DAREDEVILS TEMPT LAW, FATE WITH JUMPS : ILLEGAL LEAPS GAIN POPULARITY.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

William Oxx has a fishing pole propped in a corner next to a pair of skis, a book on deep-sea diving decorating his coffee table and shelves lined with books on just about every region in the world.

Pictures of him free falling into clear skies and rocky canyons, snow-covered valleys and crystal-blue lakes sit in stunning stacks atop the television and fireplace mantel. And that's just his living room.

A daredevil and outdoorsman by nature, it is his love of jumping that brings the Thousand Oaks native both recognition and trouble.

Oxx, 36, performs stunts most commonly found in James Bond movies or Nike commercials - stunts that have made him one of the nation's premier parachutists.

In a rapid, booming voice he rattles off why he loves to jump. He loves the beauty of it, looking down at everything below. And he loves the thrill, testing the limits of life.

``Sky sports are inherently dangerous,'' Oxx said. ``I jump to fully celebrate life. Life is such a precious gift. To waste it away, sitting on the couch, watching TV, going out in cyberspace, drinking or doing drugs. . . . You're going to look back and see you've wasted all this precious time.''

So Oxx has chosen to regularly jump from 2,000 feet elevation or less with only a parachute protecting him from below. (In contrast, sky divers drop thousands of feet and release their parachutes at 2,000 feet, Oxx said.)

Oxx's sport, called BASE jumping because enthusiasts originally tried to parachute from buildings, antennae, bridge spans and earth structures, has not been welcomed by the National Park Service, which protects almost all cliffs appropriate for jumping in the United States.

As a result, the sport has become practically illegal in the United States, Oxx said. At Yosemite, for instance, BASE jumpers caught parachuting off El Capitan, a favorite spot considered one of the best in the world for the sport, are fined $1,500 and have their equipment confiscated. The equipment runs about $3,000, Oxx said.

Yosemite originally allowed BASE jumping in 1981 during limited hours in the morning, said Scott Gediman, a spokesman for the park. Officials ended the practice after one person died and several were injured, Oxx said.

And there are still problems with people sneaking to the top of the cliff at night for a chance to jump, Gediman said. ``We've had a lot of serious injuries,'' he said.

The sport has evolved since its invention in 1981. It was originally a challenge for parachutists to jump from all four types of structures.

But because the sport has become controversial, BASE jumping enthusiasts discourage jumpers from parachuting from buildings or antennae because doing so requires them to trespass, Oxx said.

That leaves spans and earth, or bridges and cliffs. Oxx said the safest, most enjoyable jumps are often at national parks, specifically created to protect natural beauty. Oxx argues that it is exactly what BASE jumpers seek for their leaps.

And it is why Oxx and his friends travel to France, Spain and other countries to jump. Oxx pays for his trips by working as an airline pilot and a reserve pilot trainer for the U.S. Navy. He also works as a stuntman, a BASE jumping instructor and a guide for rock and ice climbs.

``Everywhere else we go, there's no regulation,'' Oxx said. ``People in Europe know there's an inherent danger involved with mountains and they respect that. The more you travel away from home, the more you appreciate it, but you also see the government's need to regulate. They make up laws and rules, but they need to leave it to the jumper's judgment.''

National Park officials don't think cliff jumping is an appropriate use of the parks, Oxx said.

Two years ago Oxx and some friends were arrested after jumping into Lake Powell in Utah and charged with illegal air delivery. Usually, jumpers just pay the fine that goes along with the citation. But Oxx decided to fight.

Arguing that jumping has nothing to do with delivery and only with recreational flight, Oxx won agreement from a federal judge who dismissed the case last month.

``(The U.S. attorneys) kept asking me, `Why are you fighting this? Why don't you pay the fine like everybody else?' '' Oxx said. ``You finally get to an age where you say, `I'm tired of this. I'm going to fight this. I didn't do anything wrong.' ''

Now Oxx is questioning whether the National Park Service will be allowed to use existing laws to prevent them from jumping.

BASE jumping is like any other new daredevil sport that takes time to gain acceptance, Oxx said. But its time will come, he said.

``Look at skateboarders. You see them fall, hit the pavement hard, see them banging around, and you think - hey, what's the fun in that?'' Oxx said. ``Don't try to understand it. They have fun. It's not going to go away.''

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Photo: (color in CONEJO edition only) BASE jumpers John Oxx , left, and his brother William of Thousand Oaks were cleared of illegal air delivery charges stemming from a parachute jump into Lake Powell in Utah.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News