BASE jumping leaps into mainstream

For one Saturday every fall, the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va., transforms into a human launch pad. It's known as Bridge Day, the largest event in the world dedicated to a sport that defines the word extreme.

Keep clicking to see some of the vertigo-inducing scenes seen at the 2012 event.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

While it's illegal in most states in the U.S., BASE jumping is defined as a free fall parachuted jump off a fixed object. BASE stands for the origin of the jumps: a building, antennae, span (or bridge), or the earth itself.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Tandem BASE jumping

Previously, BASE jumping required a big investment of time and money, but tandem BASE jumping, as seen here, is on the rise.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Tandem BASE jumping

Tandem skydiving took off in the 1990s and today, there are more than 500,000 tandem jumps annually across the U.S. Those looking to let rookies take part in BASE jumping hope for the same for their sport.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A view from the bridge on Bridge Day in Fayetteville, W. Va. Bridge Day is the largest event in the world dedicated to BASE jumping.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Bridge Day participants in free fall after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Alex Boylan and a "CBS This Morning" cameraman talk with Ronnie Franklin, who was a paratrooper in Vietnam, and since then has always wanted to BASE jump. With the advent of tandem BASE jumping he was finally able to do so. Watch his jump in the "CBS This Morning" report.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

CBS News used these GoPro cameras to capture the action for the "CBS This Morning" feature on tandem BASE jumping.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Alex Boylan, seen here, is the reporter seen in the "CBS This Morning" piece. He used a GoPro camera, attached to his helmet to capture his first tandem BASE jump.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant in free fall after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Bridge Day participants seen after their parachute is pulled below the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Watching the jumps

All eyes are fixed on the skies as BASE jumpers participate in Bridge Day in West Virginia.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

BASE Jumping in Fayetteville, West Virginia

Some BASE jumpers on Bridge Day, like the one seen here, perform a back flip to start their free fall descent.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Other participants on Bridge Day in Fayetteville, W.Va., launch themselves from a catapult to add another thrilling element to their BASE jump.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A BASE jumper is seen just prior to his catapult jump on Bridge Day in Fayetteville, W.Va. Keep clicking to see each stage of the jump.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

The catapult is released an the BASE jumper flies with the mechanism. The catapult throws the jumper backward into a flip and subsequently into his descent.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Free fall off second tallest U.S. bridge

A Bridge Day participant in free fall after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A birds-eye view of BASE jumping

Bridge Day participants after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant in free fall after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant sports a helmet prior to his jump from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant sports a helmet prior to his jump from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

On the way up to the jump

Bridge Day photographers capture the jumps from a suspended area above the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Tandem BASE jumping

Supporters of the sport hope that tandem base jumping may have the same effect, in terms of popularizing the sport, as tandem skydiving had in the 1990s.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant begins a free fall above spectators who are standing on the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant begins his free fall in a fetal position off the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant in free fall after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant in free fall after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

Bridge Day participants in free fall after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes

A Bridge Day participant in free fall after jumping from the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, W. Va.

Tandem BASE jumping new trend for extreme athletes