it's definitely over 4900 feet.
773
00:57:06,076 --> 00:57:07,953
- All the best to you both.
- Thank you.
774
00:57:09,705 --> 00:57:13,750
JEAN: When they said let's go and do
a record jump,
775
00:57:13,876 --> 00:57:16,086
let's find a site that's the highest
776
00:57:16,211 --> 00:57:19,131
from point of launch
to point of landing.
777
00:57:19,256 --> 00:57:22,050
And where would you like to go
and do that?
778
00:57:22,176 --> 00:57:26,180
The world was our oyster
and we chose Norway.
779
00:57:32,853 --> 00:57:36,231
Norway. Norway's beautiful.
780
00:57:36,398 --> 00:57:37,941
And the people are wonderful.
781
00:57:38,066 --> 00:57:42,696
And, as they say,
there's a very open trust.
782
00:57:44,114 --> 00:57:45,824
That's Norway.
783
00:58:03,508 --> 00:58:05,552
It was like mounting an expedition,
really.
784
00:58:05,719 --> 00:58:07,262
We were pretty much involved in that
785
00:58:07,387 --> 00:58:10,641
from the time that he said
he could and would do it
786
00:58:10,849 --> 00:58:14,811
until the time we left which is, I don't
know, two and a half weeks later,
787
00:58:14,978 --> 00:58:16,480
it was pretty much a mad dash.
788
00:58:16,605 --> 00:58:19,608
I flew across the Atlantic and went to
London and spent a day there.
789
00:58:19,775 --> 00:58:22,361
Took a flight up to Oslo and
the Boenishes were already there.
790
00:58:22,486 --> 00:58:25,489
I just jumped in a rental car with them
and we drove up to Åndalsnes
791
00:58:25,614 --> 00:58:27,157
which took all day.
792
00:58:29,409 --> 00:58:32,788
It was that time of year where
the nights weren't really nights.
793
00:58:32,913 --> 00:58:34,915
There's a midnight sun kind of thing.
794
00:58:35,040 --> 00:58:37,626
So the sun never really totally set.
795
00:58:37,793 --> 00:58:41,129
So we just kept driving
and driving and driving.
796
00:58:41,255 --> 00:58:44,758
That went on for eight hours
and we ended up in Åndalsnes
797
00:58:44,883 --> 00:58:46,468
and I saw this cliff for the first time.
798
00:58:46,593 --> 00:58:49,680
I said, "Wow,
that's going to be interesting."
799
00:58:49,805 --> 00:58:52,224
It's a scary sort of place.
800
00:58:52,349 --> 00:58:57,145
It's like Sleepy Hollow with
these huge cliffs rising on both sides.
801
00:58:57,271 --> 00:58:59,273
Really formidable
and really intimidating.
802
00:59:01,650 --> 00:59:06,154
And it was really bad weather. It was
just drizzly and cloudy and weird.
803
00:59:06,280 --> 00:59:09,449
I wasn't real enthusiastic that
it was going to break any time soon.
804
00:59:09,574 --> 00:59:11,243
Wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
805
00:59:11,368 --> 00:59:15,122
I knew it would take us a little while
to figure out what we were going to do
806
00:59:15,247 --> 00:59:17,124
and where we were going to jump.
807
00:59:17,249 --> 00:59:20,961
One glance up there and I knew
it was going to take me a while
808
00:59:21,086 --> 00:59:23,505
to get fluent with the whole area.
It was just too big.
809
00:59:23,630 --> 00:59:26,341
It was too big
and too confusing up there.
810
00:59:26,466 --> 00:59:29,136
So I was lucky enough
to meet with a friend.
811
00:59:29,261 --> 00:59:31,221
He had climbed around here a whole lot.
812
00:59:31,346 --> 00:59:35,976
He was not only a great sort of partner
and climber
813
00:59:36,101 --> 00:59:38,687
but a really decent, soulful guy.
814
00:59:38,812 --> 00:59:42,024
We got along perfectly
from the beginning.
815
00:59:42,149 --> 00:59:45,819
We hooked up and every day we'd hike up
the back side of Trollveggen,
816
00:59:45,944 --> 00:59:48,613
go up there marching around
looking for places to go.
817
00:59:48,822 --> 00:59:50,574
MAN: I started climbing when I was 15
818
00:59:50,699 --> 00:59:55,203
and I've been doing a lot of climbing
in the area here in Romsdal.
819
00:59:55,329 --> 01:00:01,835
I first met Carl when the others
asked me to be a local guide
820
01:00:01,960 --> 01:00:05,589
and be responsible
for the security up in the mountains
821
01:00:05,714 --> 01:00:07,215
while they were doing the parachute.
822
01:00:07,341 --> 01:00:11,219
I really didn't know what's going on
then, what they were going to do.
823
01:00:11,345 --> 01:00:16,350
But it was really a exciting time
to be together with them.
824
01:00:17,517 --> 01:00:18,685
I remember his leg.
825
01:00:18,852 --> 01:00:22,898
That he had hurt it once
and broke it, I think.
826
01:00:23,023 --> 01:00:26,151
And that he did not go to a doctor.
827
01:00:28,236 --> 01:00:31,239
LONG: When Fred and I first started
hiking up to the top of Troll Wall
828
01:00:31,365 --> 01:00:34,159
to figure out a location
where we're going to jump,
829
01:00:34,284 --> 01:00:38,288
Carl went along with us
but he was such a slow hiker
830
01:00:38,413 --> 01:00:42,918
that ultimately we decided most
of the time to go up there without him
831
01:00:43,085 --> 01:00:45,170
because he just couldn't keep up.
832
01:00:46,588 --> 01:00:48,673
Carl, when he got up into the mountains,
833
01:00:48,799 --> 01:00:51,343
had some problems with his leg
all the time.
834
01:00:51,468 --> 01:00:55,222
He got very tired because
it was hurting very much, I think.
835
01:00:55,347 --> 01:00:57,265
LONG: I go, "What what's with this guy?"
836
01:00:57,391 --> 01:01:01,061
"Why is he going so fricking slow?"
It was driving me crazy.
837
01:01:01,186 --> 01:01:04,356
It'd take half the day to get up
to the top of the cliff, right?
838
01:01:04,481 --> 01:01:07,275
And I thought he was just lazy.
839
01:01:07,401 --> 01:01:11,446
And finally there's a little stone hut
840
01:01:11,571 --> 01:01:15,242
that you can sort of take shelter in
on your way up.
841
01:01:15,409 --> 01:01:17,702
And we got about halfway up
and we got to the stone hut
842
01:01:17,828 --> 01:01:20,997
and it started raining
so we had to actually go in this hut.
843
01:01:23,041 --> 01:01:26,962
We went in this hut. We're sitting down
and Carl's rubbing his leg.
844
01:01:27,087 --> 01:01:29,214
I go, "What's going on?
What's up, Carl?"
845
01:01:29,339 --> 01:01:33,343
And he pulls his pant leg up
and his leg has this...
846
01:01:33,468 --> 01:01:36,638
The bone goes down like this
and takes this jog.
847
01:01:37,639 --> 01:01:40,642
I'm like,
"Carl what's going on with that leg?"
848
01:01:40,767 --> 01:01:42,978
And it turned out he'd broken his leg.
849
01:01:43,103 --> 01:01:47,149
He'd broken his leg hang gliding
a couple years before.
850
01:01:47,274 --> 01:01:51,486
And he'd never got it set
because he's a Christian Scientist.
851
01:01:51,611 --> 01:01:53,655
I didn't know anything
about any of that.
852
01:01:54,739 --> 01:01:58,243
CARL: I believe that there's a law
and order to the universe.
853
01:01:58,368 --> 01:02:00,328
Some people call it God.
854
01:02:00,454 --> 01:02:01,705
I don't care what you call it.
855
01:02:01,830 --> 01:02:04,624
I just know that mathematics
never fails us.
856
01:02:04,749 --> 01:02:07,878
If we get the wrong answer,
we didn't apply something correctly.
857
01:02:09,588 --> 01:02:11,756
Nothing happens by chance.
858
01:02:11,882 --> 01:02:15,969
Every single thing that ever happens,
happens for a reason.
859
01:02:16,094 --> 01:02:18,722
Happens due to the law of the universe.
860
01:02:22,476 --> 01:02:24,352
LONG:
One of the things I kept looking for
861
01:02:24,478 --> 01:02:27,606
was some place that was
cantilevered out like that.
862
01:02:29,191 --> 01:02:31,568
So we found this thing,
Stabben pinnacle.
863
01:02:31,693 --> 01:02:34,488
We get to the top and
there's a bunch of big boulders around.
864
01:02:34,613 --> 01:02:37,574
What you do is you do
what's called a rock test.
865
01:02:37,741 --> 01:02:40,285
And what you want
is something that falls
866
01:02:40,410 --> 01:02:44,414
somewhere between 15 and 20 seconds
before it hits the wall.
867
01:02:45,832 --> 01:02:49,377
The whole thing with BASE jumping
is you don't want to hit the wall.
868
01:02:49,503 --> 01:02:51,755
That's what's going to kill you.
869
01:02:51,880 --> 01:02:54,883
Fred and I pushed ten rocks
off the top of Stabben pinnacle
870
01:02:55,050 --> 01:02:58,678
and they all hit between
three and five seconds.
871
01:02:58,803 --> 01:03:01,181
Every time.
872
01:03:01,306 --> 01:03:04,100
We did the rock test
and immediately ruled that out
873
01:03:04,226 --> 01:03:05,727
as something we would do.
874
01:03:05,894 --> 01:03:09,773
Carl goes, "No, it's too dangerous.
It doesn't give it enough time."
875
01:03:11,608 --> 01:03:13,860
There was quite a lot of people
because it was a big team
876
01:03:14,027 --> 01:03:15,529
and they had all the helicopters.
877
01:03:15,654 --> 01:03:19,533
So it was both local people that was
going up to see what was going on
878
01:03:19,658 --> 01:03:21,117
and there was a lot of tourists
879
01:03:21,243 --> 01:03:24,955
that were stopping because of the
helicopter traffic that was going on.
880
01:03:25,747 --> 01:03:27,874
LONG:
It was a big event in Europe also.
881
01:03:28,041 --> 01:03:31,211
So news teams
from all over Europe were here
882
01:03:31,336 --> 01:03:33,838
waiting for this thing to happen.
883
01:03:34,047 --> 01:03:35,632
I mean, it was a zoo.
884
01:03:41,721 --> 01:03:44,724
I was hoping to be able to do this thing
sort of on a low profile.
885
01:03:44,849 --> 01:03:49,271
But by the time the thing finally
happened, it was no secret to anybody.
886
01:03:50,730 --> 01:03:53,984
The Boenishes were both...
Well, Jean, it was hard to tell
887
01:03:54,150 --> 01:03:56,611
because she seemingly never got
excited about anything.
888
01:03:56,736 --> 01:04:02,450
But Carl was coming out of his skin.
You know, like uncontainable enthusiasm.
889
01:04:02,576 --> 01:04:04,744
This is a celebration of
the human spirit
890
01:04:04,869 --> 01:04:07,872
and thank you for bringing
your spirits too.
891
01:04:07,998 --> 01:04:11,001
Take a shot of Jean and me
and the crowd.
892
01:04:14,087 --> 01:04:18,717
Put it on Infinity.
You have it on Infinity?
893
01:04:18,883 --> 01:04:20,385
OK, look at the camera.
894
01:04:20,510 --> 01:04:23,346
No, it's the other button.
895
01:04:23,471 --> 01:04:26,766
LONG: I mean, it's like a geyser,
you know? Just like Old Faithful.
896
01:04:28,852 --> 01:04:31,855
The day prior to when
we really got the thing on film,
897
01:04:31,980 --> 01:04:36,401
he had done the jump basically
at night already, and done it perfectly.
898
01:04:36,526 --> 01:04:39,404
So we knew that everything
was going to be perfect.
899
01:04:39,529 --> 01:04:42,115
As soon as the sun comes up,
he can do this jump.
900
01:04:42,240 --> 01:04:44,534
We're going to get it a couple times
so we got it covered,
901
01:04:44,659 --> 01:04:45,702
then we're out of there.
902
01:04:46,786 --> 01:04:50,332
Carl's enthusiasm was so high,
everybody was really high on this thing.
903
01:04:50,457 --> 01:04:55,003
Remember, BASE jumping had never been
filmed on any kind of big scale.
904
01:04:55,170 --> 01:04:58,381
It was little teeny 16mm documentaries
905
01:04:58,548 --> 01:05:01,051
that people showed
on their bathroom wall.
906
01:05:01,217 --> 01:05:06,181
And a huge network television crew
had swooped in here
907
01:05:06,306 --> 01:05:09,225
with an internationally famous star,
David Frost.
908
01:05:09,351 --> 01:05:11,686
He was the host
of The Guinness Book of World Records
909
01:05:11,811 --> 01:05:15,482
and all this hoopla right?
And, boom, we have six cameras.
910
01:05:15,607 --> 01:05:19,069
I think Boenish had another couple
cameras. We had cameras everywhere.
911
01:05:19,235 --> 01:05:21,905
This is going to be a big event.
Everything was going great.
912
01:05:22,030 --> 01:05:25,200
Everybody was enthusiastic.
It was sort of a big thing.
913
01:05:28,536 --> 01:05:30,080
Then we got up, the sun was perfect.
914
01:05:30,205 --> 01:05:32,540
It was a perfect bluebird day.
That was lucky enough.
915
01:05:32,666 --> 01:05:35,585
We got everybody in position
in a matter of a couple hours.
916
01:05:35,710 --> 01:05:37,462
DAVID FROST: They're getting ready now.
917
01:05:37,587 --> 01:05:41,174
The Boenishes approaching
the jumping off spot, coming out there.
918
01:05:41,341 --> 01:05:44,844
And the pilot is doing a fantastic job.
It's very difficult right there.
919
01:05:44,969 --> 01:05:49,265
He seems to be balancing that helicopter
almost on one skid.
920
01:05:49,391 --> 01:05:52,394
And there are the Boenishes over there.
There they are.
921
01:05:52,519 --> 01:05:55,522
Perched on that very, very tiny outcrop.
922
01:05:55,647 --> 01:06:00,360
Now with the help of our key mountain
climber, cameraman as well,
923
01:06:00,485 --> 01:06:03,613
they're making their final
equipment checks.
924
01:06:03,738 --> 01:06:05,740
Thirty seconds.
925
01:06:05,865 --> 01:06:07,701
Thirty seconds.
926
01:06:08,535 --> 01:06:09,744
Are you ready?
927
01:06:14,666 --> 01:06:16,835
- Twenty seconds.
- Twenty seconds.
928
01:06:21,923 --> 01:06:24,050
Ten seconds.
929
01:06:25,093 --> 01:06:26,136
Are you ready?
930
01:06:29,973 --> 01:06:36,312
Five, four, three, two, one, go!
931
01:07:01,713 --> 01:07:03,715
- Congratulations.
- Thank you very much.
932
01:07:03,840 --> 01:07:06,176
Let's find Carl now.
He's a little behind.
933
01:07:06,342 --> 01:07:08,303
JEAN: He was very enthusiastic.
934
01:07:08,428 --> 01:07:11,222
WOMAN: There he is.
Alright! Perfect landing!
935
01:07:11,347 --> 01:07:14,350
JEAN: He was always enthusiastic
about all of his projects.
936
01:07:14,476 --> 01:07:19,397
Particularly after a jump was finished
or the film was in the can.
937
01:07:19,522 --> 01:07:21,483
Terrific. Congratulations.
938
01:07:21,608 --> 01:07:24,110
- Thank you very much.
- That really excited him.
939
01:07:24,277 --> 01:07:28,531
It was exciting. Wow. Wow.
940
01:07:28,698 --> 01:07:30,575
That's a jump of a lifetime.
941
01:07:49,052 --> 01:07:51,846
Well, did you see how much lift
this big parachute has?
942
01:07:51,971 --> 01:07:55,183
- I was staying up forever.
- Listen, just by landing safely,
943
01:07:55,350 --> 01:07:58,478
that means you have set now
a new world's record for BASE jumping.
944
01:07:58,603 --> 01:08:00,522
Norris, do you have the exact figures?
945
01:08:00,647 --> 01:08:04,400
At least 400 feet further
than any other BASE jump in history.
946
01:08:04,526 --> 01:08:07,529
And the speed,
because you deployed so late,
947
01:08:07,654 --> 01:08:10,740
it was like flashing through
a 20-story building in one second.
948
01:08:10,865 --> 01:08:15,453
Carl was really enthusiastic
about having finished the jumps.
949
01:08:15,620 --> 01:08:21,042
To see that wall rushing by.
Man, we loved it.
950
01:08:21,167 --> 01:08:25,547
And for Carl, too, to have been able
to make a record jump.
951
01:08:25,672 --> 01:08:32,262
It was like, "Let's get out of here
before the mountain falls on top of us."
952
01:08:34,097 --> 01:08:36,432
I just had this feeling of doom
953
01:08:36,558 --> 01:08:39,769
hanging over something
that was potentially that sketchy.
954
01:08:39,894 --> 01:08:41,521
So the moment they are over,
955
01:08:41,688 --> 01:08:44,649
as though retroactively
something could happen,
956
01:08:44,816 --> 01:08:47,986
and combined with the fact
that that was the last piece
957
01:08:48,111 --> 01:08:50,071
that we needed to do on the show,
958
01:08:50,196 --> 01:08:55,034
both of those combined and in concert
gave everybody a reason to get...
959
01:08:55,201 --> 01:08:57,954
It put jet underneath everybody.
960
01:08:58,079 --> 01:09:00,164
They were gone. Bam! Out of there.
961
01:09:08,965 --> 01:09:13,553
JEAN: After our record jumps,
we were both really tired
962
01:09:13,678 --> 01:09:18,433
because we had been up for
a number of days with very little sleep.
963
01:09:18,558 --> 01:09:21,769
Particularly
in the last 24 hours or more.
964
01:09:23,605 --> 01:09:27,775
It was one o'clock in the morning
and it was not dark.
965
01:09:27,901 --> 01:09:33,323
We really had a great deal of difficulty
in this midnight sun situation.
966
01:10:09,484 --> 01:10:12,946
We had a short night that night.
967
01:10:15,031 --> 01:10:18,868
I was...
968
01:10:20,870 --> 01:10:24,165
...tired from the jumps the day before.
969
01:10:25,708 --> 01:10:28,711
And I told him I was going to sleep in
970
01:10:28,836 --> 01:10:34,092
and he had decided he wanted
to go and jump the Bruraskaret
971
01:10:34,258 --> 01:10:37,512
which was the normally jumped site,
so I didn't think much of it.
972
01:10:37,637 --> 01:10:43,059
But I was grousing a bit.
"You're tired. Why don't you stay?"
973
01:10:43,184 --> 01:10:45,812
"Why do you have
to go do this right now,
974
01:10:45,937 --> 01:10:50,608
right today, when you're tired?
Stay here and sleep."
975
01:10:50,733 --> 01:10:54,696
That morning that Carl left for the jump
as I was lying in bed,
976
01:10:54,821 --> 01:10:56,656
I was grumping at him
977
01:10:56,781 --> 01:11:01,869
that I didn't think that he should be
doing this because he must be tired.
978
01:11:01,995 --> 01:11:03,705
And that was the way
979
01:11:03,830 --> 01:11:10,378
I was expressing my feelings
and my intuitions about it.
980
01:11:10,545 --> 01:11:17,510
If I had had 30 years more
of experience that I have now,
981
01:11:17,635 --> 01:11:22,724
perhaps I would have expressed
my feelings in a different way
982
01:11:22,849 --> 01:11:28,104
and understood that there was
a message there for me.
983
01:11:28,229 --> 01:11:32,400
That it was not a good idea
for him to do this.
984
01:11:43,703 --> 01:11:48,041
That's the honest truth about it. And...
985
01:11:49,125 --> 01:11:52,462
I can only look at it in hindsight
from here.
986
01:11:53,254 --> 01:11:57,800
HUSOY: There was two locals.
Friends of mine that followed them up.
987
01:11:57,925 --> 01:12:01,471
And also Jean was aware
that he was going up, of course,
988
01:12:01,637 --> 01:12:07,685
but somewhere on the route
they decided to go for Stabben instead.
989
01:12:10,938 --> 01:12:13,149
His foot made much trouble for him
990
01:12:13,316 --> 01:12:15,485
because I'd seen that
in earlier days as well,
991
01:12:15,651 --> 01:12:20,031
that he was having problems when
we were walking up in the rough terrain.
992
01:12:20,156 --> 01:12:23,618
It was quite rough
up in the back of the Trolltind.
993
01:12:23,785 --> 01:12:27,997
And it was a decision he took
there and then
994
01:12:28,122 --> 01:12:32,335
to get back down an easy way, I think.
995
01:12:32,460 --> 01:12:35,505
LONG: The fact is we had done the record
jump, filmed it,
996
01:12:35,630 --> 01:12:38,633
and not more than 12 hours later,
he had hiked back up there.
997
01:12:38,758 --> 01:12:41,594
That didn't make any sense to me.
I don't know how that was possible.
998
01:12:41,719 --> 01:12:45,973
The fact we heard he'd done Stabben
didn't make any sense
999
01:12:46,099 --> 01:12:51,312
because we had agreed when we did
the rock-drop test that it was suicidal.
1000
01:12:51,437 --> 01:12:55,274
Nobody could survive that jump.
Why had he done that?
1001
01:12:55,399 --> 01:12:58,236
Why was it that
if he was going to go back up
1002
01:12:58,361 --> 01:13:01,489
he didn't ask Fred or I
to go up with him?
1003
01:13:03,116 --> 01:13:08,871
MAN: On Friday night I was on
Grand Hotel at Åndalsnes
1004
01:13:08,996 --> 01:13:15,336
because Carl had borrowed a room
so he could pack his parachute.
1005
01:13:16,337 --> 01:13:19,090
So I and my brother was with him.
1006
01:13:19,215 --> 01:13:25,346
And they explained a lot about BASE
jumping and how to pack the chute
1007
01:13:25,471 --> 01:13:28,641
so it released quick
and things like that.
1008
01:13:29,725 --> 01:13:32,937
It didn't go well that day.
1009
01:13:34,480 --> 01:13:39,068
I have an impression that Carl,
more than most of us,
1010
01:13:39,193 --> 01:13:43,823
thought that God had a plan for him
that he had to fulfill.
1011
01:13:47,160 --> 01:13:51,414
I am a person who remembers in pictures
1012
01:13:51,539 --> 01:13:56,127
so I have a small glimpse
of what happened during the day.
1013
01:13:57,837 --> 01:14:01,382
Me and my brother,
we picked him up in my brother's car
1014
01:14:01,507 --> 01:14:04,093
where he lived with the Grüners.
1015
01:14:04,218 --> 01:14:09,432
I remember driving from the Grüners'
and up to Trollstigen.
1016
01:14:46,844 --> 01:14:49,347
It was not so good weather.
1017
01:14:49,472 --> 01:14:53,643
It was a little rain and quite windy.
1018
01:14:54,977 --> 01:15:00,942
We went not so fast because
he had the problem with his leg.
1019
01:15:01,067 --> 01:15:05,780
And then we went further up to Stabben.
1020
01:15:06,822 --> 01:15:11,285
We climbed up to the pinnacle...
1021
01:15:13,246 --> 01:15:18,125
...and sat there for at least...
it was more than a half an hour,
1022
01:15:18,251 --> 01:15:20,336
maybe up to an hour.
1023
01:15:22,213 --> 01:15:28,135
He started to throw stones
to measure the height of the wall.
1024
01:15:29,762 --> 01:15:33,808
We sat on top of the pinnacle
and chatted
1025
01:15:33,933 --> 01:15:37,937
about different matters of life.
1026
01:15:39,814 --> 01:15:47,530
On the top of the mountain he asked us
if we knew the story from the Bible.
1027
01:15:47,655 --> 01:15:50,825
The Temptation of Jesus.
1028
01:15:53,327 --> 01:15:57,957
The Devil brought Jesus to Jerusalem
1029
01:15:58,082 --> 01:16:03,004
and put him on the highest point
of the temple.
1030
01:16:03,129 --> 01:16:07,341
And he said that
if you throw yourself down,
1031
01:16:07,466 --> 01:16:14,807
God will send his angels
and carry you in their arms
1032
01:16:14,932 --> 01:16:19,145
so you will not hurt your foot
on the rock.
1033
01:16:19,270 --> 01:16:24,066
Jesus answered,
"Do not put the Lord on test."
1034
01:16:24,191 --> 01:16:31,282
Carl just had...
he had a particular laughter.
1035
01:16:31,407 --> 01:16:34,201
He pointed to his parachute and he said,
1036
01:16:34,327 --> 01:16:37,163
"This is my angel."
1037
01:16:42,585 --> 01:16:48,174
I think it's really amazing
kind of last words.
1038
01:16:48,841 --> 01:16:54,472
I don't know what it means
but it feels like it means something.
1039
01:16:56,474 --> 01:16:59,268
Finally, he said that he wanted to jump.
1040
01:17:02,355 --> 01:17:05,483
We prepared our cameras.
1041
01:17:06,525 --> 01:17:09,653
So I saw his jump through the lens.
1042
01:17:16,327 --> 01:17:21,040
I saw the back of the whole body
1043
01:17:21,165 --> 01:17:24,585
more like just his feet diving down.
1044
01:17:24,710 --> 01:17:30,091
His parachute was stalling
against the mountain.
1045
01:17:32,259 --> 01:17:37,431
He slid under his parachute
down the mountain
1046
01:17:37,598 --> 01:17:39,725
and stopped in some snow.
1047
01:17:42,561 --> 01:17:44,939
No signs of life.
1048
01:17:46,524 --> 01:17:51,195
No movements or anything
after the parachute stopped.
1049
01:17:52,780 --> 01:17:56,033
It was before the days
of the mobile phone.
1050
01:17:57,201 --> 01:18:02,289
It was decided my brother
would run down
1051
01:18:02,415 --> 01:18:06,001
to call the police
and start the rescue operation.
1052
01:18:12,091 --> 01:18:18,806
I waited, looking down on him,
on top of the mountain.
1053
01:18:23,936 --> 01:18:29,692
Police district Romsdalen,
on Saturday the 7th of July, '84
1054
01:18:29,817 --> 01:18:34,029
approximately 4:35pm,
I received a call from Arnstein Myskja.
1055
01:18:34,155 --> 01:18:37,366
Arnstein explained he was calling
from Trollstigen Fjellstue
1056
01:18:37,491 --> 01:18:41,078
and reported that he had just,
at approximately at 3:50pm,
1057
01:18:41,245 --> 01:18:45,458
been a witness to Boenish, Carl Ronald,
jump from Stabben,
1058
01:18:45,583 --> 01:18:48,461
a mountaintop situated
between Trollveggen and Semletind
1059
01:18:48,586 --> 01:18:50,463
in Trolltindmassivet.
1060
01:18:50,588 --> 01:18:53,340
The jump had,
for one reason or another, failed
1061
01:18:53,466 --> 01:18:57,887
such that Boenish hit the mountain wall
and was suspended over the valley.
1062
01:19:01,599 --> 01:19:04,602
MYSKJA: We had brought a camera each,
1063
01:19:04,727 --> 01:19:08,689
and we were taking pictures
when the accident happened.
1064
01:19:09,982 --> 01:19:13,194
You get so shocked
you started to think about...
1065
01:19:13,319 --> 01:19:16,363
That you don't want to sell the photos.
1066
01:19:16,489 --> 01:19:20,284
Why don't we have the photos
and just don't sell it?
1067
01:19:20,409 --> 01:19:23,787
It's not more difficult than that.
1068
01:19:23,996 --> 01:19:29,543
But we decided to destroy the pictures.
1069
01:19:31,045 --> 01:19:34,256
Just to open up
and pull it out of the cassette
1070
01:19:34,423 --> 01:19:38,552
so it was fully exposed to the light.
1071
01:19:50,814 --> 01:19:53,275
LONG: I went back to where I was staying
after we wrapped.
1072
01:19:53,400 --> 01:19:57,571
I think I just laid down. It was
probably still mid to late afternoon
1073
01:19:57,696 --> 01:20:00,115
and I didn't really get up
until the next morning
1074
01:20:00,241 --> 01:20:03,661
when Fred came hammering on my door,
1075
01:20:03,786 --> 01:20:06,121
saying Carl's been in an accident.
1076
01:20:07,748 --> 01:20:09,917
Fred came and got me. I got in the car.
1077
01:20:10,084 --> 01:20:12,253
We drove down, looked up,
saw Carl's body.
1078
01:20:12,378 --> 01:20:13,879
It wasn't moving.
1079
01:20:14,088 --> 01:20:17,716
But his red parachute
was sort of billowing in the air.
1080
01:20:17,841 --> 01:20:20,135
He was probably
three quarters of a mile away
1081
01:20:20,302 --> 01:20:24,223
and a couple thousand feet
up the flank of the bottom of the wall.
1082
01:20:26,308 --> 01:20:28,102
We went back to the police and said,
1083
01:20:28,227 --> 01:20:32,523
"We're going to have to try and figure
something out to get up to get him."
1084
01:20:32,648 --> 01:20:36,986
They're going to have to call in
a coast guard helicopter, and they did.
1085
01:20:37,152 --> 01:20:41,240
They had to fly up into the slab
at the bottom of the wall.
1086
01:20:41,365 --> 01:20:45,536
We couldn't really climb up to it.
It was sort of an isolated area,
1087
01:20:45,661 --> 01:20:49,081
but they recovered Carl's body,
brought it on the helicopter.
1088
01:20:49,206 --> 01:20:54,128
They flew that helicopter down
to the police station and landed.
1089
01:20:55,170 --> 01:20:58,007
Meanwhile,
we hadn't gotten a hold of Jean,
1090
01:20:58,173 --> 01:21:01,677
which was probably not fair to her.
1091
01:21:01,802 --> 01:21:07,016
Nobody got a hold of Jean
until the helicopter was on its way.
1092
01:21:08,392 --> 01:21:10,769
I was there with the police officer
and let me tell you,
1093
01:21:10,894 --> 01:21:14,356
one of the boldest things
I've ever seen anybody do,
1094
01:21:14,523 --> 01:21:17,276
was to call her up.
I mean, I'll never forget it.
1095
01:21:17,401 --> 01:21:22,072
This guy is talking on the phone.
He knew that the situation was bad.
1096
01:21:22,197 --> 01:21:25,409
And he's talking to her
and he was holding it together
1097
01:21:25,534 --> 01:21:27,661
with the last ounce of strength
that he had
1098
01:21:27,786 --> 01:21:31,290
saying your husband
had been involved in an accident
1099
01:21:31,415 --> 01:21:32,875
and it doesn't look good.
1100
01:21:33,000 --> 01:21:36,629
I'll never forget watching that. God!
1101
01:21:36,754 --> 01:21:39,548
That was awful watching that.
1102
01:21:42,343 --> 01:21:43,594
But...
1103
01:21:51,226 --> 01:21:53,729
That was just one of those things
where you just had to watch it
1104
01:21:53,854 --> 01:21:57,900
and deal with it, you know?
It was like, "This is happening."
1105
01:21:58,025 --> 01:22:00,944
"Is this really happening?"
Well, it was, you know?
1106
01:22:02,488 --> 01:22:05,449
JEAN: The police had come. Two of them.
1107
01:22:05,616 --> 01:22:09,578
And I met them downstairs
at Grüners' hytter.
1108
01:22:09,703 --> 01:22:15,834
And they told me that Carl was dead.
1109
01:22:16,001 --> 01:22:21,965
Everybody in the room looked at me,
silently.
1110
01:22:22,091 --> 01:22:27,262
And I could tell instantly
that it was up to me and my response...
1111
01:22:29,098 --> 01:22:35,062
...to determine the entire atmosphere
that would surround everything
1112
01:22:35,187 --> 01:22:37,606
that would happen
subsequent to this announcement.
1113
01:22:37,731 --> 01:22:40,859
At first, I didn't understand
because it didn't make sense
1114
01:22:41,026 --> 01:22:45,030
because I still thought
he had jumped from Bruraskaret.
1115
01:22:45,239 --> 01:22:49,243
But then as the conversation proceeded,
1116
01:22:49,410 --> 01:22:52,621
that was when it was revealed
that he had jumped from Stabben.
1117
01:22:52,746 --> 01:22:57,042
And things started to fall into place
in a very different way.
1118
01:22:58,085 --> 01:23:06,468
So my response may not have been
what they expected because...
1119
01:23:08,387 --> 01:23:14,852
...I needed to put on the hat
of finding out what happened.
1120
01:23:14,977 --> 01:23:18,439
Carl and I were not just husband
and wife. We were professionals.
1121
01:23:18,605 --> 01:23:19,857
We were pioneers.
1122
01:23:19,982 --> 01:23:26,572
We were people working together
in something that was a vital activity.
1123
01:23:26,697 --> 01:23:31,160
And as a vital activity that other
people were participating in as well,
1124
01:23:31,326 --> 01:23:35,706
the necessity was to find out
what in the world happened.
1125
01:23:37,374 --> 01:23:39,418
He had a good exit.
1126
01:23:39,543 --> 01:23:42,796
But somehow obviously
got turned around into the cliff.
1127
01:23:42,921 --> 01:23:50,137
And that is not a site where
you have achieved the distance
1128
01:23:50,262 --> 01:23:53,265
from the cliff that you need
to be able to handle
1129
01:23:53,390 --> 01:23:57,686
being turned into the cliff
that soon upon opening.
1130
01:23:57,811 --> 01:24:03,650
I have a picture in my mind of him
lying here with his red helmet on.
1131
01:24:03,776 --> 01:24:07,821
A blue jacket and also the injuries.
1132
01:24:07,946 --> 01:24:15,370
He had many bad injuries
and serious injuries both in breast,
1133
01:24:15,496 --> 01:24:19,666
head and also the arms and the legs.
1134
01:24:19,792 --> 01:24:22,419
I think he died immediately.
1135
01:24:23,378 --> 01:24:30,969
I could see that it looked like Carl,
1136
01:24:31,094 --> 01:24:34,348
as far as the presence of the body.
1137
01:24:34,473 --> 01:24:39,978
But the real Carl
was absolutely clearly not there.
1138
01:24:40,103 --> 01:24:42,481
I have seen a lot of dead people,
and dying,
1139
01:24:42,606 --> 01:24:46,819
but this particular moment here
is one of the strongest moments
1140
01:24:46,944 --> 01:24:52,157
because of his visions, his dreams,
and what he did in Trollveggen.
1141
01:24:53,700 --> 01:24:58,580
What Carl did was something that
the whole country was interested in.
1142
01:24:58,747 --> 01:25:03,919
So it was... it was strange.
1143
01:25:04,044 --> 01:25:06,713
Touching.
1144
01:25:06,839 --> 01:25:09,174
It's about...
1145
01:25:10,133 --> 01:25:14,137
...limits. Living on the edge.
1146
01:25:14,346 --> 01:25:19,393
And, of course, his dreams as I said,
his vision,
1147
01:25:19,560 --> 01:25:22,729
and then suddenly he was here,
lying dead.
1148
01:25:22,855 --> 01:25:27,442
And you know, when they are here,
they are really dead.
1149
01:25:33,282 --> 01:25:37,536
JEAN: After that we got on a ferry
1150
01:25:37,661 --> 01:25:40,205
and it was just, you know, beautiful.
1151
01:25:41,832 --> 01:25:45,377
And I cried a little in the car.
1152
01:25:47,462 --> 01:25:51,383
And kept driving back to Åndalsnes
to Grüners' hytter.
1153
01:25:53,260 --> 01:25:55,470
A couple of days after Carl died
1154
01:25:55,596 --> 01:26:00,434
was the day that Erik Fenz
was planning on jumping.
1155
01:26:02,269 --> 01:26:06,565
There I was. I was going to jump off
the Troll Wall and Carl dies.
1156
01:26:06,690 --> 01:26:09,192
I'm just, like, holy shit.
1157
01:26:09,318 --> 01:26:12,779
But there was something that was,
you know,
1158
01:26:12,905 --> 01:26:15,490
there was something that was
bigger than the moment
1159
01:26:15,616 --> 01:26:19,328
that was driving me to want to continue.
1160
01:26:21,622 --> 01:26:26,001
JEAN: Word spread like wildfire
that Carl had died.
1161
01:26:27,461 --> 01:26:31,089
Very quickly people around the world
in the jumping community
1162
01:26:31,214 --> 01:26:32,633
knew what had happened.
1163
01:26:32,758 --> 01:26:37,804
And it really, really shocked
and shook so many people.
1164
01:26:37,930 --> 01:26:39,473
I said, "I want to still do it."
1165
01:26:41,058 --> 01:26:45,020
She was like, "I want to do it too.
With you. We're going to go do it."
1166
01:26:46,313 --> 01:26:54,696
Not wanting him to seem disrespectful
in making a jump,
1167
01:26:54,821 --> 01:27:00,994
it would remove any aura
of seeming disrespect
1168
01:27:01,119 --> 01:27:09,503
for me to be the one to be making a jump
first after Carl's death
1169
01:27:09,628 --> 01:27:15,092
to show people it's fine, it's OK.
1170
01:27:15,258 --> 01:27:19,888
Carl wanted everybody to get on
with their lives after he died
1171
01:27:20,013 --> 01:27:23,850
and that there was nothing wrong
with BASE jumping because of this.
1172
01:27:23,976 --> 01:27:27,813
We just had to learn from it and go on.
1173
01:28:04,516 --> 01:28:07,811
(WOMAN SPEAKING IN NORWEGIAN)
1174
01:28:22,200 --> 01:28:25,287
JEAN: As I was under canopy
coming down from that jump
1175
01:28:25,412 --> 01:28:29,124
I had my last personal time.
1176
01:28:29,291 --> 01:28:31,585
I had my last quiet time.
1177
01:28:31,710 --> 01:28:34,212
And I could see as I was coming in
for a landing
1178
01:28:34,337 --> 01:28:38,467
that there was a group
that had gathered.
1179
01:28:38,675 --> 01:28:43,680
And there was the prospect
of having to deal with the press.
1180
01:28:45,307 --> 01:28:49,895
Well, I'm a BASE jumper.
And I'm a professional.
1181
01:28:50,020 --> 01:28:55,192
And Carl wanted that no one
should miss a beat in their lives
1182
01:28:55,358 --> 01:28:59,154
if and when he died,
whenever that would have been.
1183
01:28:59,279 --> 01:29:01,364
And it didn't matter how.
1184
01:29:01,490 --> 01:29:03,950
Everybody goes through
the same things in life.
1185
01:29:04,076 --> 01:29:07,079
From the time they're born
to the time they die.
1186
01:29:07,204 --> 01:29:09,081
We all go through birth and death.
1187
01:29:09,206 --> 01:29:14,002
But we have had cultural pressures
about how to handle it.
1188
01:29:14,127 --> 01:29:16,713
What did you feel doing this jump today?
1189
01:29:16,838 --> 01:29:21,134
It was just like any other BASE jump.
It was the same.
1190
01:29:21,259 --> 01:29:24,679
Were you thinking of some special thing?
1191
01:29:24,805 --> 01:29:28,850
No. No. Nothing really special.
1192
01:29:28,975 --> 01:29:32,312
So you didn't have your husband in mind?
1193
01:29:32,437 --> 01:29:37,275
Well, under canopy I thought of him.
But that's really kind of personal.
1194
01:29:39,361 --> 01:29:45,700
Everyone has his own real way
of reacting. It will be individual.
1195
01:29:45,826 --> 01:29:51,498
And BASE jumping encourages people
to think as individuals,
1196
01:29:51,706 --> 01:29:55,335
to discover and explore
their individuality.
1197
01:29:55,460 --> 01:29:58,171
It is not unique to BASE jumping.
1198
01:29:58,296 --> 01:30:02,926
BASE jumping is just
a condensed version.
1199
01:30:04,386 --> 01:30:08,181
Somehow, in this earthly experience,
1200
01:30:08,348 --> 01:30:11,101
we have to depart.
1201
01:30:11,226 --> 01:30:15,438
There has been no one who has not
departed from this earthly experience.
1202
01:30:16,189 --> 01:30:20,986
So don't let death impede you
as a hurdle.
1203
01:30:21,111 --> 01:30:24,447
Don't let it be a wall
that you bang up against
1204
01:30:24,573 --> 01:30:27,367
and then can't see past,
can't see through,
1205
01:30:27,492 --> 01:30:29,911
can't see over.
1206
01:30:30,036 --> 01:30:33,999
Climb the walls quickly as you can
and go on.
1207
01:30:38,587 --> 01:30:40,463
We know everyone
doesn't want to do this
1208
01:30:40,589 --> 01:30:42,883
but if they see us do it,
they can be inspired
1209
01:30:43,008 --> 01:30:46,011
to go out and bowl a perfect 300 game
or mow the lawn.
1210
01:30:46,136 --> 01:30:49,264
It doesn't matter what.
They're encouraged by what we can do.
1211
01:30:49,389 --> 01:30:52,851
I think it makes, you know,
a better quality life for us
1212
01:30:52,976 --> 01:30:55,061
to know that we can do this.
1213
01:31:00,233 --> 01:31:02,194
You always wondered with Carl
1214
01:31:02,319 --> 01:31:04,487
that underneath, what's the real story?
1215
01:31:04,696 --> 01:31:07,407
What are those core beliefs
that would drive you to do that?
1216
01:31:07,532 --> 01:31:09,993
I got to think
it's that sort of mystical thing
1217
01:31:10,118 --> 01:31:12,746
where he thought that he could...
That mind-over-matter thing.
1218
01:31:12,871 --> 01:31:15,165
He was the one person
that could get away with it.
1219
01:31:15,290 --> 01:31:18,585
But the Troll Wall had other ideas.
1220
01:31:39,898 --> 01:31:42,901
JEAN: What deserves the praise?
1221
01:31:43,026 --> 01:31:45,403
Death doesn't deserve praise.
1222
01:31:45,528 --> 01:31:51,409
Life and the wondrous works that
we do in life from our good ideas,
1223
01:31:51,576 --> 01:31:54,329
those deserve the praise.
1224
01:31:54,454 --> 01:31:56,748
That's what we should be standing by.
1225
01:31:56,915 --> 01:32:00,377
That's what we should be
paying attention to.
1226
01:32:00,502 --> 01:32:03,213
And that's what Carl was all about.
1227
01:32:10,804 --> 01:32:15,850
Carl would love to have the new wing
suit flyers standing on his shoulders
1228
01:32:15,976 --> 01:32:18,061
and jumping off.
1229
01:32:19,479 --> 01:32:24,025
They have taken from what
he was trying to inspire in people
1230
01:32:24,150 --> 01:32:27,696
about breaking through
artificial limitations
1231
01:32:27,862 --> 01:32:33,910
and going beyond what people say
can or cannot be done.
1232
01:32:37,872 --> 01:32:42,127
He would be right there
with the wing suit flyers.
1233
01:32:42,252 --> 01:32:44,296
And, in essence, is.
1234
01:34:03,792 --> 01:34:05,585
(THE AIR THAT I BREATHE
BY THE HOLLIES)
1235
01:34:06,461 --> 01:34:12,217
If I could make a wish
1236
01:34:12,384 --> 01:34:17,013
I think I'd pass
1237
01:34:18,890 --> 01:34:25,730
Can't think of anything I need
1238
01:34:29,734 --> 01:34:34,531
No cigarettes, no sleep
1239
01:34:34,656 --> 01:34:41,246
No light, no sound
1240
01:34:41,371 --> 01:34:45,208
Nothing to eat
1241
01:34:45,333 --> 01:34:50,255
No books to read
1242
01:34:52,841 --> 01:34:56,302
Sometimes
1243
01:34:56,428 --> 01:35:00,557
All I need is the air that I breathe
1244
01:35:00,682 --> 01:35:03,977
And to love you
1245
01:35:04,269 --> 01:35:08,815
All I need is the air that I breathe
1246
01:35:08,982 --> 01:35:12,444
Yes, to love you
1247
01:35:13,278 --> 01:35:20,326
All I need is the air that I breathe
1248
01:35:40,889 --> 01:35:44,225
Sometimes
1249
01:35:44,350 --> 01:35:48,521
All I need is the air that I breathe
1250
01:35:48,646 --> 01:35:52,525
And to love you
1251
01:35:52,650 --> 01:35:56,946
All I need is the air that I breathe
1252
01:35:57,071 --> 01:36:01,075
Yes, to love you
1253
01:36:01,201 --> 01:36:08,625
All I need is the air that I breathe
1254
01:36:17,425 --> 01:36:21,012
Peace came upon me
1255
01:36:21,137 --> 01:36:27,519
And it leaves me weak
1256
01:36:28,186 --> 01:36:33,399
So sleep, silent angel
1257
01:36:33,525 --> 01:36:36,569
Go to sleep
1258
01:36:39,781 --> 01:36:43,201
Sometimes
1259
01:36:43,326 --> 01:36:47,247
All I need is the air that I breathe
1260
01:36:47,372 --> 01:36:50,250
And to love you
1261
01:36:51,626 --> 01:36:55,797
All I need is the air that I breathe
1262
01:36:55,922 --> 01:36:58,508
And to love you
1263
01:36:58,675 --> 01:37:01,386
(SUNSHINE SUPERMAN
BY DONOVAN)
1264
01:37:13,982 --> 01:37:16,818
Sunshine came softly
1265
01:37:16,985 --> 01:37:20,905
Through my a-window today
1266
01:37:22,198 --> 01:37:24,325
Could've tripped out easy
1267
01:37:24,450 --> 01:37:28,413
♪ But I've a-changed my ways
1268
01:37:29,789 --> 01:37:35,753
It'll take time, I know it
But in a while
1269
01:37:36,421 --> 01:37:40,341
You're gonna be mine, I know it
1270
01:37:40,466 --> 01:37:43,469
We'll do it in style
1271
01:37:43,595 --> 01:37:49,517
Cos I made my mind up
You're going to be mine
1272
01:37:49,642 --> 01:37:50,977
I'll tell you right now
1273
01:37:51,144 --> 01:37:54,981
Any trick in the book now, baby
1274
01:37:55,148 --> 01:37:57,817
All that I can find
1275
01:37:57,942 --> 01:38:00,403
Superman or Green Lantern
1276
01:38:00,528 --> 01:38:04,407
Ain't got a-nothin' on me
1277
01:38:05,783 --> 01:38:07,702
I can make like a turtle
1278
01:38:07,827 --> 01:38:13,041
And dive for your pearls in the sea
1279
01:38:13,249 --> 01:38:19,005
A-you can just sit there thinking
on your velvet throne
1280
01:38:19,172 --> 01:38:20,506
Yes
1281
01:38:20,632 --> 01:38:25,345
About all the rainbows a-you can
a-have for your own
1282
01:38:27,221 --> 01:38:33,186
Cos I've made my mind up
You're going to to be mine
1283
01:38:33,311 --> 01:38:34,937
I tell you right now
1284
01:38:35,146 --> 01:38:38,524
Any trick in the book a-now, baby
1285
01:38:38,650 --> 01:38:41,861
All that I can find
1286
01:38:41,986 --> 01:38:48,493
Everybody's hustlin'
a- just to have a little scene
1287
01:38:49,327 --> 01:38:51,245
When I say we'll be cool
1288
01:38:51,371 --> 01:38:54,999
I think that you know what I mean
1289
01:38:56,542 --> 01:38:59,837
We stood on a beach at sunset
1290
01:38:59,962 --> 01:39:02,924
Do you remember when?
1291
01:39:04,467 --> 01:39:07,553
I know a beach where, baby
1292
01:39:07,679 --> 01:39:10,431
A-it never ends
1293
01:39:10,598 --> 01:39:13,643
When you've made your mind up
1294
01:39:13,768 --> 01:39:16,979
Forever to be mine
1295
01:39:17,105 --> 01:39:18,606
Mm-mm-mm-mm
1296
01:39:18,731 --> 01:39:24,779
I'll pick up your hand
And slowly blow your little mind
1297
01:39:24,904 --> 01:39:28,074
Cos I made my mind up
1298
01:39:28,241 --> 01:39:31,119
You're going to be mine
1299
01:39:31,285 --> 01:39:32,620
I'll tell you right now
1300
01:39:32,745 --> 01:39:36,624
Any trick in the book a-now, baby
1301
01:39:36,749 --> 01:39:40,378
That I can find
1302
01:40:23,379 --> 01:40:29,343
Superman or Green Lantern
ain't got a-nothin' on me
1303
01:40:30,470 --> 01:40:32,638
I can make like a turtle
1304
01:40:32,764 --> 01:40:37,602
And dive for your pearls in the sea
Yep
1305
01:40:37,727 --> 01:40:39,771
A-you, you, you can just sit there
1306
01:40:39,896 --> 01:40:44,776
While thinking on your velvet throne
1307
01:40:44,901 --> 01:40:48,738
'Bout all the rainbows you can
1308
01:40:48,863 --> 01:40:51,699
A-have for your own
1309
01:40:51,824 --> 01:40:54,869
When you've made your mind up
1310
01:40:54,994 --> 01:40:57,830
Forever to be mine
1311
01:40:57,997 --> 01:40:59,665
Mm-mm-mm-mm
1312
01:40:59,791 --> 01:41:01,375
I'll pick up your hand
1313
01:41:01,501 --> 01:41:06,047
And slowly blow your little mind
1314
01:41:06,172 --> 01:41:09,300
When you've made your mind up
1315
01:41:09,467 --> 01:41:12,303
Forever to be mine
1316
01:41:12,428 --> 01:41:14,222
I'll pick up your hand
1317
01:41:14,388 --> 01:41:15,848
I'll pick up your hand
1318
01:41:15,973 --> 01:41:21,062
And slowly blow your little mind
1319
01:41:21,187 --> 01:41:24,065
Blow your little mind...
1320
01:41:24,732 --> 01:41:28,236
Subtitles: BTI Studios
1321
01:41:59,600 --> 01:41:59,892
English SDH