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Carmel Magazine HO15

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As if skydiving from airplanes doesn't sound stimulating enough, Currie is also an aficionado of BASE jumping (Bridge Antenna Span and Earth). It means exactly what it sounds like: Currie and her friends strap on parachutes, climb to the top of buildings and communica- tions towers, walk out onto soaring bridges and stand at the edge of cliffs and…jump off. Earth is her favorite. "Jumping from a cliff is by far the most pro- found," Currie explains. "Not many people have stood at the top of an antenna, but we've all stood at the edge of an abyss and looked down, thinking about what it would be like to fall. The difference with me is that I take that step off into the thin air." Sometimes, Currie steps off that cliff wearing a wingsuit. Also known as a "squirrelsuit" or "bat- suit," a wingsuit is a jumpsuit that incorporates material stretching between the jumper's legs and between the arms and torso. This creates enough lift to allow a person to soar through the air like a glider. It's probably the closest humans have come yet to actual flying. "Jumping off a cliff with a wingsuit is fantastic," Currie says. Recently, she and several colleagues journeyed to Switzerland, flying at one of the sport's preemi- nent locations, Lauterbrunnen. "I did 62 wingsuit jumps in three and a half weeks," she says. It may be prudent to mention one fact about BASE jumping: "In the United States, it's general- ly illegal in some form or another," Currie says. "That's because it usually involves trespassing. But in Europe, we were welcomed like the pro- fessional athletes we are." In October, Currie ventured to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to jump from the 1,300 foot KL Tower—a sanctioned, legal event involving BASE jumpers from around the world. As may be evident by now, Currie is not one to sit on the sidelines and watch others have all the fun. She's always looking for a new twist; another way to push the envelope. That's why she has also combined her love of skydiving with her skills as an aerial silks artist. The sight of this svelte woman performing while suspended thousands of feet above the earth is as breath- taking as it is heart stopping. "The reason I am like I am is that I came from an adventurous fam- ily," Currie says. It will be interesting to see where that adventurousness takes her next. Also a rock climber, Currie sometimes scales the cliffs she eventually jumps from. "Jumping off cliffs with a wingsuit is fantasic," she enthuses. Here, she soars above Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, in one of the 62 jumps she performed there last summer. C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 5 135 Photo: Dan Dupuis

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