Traditional sports like baseball, football, basketball and soccer just don't cut it for some people. The fun of tossing around a ball doesn't compare to the fun of free-falling from 10,000 feet in the air or surfing a 50-foot monster wave. Adrenaline junkies seem to yearn for activities that include the lingering prospect of death despite the fact that, well, they could die. Each of the extreme sports listed below provide that thrill, causing onlookers to wonder whether the participants are extremely brave or extremely stupid.
  1. BASE Jumping: BASE Jumping is bungee jumping without the bungee and skydiving without the plane. The sport involves jumping from a Bridge, Antenna, Span, or Earth � or cliff � while depending on a parachute to reach the ground safely. After a person has successfully jumped from each of those locations, they're awarded a BASE number. Currently, more than 1,400 BASE numbers have been issued since 1981 � impressive given the risk involved with the activity. Because BASE jumpers fall from lower altitudes than skydivers, they experience less aerodynamic control and risk tumbling, which often proves to be fatal.
  2. Highlining: The daredevils who participate in highlining must possess exceptional balance and intense focus. The sport is a version of slacklining, which differs from tightrope walking in that the line is less rigid, though highlining requires using a line that's extra-strong for safety purposes. Typically, highliners perform the stunt in the mountains or between buildings, risking a sudden fall with a single ill-conceived move. Most highliners choose to use a harness in order to ensure a mistake isn't deadly, but the real thrill-seekers choose to do it unleashed.
  3. Cliff Diving: The demise of ABC's "Wide World of Sports" has resulted in decreased interest in cliff diving in the US. At one time, it was one of the most awe-inspiring televised events, displaying human gracefulness and fortitude. The La Quebrada Cliff Divers were made famous on the show, diving from 95-foot cliffs in Acapulco before a curious American television audience. The sport has recently enjoyed somewhat of an increase in worldwide popularity due to the creation of the yearly Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
  4. Wingsuit Flying: It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's a wingsuit flyer! The recent invention of the wingsuit has given humans the opportunity to experience the thrill of flight without restraint. Upon exiting a plane, the flyer remains in the relative wind. The design of the suit and the flyer's body shape manipulation determine the rate of the fall and speed at which they move forward. Eventually, a parachute � the same type used by skydivers � is deployed at a preselected altitude. Wingsuits aren't limited to just skydivers � many BASE jumpers use the suit as well.
  5. Skysurfing: Bored skydivers or bored surfers may consider partaking in skysurfing. The sport is self-explanatory � it involves jumping out of a plane thousands of feet above the ground with a board attached to your feet. The surfing style is a combination of aerobatics and maneuvers typically exhibited while riding the waves. During the late '90s, the most talented skysurfers in the world competed in the X Games, propelling the sport to its peak in popularity. But since it was dropped from the Games in 2000, would-be skysurfers have gravitated toward newer skydiving-based sports.
  6. Volcano Surfing: The young Cerro Negro Volcano in Nicaragua is characterized by wide and somewhat steep border of ash and rocks that perfectly facilitates the new sport of volcano surfing. Adrenaline junkies from all over the world gather there to partake in the one-of-a-kind experience. Like snowboarding or skiing, volcano surfing includes the ever-present risk of tumbling down the steep incline, but instead of snow breaking your fall, you must endure the unforgiving gravely surface.
  7. Tow-in Surfing: There isn't a wave too massive for big-wave surfers Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama and Buzzy Kerbox, which is why they invented tow-in surfing. A personal watercraft tows a skilled surfer into the most challenging part of a breaking wave they couldn't otherwise reach without assistance. Maui is the best known spot for the sport because waves can reach higher than 50 feet, enticing ambitious surfers who want a challenge most other beaches can't offer.
  8. Train Surfing: YouTube has popularized trainsurfing, making the dangerous prank into a source of minute-long jaw-dropping entertainment for viewers worldwide. The sport has become a major issue in parts of Europe, South Africa and India, where numerous young people have been killed after falling off or hitting overhead electric wires, polls and tunnels. Even still, the excitement of balancing atop a fast-moving train is too enticing to resist for some thrill-seekers.
  9. Street Luge: It may not seem as intimidating as the aforementioned gravity-defying sports, but street luge can be just as death-defying. Imagine traveling down an interstate highway at posted speeds while lying on an oversize skateboard. The only protection you're afforded is a helmet and a leather suit. One misstep and you'll be sliding across the pavement until you meet the nearest object on the side of the road. Sound appealing? Believe it or not, some consider this sport lame compared to the others listed.
  10. Speed Skiing: Hitting the slopes for the first time can be a scary endeavor for novice skiers, but that's nothing compared to what speed skiers have to endure as they travel more than 100 mph down a steep course. And 100 mph is a snail's pace compared to the sport's 156.2 mph world speed record set by Italian Simone Origone in 2006. That's among the fastest speeds traveled by man on land without a motor.