There is no Super Bowl of wingsuit flying, skiing, or climbing. Athletes are free to define—and push the limits in—their pursuits however they want. This freedom is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it fosters a creative, artistic approach to these amazing objectives. On the other hand, it has resulted in a culture that constantly needs to take bigger risks, make bolder decisions, and ride narrower margins of safety.

For some athletes, the fame, attention, and corporate sponsorships that come from pushing the boundaries help eke out a living—often a modest one. Reaching a certain level of notoriety or significance in most of adventure/extreme sports, however, has gotten exponentially harder, if also more dangerous.

“I think that as soon as you make being an ‘action-sports athlete’ your profession, there’s a huge risk factor,” says Robb Gaffney, a psychiatrist based in Squaw Valley, California, arguably the definitive action-sports capital of the U.S. The Lake Tahoe region, including Squaw, has been hit hard in recent years as many of its local athletes have died pushing the limits.

“I think that the biggest factor for action-sports athletes is the fantasy of their identity as an action-sports athlete. Most of these athletes aren’t making any money. In fact they might not even have health insurance,” Gaffney adds. “And yet they’re still doing something that could potentially kill them.”

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/why-are-so-many-base-jumpers-dying