FAYETTEVILLE - Lee Moser of Sterling, Virginia, doesn't look down when he jumps off bridges.
Moser, an avid skydiver who made his first-ever BASE jump last year off the New River Gorge Bridge, likes to look up instead.
"The moment you jump off, you become extremely aware of every ounce of being," Moser said. "The acceleration factor is what keeps me coming back, because you can feel the force."
For Moser, West Virginia's Bridge Day - and jumping off high things in general - is a family affair. He got the thrill-seeking gene from his dad, Chuck, who jumps with him.
"This is the most exciting thing you'll ever do in your life," Chuck said.
Last year, Lee was only able to get three jumps in because of how crowded it was. This year, he was hoping for five because, this year, he didn't have to wait in line.
Moser said that, normally, the 400 tickets allocated for BASE jumpers sell out right away. This year, they only sold 180 tickets and only 120 people showed up.
Last spring, it was announced that the West Virginia State Police would require all BASE jumpers, rappellers and vendors participating in Bridge Day to get their fingers scanned. In response, members of the BASE community created a "New Bridge Day," in Twin Falls, Idaho, which eventually was canceled.
For those who did show up in West Virginia, many still weren't happy about the new security policies.
Some of the jumpers at the event, like the Mosers, were able to avoid the fingerprinting by paying 10 dollars for a background check, a compromise the Bridge Day committee made this summer after the jumpers were threatening not to show up.
"We're wasting all of our tax dollars on all of this security for a false sense of security," said James Davis, 35, of Cincinnati, who was at Bridge Day for the fifth time.
But jumpers took advantage of the low turnout.
Matt Green, 25, also of Cincinnati, was able to get four jumps in easily. Another jumper, Kurt Smith, of Youngstown, Ohio, got in five.
On his last jump, Smith released himself from his chute 20 feet above the water - on purpose.
"They better buy me beer," he said, sopping wet, walking in stocking feet back to the packing area.
Yellow school buses returned jumpers from the landing zone deep inside the gorge to the bridge deck, driving them past dozens of vendors, ranging from Bath Fitters to local artists.
Spectators lined the edge of the bridge, letting out gasps as they watched the jumpers dive and flip off a large wooden platform.
One of those spectators was Brian Loos, of Richmond, Virginia, who was at Bridge Day to raft whitewater with his wife. They had rafted the gorge before, in the summer, but they wanted to come back this fall to see the jumpers while they rafted.
"I think they're a heck of a lot more gutsy than I'll ever be," Loos said.
Toward the middle of the day, the wind picked up on the bridge, causing even those gutsy jumpers to take a pause.
Among them was Jamie Flynn, who won the Extreme BASE World Championships in 2012. He's a professional BASE jumper, and Bridge Day is just one of his stops before he heads west for Colorado, Utah and Arizona.
Flynn, of London, England, said he pays attention to the trees near where he would let his parachute out, to determine if he wants to jump. On Saturday, they were circling a little, meaning that the wind was unpredictable.
"Before every single jump, I look at every single possibility and then I make the decision if it's worth it," Flynn said.
Paul Seamann, the director of operations for the medical tent, appreciated that the jumpers were being cautious. Seamann directs the 50 medical personnel and 16 ambulances at the bottom of the bridge. Most of the time, they're sitting around, but when someone gets hurt, they're able to get there quickly. Usually, they get about 15 to 25 injuries. This year, only four people had been taken to the hospital for orthopedic injuries.
"The one thing we know is they're grateful," Seamann said. "Because, a lot of times in this sport, they're miles away from help."
A little bit away from the medical tent was the Moser family. Katie Moser, Lee's wife, was there with their 3-year-old son, Ethan, and Chuck's wife, Linda.
The whole family skydives, except for the kids, although Linda has given it up.
"When I quit, I cried for two years," Linda said. "It's so beautiful in the sky."
The Mosers were waiting for Lee and Chuck to jump. They had missed their first jump in the morning and the two hadn't jumped since, because of the wind.
They were stuck until almost the very end when, at 2:30 in the afternoon, two jumpers leapt off the bridge and Chuck and Lee's parachutes filled the sky.
When Lee hit the ground and walked toward his family, Ethan called out to him and the two shared a hug.
"He said earlier, 'I'm going to jump off the bridge, too, just like Daddy,' " Katie said. "But I said, 'not yet.' "
Reach Daniel Desrochers at Dan.Desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @drdesrochers on Twitter.