GOVERNMENT CAMP — They call it the “walk of shame.”

Some who pay as much as $30 to bungee jump at the Mt. Hood Adventure Park at Ski Bowl just do not have the courage (some would call it stupidity) to fling themselves off the 80-foot-high platform.

“Then they just spent $30 to walk down the stairs,” said Graham Olson, who helps operate the free-fall bungee tower.

There are no refunds, so those who pay — to borrow a phrase from the Van Halen song — might as well jump. But it can be intimidating to stand up there looking straight down at the huge air bag on the ground far below — there just in case. Some take a long time to attain the right state of mind for the jump.

Or to forget it and take the walk of shame.

“One guy did seven jumps in one day,” said Greg Aldrich, a manager at the adventure park. “People are real confident after one time. But I’ve also had the burliest of men go up there and walk back down. We give everybody a lot of time. We’re part motivational speakers and life coaches up there.”

Bungee jumping involves leaping off a high structure while attached to a sturdy elastic cord. The cord absorbs the energy of the fall, then snaps back to lift the jumper back into the air (and dropping him or her again) several times.

The bungee tower at Mount Hood’s Ski Bowl — open weekends through the end of this month — is the only free-standing structure in the state that was built specifically for bungee jumping, according to Aldrich.

In Central Oregon, thrill seekers reportedly have bungee-jumped off the 300-foot-high Crooked River Bridge at the Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint just north of Terrebonne. But bungee jumping there is against Oregon State Park rules.

“We’ve had (bungee jumpers) get stuck, and search and rescue has to come get them,” said Larry Miller, region 4 manager for Oregon State Parks. “We’re trying to enforce that as much as we can. Some of them do get away with it, but it’s not supposed to happen there.”

At 80 feet, the free fall from the bungee tower at Ski Bowl is relatively short. Many other bungee-jumping locations around the world boast jumps of more than 300 feet.

But there is nothing short about 80 feet for the first-timer who walks the staircase up the metal tower at Ski Bowl, straps into a harness and looks out over the platform.

“It’s intimidating,” Olson said. “It doesn’t look that high from below. But everything looks higher from the top. I think it helps (ease fear of heights). But some people just can’t take that jump.”

Those who do make that first jump, however, often return for that fleeting adrenaline surge and the exhilarating feeling of weightlessness.

“For almost two seconds, you feel completely free, and not bound to anything,” Olson said. “That’s what brings people back.”

At the adventure park, bungee jumpers wear a harness — similar to one worn by rock climbers, but with shoulder straps. A carabiner on the front of the harness attaches to a nylon strap on the bungee cord. The part of the cord closest to the jumper is affixed to a thick yellow pad, which serves to keep the jumper from becoming tangled in the cord.

Josh Vollmer, who lives not far from the mountain in Rhododendron, was making just his second bungee jump ever on Sunday at Ski Bowl. He was ready and willing, but not without that feeling of anxiety that comes with most every jump.

“My feeling is that my gut is going to jump into my throat,” said the 20-year-old Vollmer, peering over the edge of the platform, “and it’s going to feel good.”

Standing next to Vollmer on the jump platform, the operator yelled, “Three … two … one, Bungee!” Vollmer leaped off the edge with a scream. He dropped close to the air bag, then flew back up again, nearly reaching the platform as he let out another shout of joy.

Back on terra firma a few minutes later, Vollmer described his jump:

“It was a massive adrenaline rush. You’re either going to commit, or you’re not. If you’re afraid of heights, this is one of the best ways to get over it. When you bounce back up, you get a sense of no gravity.”

While Vollmer is relatively new to bungee jumping, there are those who have jumped so many times it becomes almost routine.

Olson said that he and other employees at the adventure park make as many as 20 jumps per day.

“It gets cold up here when nobody’s jumping, so we stay warm by going up and down,” he said.

But that first leap of the day always stirs up some butterflies, according to Derek Eudaly, another employee.

“When I make my morning jump,” Eudaly said, “I’m a little shaky.”

As dark clouds moved in around Mount Hood and rain began to fall, one potential jumper considered making her first bungee jump.

Rory Mehlman, a 27-year-old from Brightwood, decided she would try it. Her harness clipped onto the bungee cord, she stood on the edge of the platform, trying to summon the courage to leap.

“Come on, Rory!” her friends shouted from below.

“Why did I do this?” she asked no one in particular.

“Is it better if you close your eyes or not?”

Finally, she said solemnly, “I can’t do it.”

With that, she stepped away from the brink and made the long, slow walk down the steps of the metal tower.

The walk of shame.

Bungee jumping

What: Free fall bungee tower at the Mt. Hood Adventure Park at Ski Bowl.

Where: Government Camp, off Highway 26 near Mount Hood.

When: Bungee tower is open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., weather permitting, through the end of the month.

Cost: $30, but price is less expensive with an adventure park pass.

Restrictions: Bungee jumpers must weigh between 80 and 240 pounds. Minors must have a legal guardian present to sign a release form.

Contact: www.skibowl.com or 1-503-222-2695.