BASE-jumper at DZ`s

[Faber 0]

Any experience about beeing a BASE-jumper at a DZ?
I`ve just found out that im out in the cold.I have been a BASE jumper for aprox 5month,but have been quiet about it.Afther my accident 2 month ago,most of the DZ found out what im up to.Before that i were going to be a S/T-instructer and Tandem marster,but now they dont want me
I concider changing DZ,but will have to move out of my region(will have to travel 100km for jumping instead of 25km).
I think this so sad,i like my DZ.But will newer go futher in my Skydive carere if i dont move...
Go Hard!!!
Stefan Faber

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[CrazyThomas 0]

Don't let the politics get to you. Sounds almost like you live in America. Some people don't like your life choices, so they what? decide to discriminate you in their own secretive ways. Too bad it is obvious what they are doing.
Don't give in so easy. Show them that you are not a quitter, and not so easily swayed by their comments or actions.
Peace,
Thomas

[CrazyThomas 0]

Faber,
Not to sound too pessimistic here, but consider this:
Wait until the BASE jumpers you thought were your friends turn on you. Then, you see who really is a friend, and who was just pretending friendship while things were good.
Because real friends will and do stick with you through good and bad times. Happiness and sadness, I can count on my REAL friends to be there for me to talk with. Even if I am rambling non-sense, or threatening my life, my real friends will endure and listen. They may not like what they hear, or like listening to me, but they WILL listen because they know I would do the same for them.
So, if you just want someone to talk with, talk with a friend. I find good things when I trust someone enough to tell them about the not-so-sweet parts of my life.
Friends. What a great concept. I should thank somebody for that idea. Thanks Friends!
Peace,
Thomas

[TomAiello 25]

This is a major problem for BASE jumpers in some places. For example, I know of one national parachuting authority that will revoke skydiving licenses if the holders participate in legal BASE jumps in foreign countries.

After I took up BASE, I spent less time (and money) at my home DZ. Shortly thereafter, the DZO decided that I was not a positive addition to his DZ, and asked me to leave. While this was unfortunate, it is his DZ, and he is free to make decisions about who can jump there for any reason, including their off-DZ activities (he once threw a four way team off his DZ for drinking beer out of glass bottles).

I guess this is just a case of having to make a decision about what is important to you--this particular DZ, or BASE. I picked BASE, and this incident was pretty much the end of my skydiving career. Now, a few years later, I am thinking of picking up skydiving again, at a different (and more BASE friendly) DZ.

My advice is to move to the next DZ, hope they have better attitudes about BASE, and keep jumping. I doubt it's worth putting any more effort into your old DZ. They have made their feelings clear, and you probably won't be able to change them.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[rfarris 1]

okay Faber....I couln't pass on this one.

This has "Jerry Springer" all over it. ( Sorry ,just a little American humor.)

Sounds to me like something is missing from this episode, though. I mean, are they against you because of your BASE jumping, or is it that, plus something else?
I have a hard time imagining why a DZ would discriminate against you just for being a BASE jumper, who had an accident and got injured.

There are alot of BASE jumpers here in the States that hold ratings such as ST&A, Tandem, AFF, etc...., and are active in those postitions.

One thing I'd deffinately not do, is move to a different DZ. Stand your ground. Hang in there dude! You've got the best of both worlds going for you. You want to progress in the great sport of skydiving, and, you want to continue BASE jumping.
I know this does not help you much, but, I don't think anyone else but you knows the answer to your problem.

Rod

[TomAiello 25]

Quote

I have a hard time imagining why a DZ would discriminate against you just for being a BASE jumper

I don't have trouble with that at all. The USPA is a bit nicer now, but historically, their attitude toward BASE has been far from accepting. Last I heard, the BPA was even worse. Don't even get me started on Finland...

I have been to several DZ's that openly discriminate against BASE jumpers. It's just a fact of life.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[CrazyThomas 0]

>> okay Faber....I couln't pass on this one.

This has "Jerry Springer" all over it. ( Sorry ,just a little American humor.)
Sounds like BASE board. Why even say that? Maybe he has no clue what Jerry Springer is, so how would he enjoy the joke? Or are we just being American and thinking we are funny?

>>Sounds to me like something is missing from this episode, though. I mean, are they against you because of your BASE jumping, or is it that, plus something else?
Wow, another good american comment. Always paranoid someone is hiding something from us.

>> I have a hard time imagining why a DZ would discriminate against you just for being a BASE jumper, who had an accident and got injured.
That is why you failed.--Master Yoda.
Why have a hard time believing this? People are people. Some are good, and some are evil. Do you believe also that every police officer follows the laws and rules in enforcing the laws? I hope you don't fall into that trap. There ARE corrupt police out there, and I hope for everyone's sake, noone has to run across one. They are not fun, nor fair to deal with. Phone call to a lawyer? Yeah, right. I tried that argument also, but it didn't work.

>>There are alot of BASE jumpers here in the States that hold ratings such as ST&A, Tandem, AFF, etc...., and are active in those postitions.
Aaahhh....America the wasteful. But those BASE jumpers holding those ratings most likely have to break laws to BASE jump. So USPA allows law breakers to have ratings? What a great double standard. Hipocrites!

>> One thing I'd deffinately not do, is move to a different DZ. Stand your ground. Hang in there dude! You've got the best of both worlds going for you. You want to progress in the great sport of skydiving, and, you want to continue BASE jumping.
I know this does not help you much, but, I don't think anyone else but you knows the answer to your problem.
How do you know that doesn't help him? What if that is what everyone is telling him? Another sticking point, here:
>>You want to progress in the great sport of skydiving, and, you want to continue BASE jumping.
What, BASE jumping is not a great sport? Look at what forum you made that comment in. Not a skydiver's forum. Have you ever BASE jumped? I believe it is the BEST sport there is. One reason, is we are self regulated. Try that with USPA.
Sorry. I didn't mean to flame you Rod. Or seem like I was being mean. I just wanted both sides of the story out on the table.
Fair enough?
Peace,
Thomas

[Jessica 0]

Quote

I have been to several DZ's that openly discriminate against BASE jumpers. It's just a fact of life.

Then there's a DZO I know of who let a BASE jumper go up on a tandem backwards then unhook at 1K and hop off. Yeeha!

Skydiving is for cool people only

[TomAiello 25]

Quote

Then there's a DZO I know of who let a BASE jumper go up on a tandem backwards then unhook at 1K and hop off. Yeeha!

Oooh. Where do you live? Can I come and play, too?

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[rfarris 1]

No flame taken "Crazy Thomas".

And yes, BASE jumping is a great sport. Just as skydiving is. That was the meaning of my statement, had it been taken in context.

And true, I know this is a BASE forum, which before Nov. 1st, was predominately a skydiving forum board hosted on Dropzone.com

Rod

[cpoxon 0]

Quote

I don't have trouble with that at all. The USPA is a bit nicer now, but historically, their attitude toward BASE has been far from accepting. Last I heard, the BPA was even worse. Don't even get me started on Finland...

It's not so bad these days. Two (at least, to my knowledge) of the current Council (equivalent of the USPA BOD) of nine are jumpers (one of whom I believe was there when "Frank was pushed"?). It's still a bit of a grey area. Officially, the two sports have nothing to do with each other but as a lot of fixed-object jumpers are also skydivers in the UK (and therefore a member of the BPA) they are technically at the mercy of the Council if in their opinions they have bought the sport "into disrepute".

[460 0]

At my old DZ, which is out of business now, they let me go up in an unterthered hot air balloon and exit from 1000' with a single parachute base rig!!! We even had pictures of base jumping on the walls near the manifest!

Ahh, the beer stories and body shots I could you tell you about. I wish they were still around.

Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

[PhreeZone 14]

There was a place letting jumpers out of Balloons from what ever altitude they wanted out for a bit this summer. They were allowed to take any rig they wanted. I saw some Base and regular skydiving rigs on those loads. Some wingsuit jumpers on base rigs going out at 5k and flying till 500.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[3fLiEr 0]

I find the negative attitude from people at the DZ mainly steams from jealousy. Suddenly you are involved in something they can not do / wont do and they will focus negativity toward you for this.

BASE has been an eye opener with regard to friends and family. Amazing how a sport shakes your life up!

Take one step back and let it go over your head.

Be Safe........................Be Low

[skymedic 0]

weren't you having problems with your DZ prior to you starting BASE jumping Mike?

Marc
otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman....

[CrazyThomas 0]

I don't know Mike's story, but I was having problems with my DZ before I started BASE.
See, I pulled my reserve immediately after breaking off from a four way. When asked what malfunction I had, I said none. I just wanted to fly it.
WOW! The turds hit the fan at full speed then. They gave me the boot for a year or two.
I could have lied, and said I couldn't find my pilot chute, but I thought then that honesty was the best policy. Not so with some DZ's. So, a lesson in life I finally learned, is:
"Just tell people what they want to hear."
It doesn't have to be my opinion, or the truth. It just has to be what they want to hear, and they will think better of you, because what you said was pleasing.
pfffff... And they thought my low pull was a brain fart, or a loss of alitutde awareness. Really, I guess it was a loss of alititude awareness. I was so high still that I couldn't see the trees on my level yet. So, I pulled around 1800 feet just so it wasn't SO obvious that I was humming it, so to speak. They would have had heart attacks if I pulled where I wanted (aka: right around 500 feet).
but, I was trying to be a good guy there, and trying to keep people happy. So I told them a big fat lie. Yep, I lost altitude awareness.
HAH HAH! Fooled ya guys.
I don't know if USPA would even let me back in if I paid the money for a membership. Maybe they have read some of my posts.
And know that I just don't care anymore, about anything. Especially stupid rules like pull altitudes. I know, I know, meant to give us dumbies time to deal with a malfunction. Too bad I jumped a sorcerer a couple times. Now there is a slick rig.
Sure, pull by 500 feet, and still have time to cut away, if action is quick.
And in BASE, action is QUICK!
Peace,
Thomas

"BASE jump? OK, where? And what? And how high is it?"---Crazy Thomas

[3fLiEr 0]

I had some trouble with being grounded several times for low pulls or low hooks. BUT they still allowed me to jump there when they could have easily banned me. I was even told by the DZO that BASE had calmed me and I approached skydiving more safely than perhaps I previously did.

But thats really academic as I dont really skydive anymore.

Be Safe.............................. Be Low

[Faber 0]

Thanks for the input(evrybody).
I had some minnior problems before i started BASE.I do like pulling low(my Pro-track tells that).That was one of the reasons to start BASE-jumping.I dont think that my Crossfire 99 is the rigth chute to play that game.The chute Were/isw also a problem. i do have the smalest canopi at my DZ(this is a small old DZ).I also intruduced freeflying to the DZ. all thes were/is not good in the ears of thouse old pepole that runs it..
They didnt neew that i BASE`ed before the accident,and they were told by rumors.

Acctualy i just wanted input from some of all you guys and girls about what you did when it was public that you were into BASE.

Thanks again.I think ill figth for the new generation,of skydivers(and maybe BASE-jumpers)in this region.

Be Safe!!!
Stefan Faber

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[blair700 0]

Tom I too know a DZO who will let you do multi ways from 2000', he also invited me to an airshow where I did a 2 way with a skydiver from a Helo at 5500', I played with my buddy for awhile, videoed his opening, then turned and tracked over the runway and dumped around 600' (I know...a high pull:), but the crowd loved it...."hey man.....pull yure' strang!!!!!!!!!" Look us up when you come East.

[3fLiEr 0]

Very nice!

[suz 0]

Quote

(will have to travel 100km for jumping instead of 25km).

Hey don't think that's a bad thing, I drive two hours to get to my dz...it's great. Because it's a big trip.I'll plan to stop at waterfalls on the way, or have a beer at this runned down old pub on the highway. I love shopping in a totally new town, and feel the different atmosphere, being in a different. I'll go once a month, and have a ball. stay there all weekend and run a muck. Otherwise, you miss out on too much, if your pissed that you had to "drive for hours"

Don't bother me, I'm living happily ever after

[mickknutson 0]

Quote

>> okay Faber....I couln't pass on this one.

This has "Jerry Springer" all over it. ( Sorry ,just a little American humor.)
Sounds like BASE board. Why even say that? Maybe he has no clue what Jerry Springer is, so how would he enjoy the joke? Or are we just being American and thinking we are funny?

>>Sounds to me like something is missing from this episode, though. I mean, are they against you because of your BASE jumping, or is it that, plus something else?
Wow, another good american comment. Always paranoid someone is hiding something from us.

>> I have a hard time imagining why a DZ would discriminate against you just for being a BASE jumper, who had an accident and got injured.
That is why you failed.--Master Yoda.
Why have a hard time believing this? People are people. Some are good, and some are evil. Do you believe also that every police officer follows the laws and rules in enforcing the laws? I hope you don't fall into that trap. There ARE corrupt police out there, and I hope for everyone's sake, noone has to run across one. They are not fun, nor fair to deal with. Phone call to a lawyer? Yeah, right. I tried that argument also, but it didn't work.

>>There are alot of BASE jumpers here in the States that hold ratings such as ST&A, Tandem, AFF, etc...., and are active in those postitions.
Aaahhh....America the wasteful. But those BASE jumpers holding those ratings most likely have to break laws to BASE jump. So USPA allows law breakers to have ratings? What a great double standard. Hipocrites!

>> One thing I'd deffinately not do, is move to a different DZ. Stand your ground. Hang in there dude! You've got the best of both worlds going for you. You want to progress in the great sport of skydiving, and, you want to continue BASE jumping.
I know this does not help you much, but, I don't think anyone else but you knows the answer to your problem.
How do you know that doesn't help him? What if that is what everyone is telling him? Another sticking point, here:
>>You want to progress in the great sport of skydiving, and, you want to continue BASE jumping.
What, BASE jumping is not a great sport? Look at what forum you made that comment in. Not a skydiver's forum. Have you ever BASE jumped? I believe it is the BEST sport there is. One reason, is we are self regulated. Try that with USPA.
Sorry. I didn't mean to flame you Rod. Or seem like I was being mean. I just wanted both sides of the story out on the table.
Fair enough?
Peace,
Thomas

CrazyThomas, you obviously have not been to BLiNC lately. If you had, you would not be seeing the type of postings you are refereing to.
Not only that, this posting you have made sounds like the same type of posting you are ragging about.

The fact about this posting, is that Faber is looking for opions from BASE jumpers about why "Skydivers" are giving him a hard time at the DZ just because he has other activities outside of the DZ.

But Faber, you are asking "Skydivers" why they are hassling you at the DZ and what to do. You are mostly going to get snyde remarks like this from "Skydivers". When a BASE jumper replies to you, you will get the true opion. Liek TOm has replied, the cold truth. You are an outcast to Skydivers for the most part. The DZ just thinks you are too over the edge, and does not want to even know about BASE. They are easy to forget that Skydiving in the 60's to 80's was just as outlawish as BASE still is.


The USPA has come around, but other countries still have not. I personally choose not to tell them anything they do not need to know. And when I leave the DZ, they don't need to know anything about my life.

I would suggest that you try to post this same question on BLiNC, as you will get thousands of BASE jumpers giving you BASE-Jumper opinion about their experience at the DZ.

And the comments made by CrazyThomas are not prevelant as I have made great strides to stop it. Works very well also.

Mick Knutson
* BLiNC Magazine "Everything you ever wanted to know about Parachuting, but didn't know whom to ask."

[evilivan 0]

Now. Mike, be honest to the nice people. Skydiving scares you since you took up BASE.

"If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation."
David Brent

[christoofar 0]

Not all DZs in the US are this way (run like stodgy old men's clubs). My home DZ has a very active BASE jumper doing TM work, and one of the pilots has also done BASE. I know off the top of my head 4 BASE jumpers, 3 of them in TX, working at other DZs and they don't hide their lifestyle, even from the DZ customers.

I don't think doing BASE makes you a reckless skydiver. And certainly being a skydiver wouldn't make you a reckless BASE jumper. The best quip I have heard yet about the diff. between BASE and skydiving is: "You know ping-pong, right? Well, is ping-pong like tennis?"

As generations change the attitudes and perceptions will, too.

____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

[Zennie 0]

Quote

As generations change the attitudes and perceptions will, too.

My experience has been similar to yours.

For better or worse, I've never really hidden what I do to anyone (don't say *where* I go to do it, but I don't hide that I do it). At the DZ, I've found that the older jumpers are far more likely to have a "you're nuts" attitude than the newer jumpers, who frequently say "someday I'm going to try that".

I've also noticed, for some reason, that the freefliers are far more receptive to BASE than the belly fliers. Not sure if it's the fascination with speed, the openness to trying new & different things or what, but that's been my experience. And I'm one of them.

It's not terribly uncommon to see BASE jumpers packing their chutes in the packing area after-hours at both of the DZs I frequent.

- Z
"Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon