Jim Guyer injured

[jimmyp 0]

Hey everyone,
I have permission from Heidi, Jim Guyer's daughter to post this. He is in surgery right now in Salt Lake City. He was giving thumbs up when asked to and was aware and giving one word answers when asked prior to being put under anesthesia. He has facial bone damage which is putting pressure on his brain. They are now trying to repair this damage. As soon as Heidi learns more, she will contact me and I will post it immediately. His pelvis is apparently broken, but that is secondary at this point.
On Saturday of the Turkey Boogie, Jim went with us up to Black Dragon wash, just West of Green River, which is about an hour from Moab. There were about 15-20 of us on this adventure. Several people had jumped already. Jim had a less than perfect exit which contributed to a 180. His body was turned a bit after opening and by the time he was ready to turn the canopy around, he struck the wall. He struck the wall again lower down and then struck the talus quite hard. I was near the Suburban and luckily within cell phone range(very uncommon in the canyons) at the time and drove immediately to within 150 feet of the talus while someone else called in an ambulance. Jim was near the wall and when I got the backboard and medical kit to him, Spence and others were already working on him. Spence is a respiratory therapist and was extremely effective and calm. Jim was breathing and apparently unconscious for a short while. He came to before I arrived with the board and kit. We got him on the board, into a cervical collar and out of there within about 15 minutes. We loaded him into the Suburban and met the ambulance on the way out towards the I-70. They took him the rest of the way to Price, where he was airlifted to Salt Lake City.
Heidi, his daughter, has asked that everyone not contact the family at this time, as they don't know much until he gets out of surgery, and obviously things are a bit hectic. Our prayers go out to Jim and his family and we ask that everyone send out the healing vibes to him!
Jimmy and Marta

[base515 0]

God speed in healing Jim. Our prayers are with you.
Mike

May we live long and die out

[base704 0]

God speed...
Hurry up and get better; we'll go score a lid o'grass somewhere...
TJ

You can get a lot more done with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.

[TomAiello 25]

Do you have an address for well wishing cards?

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[BASERIGGER 0]

Dang Man,
You have no idea how this news disturbs me. Jim has gone out to Idaho with our group for the last two years and has been on several of our adventures. I figure if the entire North Korean army could'nt stop him, one cliff strike can't slow him down very much. Jim's the toughest old dude I know. Get well soon brother, my prayers are with you. Like T.J. said, hurry home and we will try and score us a lid. I promise I wont leave you back at the gas station or motel next time.
Tony Herring
BASE516

[hookitt 0]

Thanks Jimmy

Can you PM me with an address to send well wishes?

I met Jim in the Tombstone parking lot and drug him up to the top. Thursday night we had a good chance to chat during the Turkey feast.

Get well Jim

Tim

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[blair700 0]

Terrible news indeed, Team BANDIT is praying for you man, like Tony said, the toughest old geezer I've ever met. I've shared some of my best memories with him...........I'm very sad to hear this.
Please keep us posted,
Blair

[skypuppy 1]

He has facial bone damage which is putting pressure on his brain.

Jimmy - was Jim wearing a helmet? Full face helmet?

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[riggerrob 563]

Heal Jim!

[jimmyp 0]

He was wearing a freefly helmet(Aviator). A full face helmet would have helped.
JP

[jimmyp 0]

If anyone wants to send cards to Jim,
He will be at
Latter Day Saints Hospital
8th Ave. and C St.
Salt Lake City, Ut 84143

[DexterBase 0]

From what I heard discussing the incident with those who were there, everyone involved handled the situation extremely well.

My hat is off to 587 for his cool head at a stressful time. Unfortunately I was jumping in another location but luckily 587 was there. His actions were certainly instrumental in preventing further injury and stabilizing Jim.

Jim, I'm glad we got to meet at the Party. Get well so we can hang out again.

Edit: [url "http://www.dropzone.com/news/BASEjumpinginjuriesandtr.shtml"] Good reading for those interested

[Geronimo509 0]

Get well soon Jim, you're definitely an inspiration to all of us!

Gabe
BASE 697

[freakydiver 0]

Per the helmet discussion a couple of weeks back, I'm just curious if he sustained injuries to any other part of his head (i.e. any part covered by the helmet shell).

-- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

[Zennie 0]

Get well soon Jim!

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

[base428 1]

We'll keep you in our prayers, Jim.

BASE jumping can be a rough sport. I've been jumping a full face helmet for several years now for this very reason (to protect my face and jaw). Full body armor is also something I've found beneficial if you do have a less than perfect landing. When is the last time you saw a motocross race where the riders had no full-face helmets or other body protection....?

(c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted. <==For the media only

[K763 0]

Best wishes and healing vibes to Jim! He is one inspirational man...so many people have been uplifted by his continued feats of daring at his amazing age of 75! Jim is a great example of how to live life fully, for sure.

We always like to learn from the experiences of others in this sport, after all, it's easier to change your ways BEFORE you suffer a major trauma than it is after the fact. Keeping this in mind, I've learned at least 2 things: 1) FULL FACE HELMET WHEN CLIFF JUMPING! 2) Maybe when I turn 70 I'll give up cliffs and buildings and just have fun off bridges.

Super thanks to Marta, Jimmy, Spence, Lloyd, and all the others that were so quick to help. I am so proud of everyone for keeping their heads, taking care of Jim, and having the proper emergency equipment available when and where it was needed. Talk about setting a good example! These guys have definitely done that.

Best wishes to Jim and his family. Take care and get well soon!

Love,
K

[TomAiello 25]

Quote

1) FULL FACE HELMET WHEN CLIFF JUMPING!

I learned this some time ago when a super experienced, top Aussie BASE jumper had to have reconstructive surgery.

My experience has been that in 90% of BASE jumping situations (and 100% of beginner jumping situations) more armor/padding/helmet is better.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[andy2 0]

so is the only negative behind full face helmets and body armor that its annoying to wear on the hike/climb up?

---------------------------------------------
let my inspiration flow,
in token rhyme suggesting rhythm...

[Faber 0]

by no armor you feel more free(like in skydiving)but are also much more vunable

Jim i never meet you, but i wich you a speedy recovery.

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[TomAiello 25]

Quote

so is the only negative behind full face helmets and body armor that its annoying to wear on the hike/climb up?

On beginner jumps, yes. On 99% of intermediate jumps, yes.

Body armor will inhibit some advanced jumps (for example, it's difficult to perform a twisting aerial in a full suit of Dainese armor). But don't worry, when you are ready to do these jumps, you'll know which ones they are.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[BASE813 0]

Quote

Quote

so is the only negative behind full face helmets and body armor that its annoying to wear on the hike/climb up?

On beginner jumps, yes. On 99% of intermediate jumps, yes.

Body armor will inhibit some advanced jumps (for example, it's difficult to perform a twisting aerial in a full suit of Dainese armor). But don't worry, when you are ready to do these jumps, you'll know which ones they are.

are you saying that its only an advanced jump where you will perform "twisting aerials"??

surely "advanced jumps" is something more then whether you perform an aerial??

just my thoughts.........

[TomAiello 25]

Quote

are you saying that its only an advanced jump where you will perform "twisting aerials"??

What I'm saying is that (a) a twisting aerial is an advanced jump, and (b) a twisting aerial is one example of an advanced jump on which more body armor is not necessarily desirable.

On most advanced jumps, more armor is definitely better.

I'm not sure if you are trying to say that a twisting aerial is not necessarily an advanced jump. If you are, I strongly disagree. While rotations (i.e. forward and backward somersaults) have increasingly become common fare in intermediate and advanced BASE, I think that anyone who feels that a twisting (i.e. side to side twist alone or [more often] combined with forward or backward rotation) aerial is not an advanced jump has not adequately considered the possible consequences (i.e. massive line twist) of less than perfect deployment timing during the twist.

If you are of the opinion that a twist is not "advanced", let's start another thread and discuss that.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[hookitt 0]

For 5 days, I hiked and climbed carrying 1 BASE rig, 1 Safety jacket (the new model), 2 knee pads that also cover my shins, and a Camera helmet.

It's not such a pain that you can't carry it. Some of the climbs were pretty challenging too.

Use a Suitable stash bag with wider shoulder straps and a waist band. I had just a plain ole stash bag with thin straps and was able to get around just fine.

Plan for the worst.

Any word on Jim's condition?

Edit: The most advanced arial I saw this week was a double gainer. That maneuvre is very easily done in full body armor. It's not so common to do precise twisting arials. Very few people do them.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[BASE813 0]

Quote

I'm not sure if you are trying to say that a twisting aerial is not necessarily an advanced jump.

Not at all........ it is an advanced jump in its own right. When I first read your post I read it that it was only twisting aerials that were deemed advanced jumps - I just wanted to clarify that this was not the case - but on re-reading your post I may have misread slightly - apologies.