Stein Edvardsen saw Kjerag on a postcard in a Stavanger shop in 1992 and spent two years figuring out if it was jumpable. In October 1994, he and friends found out and reports of the cliff's unusually long delays spread fast through the Nordic BASE scene. By 1995, exits 1–7 were open and nearly 400 jumps logged, prompting Stein and Thor Alex to found the Norwegian BASE Association (NBA), formally established in February 1996.
The first BASE course launched in Lysebotn in 1996. When incidents threatened Kjerag's future, the NBA responded with formal guidelines and closer coordination with police and rescue teams — keeping the cliffs open, but raising the bar. By 1999, 2,850 jumps were recorded and local businesses backed the activity; the case for shutting Kjerag down was fading. Proof came in 2001 with zero fatalities, and in 2002 the Pendulator exit trainer was introduced and mandatory refresher training for less experienced jumpers — cementing the framework that still defines Kjerag today.
1998 saw the first Heliboogie at Kjerag — a week of helicopter-assisted jumping that grew into one of the most celebrated gatherings in the global BASE community. Smellveggen opened in 2000, but the bigger news happened off the cliff: local jumpers founded Stavanger B.A.S.E Klubb that December, tightening experience requirements and taking ownership of the site's future. By 2003, 2,050 jumps and just a few minor incidents proved the system was working, and through 2004 SBK expanded landing zones, improved trail access, and added rental gear — turning Lysebotn into one of the most professional BASE destinations in the world.
More than 30 years after a postcard in a Stavanger shop started it all, Stein, his wife Brit, and co-owner Kim decided it was time to pass SBK into new hands. Enter Björn Cederberg — medical doctor, engineer, and yet to do his very first BASE jump at the time of signing. Björn and his partner Shia now run SBK, with big visions for what comes next: reinvesting and renovating, building it bigger and better, and running revised First Jump Courses to help even more people experience the wonders of jumping at Kjerag. What happens next is anyone's guess. Just the way BASE jumpers like it.
