Oh, Oz . . .

[NickDG 23]

From: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11051143%5E1702,00.html

NickD
BASE 194

Base jumper critical, parachute fails
October 12, 2004

A BASE jumper was critically injured when his parachute malfunctioned during a leap off Sydney's North Head today.

A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said the man, in his 20s, was attempting the jump at North Head lookout near Manly, shortly before 1.30pm (AEST) when his parachute failed.

He landed at the bottom of a cliff and suffered head and multiple other injuries, the spokeswoman said.

"Two rock climbers nearby assisted in the rescue," she said.

Ambulance rescue officers called the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue helicopter to the scene, and the man was airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital for treatment.

[nael 0]

I heard about this last night. My thoughts are with Rusty and his family at this time.
There's some more info here:
http://www.basejump.org/discus/messages/1/766.html?1097577896
I hope he pulls through.

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[br0k3n 0]

I posted this yester day on the ABA forum,

Dear all,

I have just returned from seeing Rusty, he is in a very serious condition, and his life is very much at risk.

I have spent the afternoon at the hospital, and his condition is as such, this information is fact and first hand from the medical staff.

He was addmitted to the hospital with severve head injuries, unconcious and not breathing. He was placed on a breathing machine. He has been heavily sedated and as such remains unconcious.

A CAT scan was performed around 4:30pm this afternoon, and no physical damage to the brain was found.

However what cannot be diagnosed is whether there is any permanent brain damage.

So at present, Rusty is in Intensive care, we were told that there was nothing more that could be done, and it is a now a matter of time.

A sensor has been placed on his skull to measure any increase in pressure that would be a result of his brain swelling, which is the main concern at the moment..

Can we all send positive vibes Rusty's way, and lets all hope that he makes a full recovery.

I will hopefully have an update tomorrow. Also both his parents are arriving in the morning, so his family will be with him at this terrible time.

-Oli.

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--+ There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.. --+

[br0k3n 0]

update on Rusty,

I returned this morning to the hostpital to see Rusty, his condition is as stable as can be, he is still in a drug induced coma and the swelling of his brain is still being monitored.

We were told that the swelling should peak in the next day or two, and then hopefully a clearer picture my be available, but until then all we can do is wait.

On a postive note, Rusty has not sustained any other injuries. Also CJP took the time to go and speak with the Air crew that picked Rusty up, and was able to report that he was breathing when they arrived, and the two people present at the scene had administered first aid, and most likely saved his life at the point....

-Oli .

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--+ There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.. --+

[Zennie 0]

Hey Oli, this is in NO means meant as a criticism of Rusty, but would a helmet have helped in this?

We cannot change the past, only learn from it. I know when we were all climbing in Moab we didn't wear helmets. I'm just wondering if more folks should adopt the practice of wearing helmets during climbing to avoid this in the future.

Heal quick Rusty!

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

[JesseP 0]

It was not a climbing injury, it was a roll-over. Yes a helmet would have helped.

[BGill 0]

FUCK Rusty why'd this gotta happen bro?????


Please heal soon bro. I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow.

[br0k3n 0]

If wish to send Rusty a message, or want an update on his condition then please visit

[/url]www.080674.com/rusty/

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--+ There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.. --+

[leroydb 0]

it was great to finally get to meet you at BD 2004. thanks for all the posts!!!

Leroy


..I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw my bath toys were a toaster and a radio...

[TomAiello 25]

And oh, again.

I am at a loss for words. The Australian BASE community must be reeling. My heart goes out to you all.

I've heard rumor of this jumpers identity. Please do not post names until they are released in the press. As I said, I am at a loss...

edit: news server apparently requires login, story below

Quote

Another BASE jumper has died at a popular tourist spot in the New South Wales Southern Highlands.


Senior Constable Peter Selmes said officers were alerted to the accident after an anonymous triple-0 call shortly after 7am (AEST).


He said the body of a man was found at 10.20am (AEST) at the bottom of the gorge.


The man has not been identified and his body has yet to be recovered.


BASE jumpers use a parachute to jump from permanent heights such as cliffs and towers.


The man's death comes less than a week after that of Roland Simpson, who suffered serious head injuries after BASE jumping off China's highest skyscraper on October the 5th.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[bob.dino 0]

"The body has now been recovered. It's expected that formal identification will take a number of days, due to the severity of the injuries."

edit to say: that's a quote from the updated AAP report.

[BASE813 0]

My thoughts are with the Oz BASE'rs, this has been a dark and terrible time.

I only had a few eMail conversations with him, and he appeared to be such a nice and generous guy.........

My deepest thoughts and condolences to friends, family and the Ozzie BASE'rs.

Peace.

[Brodes 0]

Oops, didn't see this update. Deleted my post.

[NickDG 23]

From :http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11229960%5E2702,00.html

NickD
BASE 194

Jumper dies on way to funeral
by Natasha Robinson
October 30, 2004

THEY gathered yesterday to bury one of the heroes of their sport. But at the Canberra funeral of the man they called "Slim", a BASE jumper who packed more into one short life than most would in 10, news was breaking in the jumping community that just 100km away, another of their own was lying dead at the bottom of a gorge.

Roland "Slim" Simpson died last Friday in a Canberra hospital from injuries suffered when he slammed into the roof of a Shanghai building after jumping from the 421m-high Jinmao Tower on October 5.

Yesterday, one of Slim's mates was on the way to Canberra to bid him farewell. He had travelled from Brisbane for Slim's funeral, and stopped off at a cliff jump-site bordering the Morton National Park, near Goulburn, for a dawn plunge.

He never made it to the funeral. At 7.16am, an anonymous 000 call was logged: something had gone terribly wrong at Slot Canyon.

Three hours later, after calling in the police helicopter and rescue squad, Goulburn police made the grisly find. The body was so badly injured that they did not expect to be able to positively identify the man for several days.

The BASE jumping community was doing all it could last night to assist police, who are preparing a report for the coroner. It was the third such tragedy in a month, with another BASE jumper severely injuring himself after jumping from Sydney's North Head on October 13.

Yesterday's death might have shocked BASE jumping enthusiasts, but it could hardly have surprised them. The highly experienced Brisbane jumper in his late 20s, also a gymnast and springboard diver, was known for his dangerous manoeuvres.

During yesterday's tragic final jump from the canyon -- which has walls that tower 275m above the scrub below -- the somersault he attempted proved too difficult even for the most agile of men. "He was a very, very experienced BASE jumper who was trying something very advanced, a very difficult, tricky, advanced move, and unfortunately he hit the cliff," friend Glenn Singleman said.

But Mr Singleman had no doubt his mate died doing something he loved.

Yesterday's death, the North Head accident and Simpson's funeral follow the death of Australian Dwain Weston a year ago in Colorado, in the US, when attempting a complex jump from a plane.

Although illegal in Australia, BASE jumpers insist their sport is legitimate, and should command respect. "We see ourselves as people passionate about pushing our own boundaries, discovering what is possible," Mr Singleman said.

At the funeral yesterday, many jumpers were asking "Why do we do this?", Mr Singleman said. Eulogies on Simpson's fearless spirit provided one answer. "In a way, it's sort of a statement of the human condition," Mr Singleman said.

[cesslon 0]

is it the norm in base when some1 dies to leave them at the site and do a runner ?

or would they have simply left him there cos they were in a rush to get to a funeral ?

[Faber 0]

which one do you think??

i set my mony at

Quote

they have simply left him there cos they were in a rush to get to a funeral ?

duuuuuuuuude

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[TomAiello 25]

Quote

is it the norm in base when some1 dies to leave them at the site and do a runner ?

I hadn't read that anywhere in the article.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[cesslon 0]

well it said it was an annomys call and when the authoritys got there no1 else was there

although this is the media

[QuickDraw 0]

Edited for press errors.

Quote

BASE jumpers want designated spot
October 31, 2004 - 9:24AM


BASE jumpers will lobby authorities for a designated jumping area in a national park after a man plummeted to his death in a NSW gorge last week.

It was the second death in a week from the extreme sport where people parachute from fixed heights like towers and cliffs.

BASE jumping is an acronym for Building, Antennae, Span and Earth. It is an illegal activity and is banned in all national parks.

However, BASE jumper Glen Singleman said having a designated area and an accredited training and ranking system would help "stop the carnage" and give the extreme sport the good name it deserved.

He said jumpers would renew efforts to lobby the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to designate a legal parachuting spot.

"What the BASE jumping community would like is for the carnage to stop," Dr Singleman, an emergency doctor, told AAP.

"What we're trying to do is continue a fairly long standing push to get a site in Australia legalised."

A designated BASE jumping site could be monitored and shut down if conditions were sub-optimal, such as darkness or bad weather, Dr Singleman said, and would discourage people from attempting jumps in more dangerous areas.

He said BASE jumpers would consider a trade-off if they were given a legal site in a national park, such as not jumping from buildings and similar structures.

He said if BASE jumping was better regulated it would also improve the sport's reputation, currently viewed as a "fringe lunatic activity".

He said there were some radical elements who would continue to jump in defiance of any laws, but "they tend not to last long because this is not a particularly good sport to be radical in."

Jason Fitz-Herbert, director of safety at the Australian BASE Association, died parachuting into the 300m xxxx xxxxx in the xxxxxxxx State Conservation Area on Friday.

The 33-year-old had been en route to the funeral of another man, Roland "Slim" Simpson, who died from head injuries suffered after jumping off a tower in China earlier this month.

Dr Singleman said there were about 100 Australian BASE jumpers, including 50 who regularly jumped in Australia.

The others were spread around overseas where BASE jumping was legal, such as in Italy, Norway and some US states.

Police have questioned two people in relation to Mr Fitz-Herbert's death.

However, no charges had been laid, a spokesman for Goulburn Police said.

BASE jumping activity had "slowed down" over the weekend as a mark of respect for Mr Fitz-Herbert, Dr Singleman said.

"But it will continue," he added.

Mr Fitz-Herbert leaves behind a six-year-old son, who lives with his former partner.

[Ken 0]

It is amazing the amount of blatant crap that has been in the media over here in the last few days.

It is a media feeding frenzy where the truth has nothing to do with what really happened and to tell the truth would basically kill the story.

It humours and saddens me to think that people, a few of them are even jumpers, could possibly give any sensationalistic fairy tale a milligram of credibility whilst simultaneously casting doubt over the moral integrity of the jumpers that were present at this tragic incident with Jason. And all this purely at the utterance of some parasitic member of the media.

Do not believe media reports!! Get the facts a few days later from the ones that were there.

We have all lost some good friends recently with Rob, Slim, Niel Q and Jason, not forgetting any of the others, these are just very recent and close to home.

Slim's service was well attended and conducted in a manner fitting with the calibre of the man. He, as with all of the others will be sorely missed.

AB#78 IB#751 BF#???
[email protected]