Rock jumping is extreme insanity

Why freeclimb an unclimbed spire when you can jump onto the top, then hop on over to another tower a moment later? I've watched extreme sports participants lay their lives on the line for BASE jumping and freeclimbing, but I've never heard of rock jumping -- until now.

Rock jumping has been around awhile, with the 1960s and 1970s described as the sport's golden age. Utilizing a grading system, a Grade 1 jump is a simple crossover from tower-to-tower, while a rarely landed, extremely dangerous Grade 4 does not offer a flat surface, requiring Spiderjumper to grab crevices on the opposite wall. Many climb with safety ropes, which isn't much comfort considering an all-common miss can mean splintered bones when adrenaline-juiced souls slam into the wall of the base tower. Then there are those who jump without a safety rope ... let's not even go there.

Only one Grade 5 has ever been recorded. Milan Zdvooily, a Czech who calls himself Oxygen, jumped a near-10 foot gaping crevasse separating two 100-foot sandstone spires. He landed on a targeted crevice, his body leaned precariously back, then he grabbed a small tree branch and declared victory. Sheesh, rock jumpers must have an insatiable thirst for adrenaline.