Shane McConkey on Wheelchairs and Waterskis

[ClifHuckstable 0]

WHAT!!!!!
I can't belive this! This is is a discrace! Such blatent object burning! What an arrogent bastard doing this in front of everyone. What disrespect.
You people know the "rules"! No throwing things off the bridge. Remember the water skis issue! Didn't anyone call the cops on him? Ya know, like last time. There is no difference between throwing water skis and throwing a wheelchair off the bridge except that the wheelchair wasn't connected to him and therefore could have landed on someone's head, parachute or not, and killed them! TAR AND FEATHERING! TAR AND FEATHERING!

edit for thread title ~TA

[TomAiello 25]

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There is no difference between throwing water skis and throwing a wheelchair off the bridge except that the wheelchair wasn't connected to him...

The two major differences were:

1) We used radios to the boats in the water to be sure the river was clear, and;

2) The wheelchair had a parachute recovery system.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[NickDG 23]

>>I can't belive this! This is is a discrace!<<

LOL, I get the joke, but Russel can do whatever he wants, anywhere he wants . . .

Yo Brother, you're welcome to come and blow to kingdom come any site we have . . .

NickD BASE 194

[ClifHuckstable 0]

1. The water ski jumper used his eyes to make sure the river was clear too, in both directions. Pretty easy. Not that it matters since.....

2. His skis were securely attached to his feet and never came off. Thereby not needing a parachute recovery system.

No difference.
I'm really surprised the cops were not called in for this one. Such disrespect!
You seem to be forgetting that you guys love to hate. Now start hating!

[TomAiello 25]

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The water ski jumper used his eyes to make sure the river was clear too, in both directions. Pretty easy.

It is impossible to see down the river (toward the park) from the exit point. In order to verify that the river is clear in that direction, you must use radios to someone who can see that side. In fact, Russel postponed one of his jumps for 5 or 6 minutes waiting for an approaching boat to pass under the bridge and clear the area. Without radios, he wouldn't have known that boat was approaching.

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His skis were securely attached to his feet and never came off. Thereby not needing a parachute recovery system.

And his surfboard?

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[ClifHuckstable 0]

You can know just fine what is happening down river when you have a look out on the other side of the bridge.

Surf board - Not securely attached, but the issue of object burning came up way before he did that one.

You're missing the point Tom. When people get an idea in their mind that someone is bad and doing wrong it doesn't matter what the truth is. They will continue to hate and feed each other false beliefs.

[TomAiello 25]

To avoid side tracking the "Wheelchair Jump" thread, I've split this off into a separate discussion.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[ClifHuckstable 0]

Heh heh! That's a good one Tom! Nice move.
Attention?!
I'm learning from you.

[NickDG 23]

I'd say in the final analysis one guy is pushing BASE and the other is leeching it, I really thought about it long and hard and that's all I wound up with . . .

NickD BASE 194

[ClifHuckstable 0]

Either option is better than what we're doing here!

[vandev 0]

i am confused...whaw wha..mommy mommy...6969.......sounds like a issue problem...

who's burning here....hard to tell from the information given....

In the end...the universe has a way of working itself out.... "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle"

[nicrussell 0]

Devil's advocate here.

Both parties are pursuing BASE in their own way. Both parties are pushing levels and ways of BASE.
Did Russel HAVE to use the wheelchair to BASE, no of course not, he has quite a few without. Was it cool, yes. Was it set up as safe as reasobaly possible, yes, and I was there.

I wasnt around for the waterski jump, but unless it was off the rail, I have a hard time saying some is leeching, It didnt hurt the sport or our bridge. They are having a good time, just as Russel is.

2pence,

nic

[NickDG 23]

>>They are having a good time<<

You got me there . . .

NickD
BASE 194

[peterk 0]

Only because I love BASE so much do I actually still check this forum out...

But, I cannot believe that I actually get to read the Toms and non-Toms in an openly broadcast internet dz.com forum war...

Who won?

---------------
Peter
BASE - The Ultimate Victimless Crime

[RhondaLea 3]

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Both parties are pursuing BASE in their own way.

Russel is a public relations icon for BASE. He is also an object lesson for anyone who has ever said "I can't." Parents of small children are not going to point to basejumpers on waterskis and say "See what is possible," but they will point to Russel and say, "Look what he can do."

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Did Russel HAVE to use the wheelchair to BASE, no of course not, he has quite a few without.

But just as the other guys use their legs as their normal mode of transportation, Russel uses his wheelchair as his normal mode of transportation.

It seems to me that the mere ability to be in control of ones own exit does not compare with a stunt.

Without reference to the additional precautions that were taken by Russel's crew, the comparison of Russel's wheelchair jumps with waterski exits is an invalid analogy. It is also narcissistic and, to at least one of us--me, that is--obnoxious.

BTW, nice job, Russel. You're my hero.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[skreamer 1]

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But, I cannot believe that I actually get to read the Toms and non-Toms in an openly broadcast internet dz.com forum war...

Hey Peter, is that a Tom Tom drum or a non Tom drum you're banging on?

[Treejumps 0]

Wha wha wha. With Russell you have one of the coolest guys doing the most he can do under difficult circumstances. Everyone supports him becasue he has character and demonstrates grace under pressure.

With that waterski/surfboard/rail guy(s) you have an attention seeking juvenile doing everything wrong just to prove he can do it. It may have worked well with his parents and skateboarding, but in adult life it is just plain lame.

You go Russell. Shane's just mad that you actually did something original in base, a task that has thus far eluded him and his crew. What are you going to call it?

Much respect,

Tree

[RhondaLea 3]

Good to see you back here, Tree.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[Faber 0]

I has to say....

That in this part i has to agree whith Shane(even as its hard to admit).

I like Russel alot and think Russel does great things out there,also i think his a great pioneer in this sport..

However if one person cant take somthing off why can anotherone then?

I thourght that Russels setup were cleared by the local sherif,if not i think its bad aswell and as Shane says.. then its a way of burning an object..

Right has to be right,i want to go back to that S and jump again,thats why i told Shane and others that what they did were wrong,and so i has to say about Russels jump if it wasnt ok by the local sherif...

If the premision wasnt given,were it then as you didnt ask? or as it were easyer to get forgiveness?

I know this post wont give me more freinds,but if people want to speak eticks them self then atleast they should follow them self as a good example...

Please say you had the premission...

Russel this aint personal against you,i really whish you the best conditions,but it has to be fair play..

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[ClifHuckstable 0]

With that waterski/surfboard/rail guy(s) you have an attention seeking juvenile doing everything wrong just to prove he can do it.

Tree, nice attempt at a jab there. B+
However, if you really think that is the motivation of our crew you're even more confused than I thought.

We all could have loads more fun here but...
The point here is this only: Waterski guy is a very good person and a respectful jumper. He got seriously reemed on this forum for stuff you people got confused about and then blew out of proportion.
I have nothing but respect for Russel and his jumping. I started shit here to try to show you guys how the two jumps are very similar. If you guys are gonna reem one guy why not the other? Russel is probably a good guy too so why not threaten him and tear him down? When the time comes that you people feel the need to tear someone apart I suggest you hold your fire until you know more about the facts and the people involved.

[lifewithoutanet 0]

I gotta admit that Faber is onto something...and I don't think Russel will take any of this personally. Sitll, the differentiating factors in the jumps are recovery parachutes involved in one and not in the other, and to some extent, the preparation. When Miles hucked a bag of dogfood off the bridge under parachute (it takes serious kibbles to BASE jump ), no one went up in arms about it...because a parachute was involved, maybe? Everyone was arguing about training paraglider pilots at that time, if memory serves me right.
This did spur an interesting personal debate for me, though. As the so-called "Stunt Russel", I was practicing taking his wheelchair off the deck at the visitors center, in order to practice a wheelchair stowed jump (after much convincing from the usual suspects). If I'd had a bit more than 50/50 success/failure rate of riding a wheelie off the deck, I'd have gone stowed to test out what would have happened--theoretically--when he goes to do it. Alas, I'm not that talented, so I didn't go. But what if I had?
Otherwise, I think the debate is mostly spirit of the ethics [law] vs. letter of the ethics [law]...a debate we've proven incapable of settling on the Internet.
Regardless of any of this, the fact remains that Russel is furthering the sport, not just doing stunts. He's kicking some serious ass along the way.
-C.

Edit to add: PS... "When the time comes that you people feel the need to tear someone apart I suggest you hold your fire until you know more about the facts and the people involved." I gotta agree with this, too.

[chutem 0]

I am not allowed to take a dog into a restaurant, yet a blind man may bring his assistive animal in. The US is full of laws requiring access for "differently abled" people. If they are going to let people jump, they could probably be sued for not makeing it "wheelchair accessable".
James

[lifewithoutanet 0]

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The US is full of laws requiring access for "differently abled" people.

Yeah...and the funny thing is, Russel's disproving a lot of this. I don't look at him and think, "It sucks that he can't..." I look at him and think, "It kicks ass that he does".

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If they are going to let people jump, they could probably be sued for not makeing it "wheelchair accessable".

Well, we got that pretty well covered w/ the platform and that is something the town and IDOT have approved.

-C.

[TomAiello 25]

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I am not allowed to take a dog into a restaurant, yet a blind man may bring his assistive animal in. The US is full of laws requiring access for "differently abled" people. If they are going to let people jump, they could probably be sued for not makeing it "wheelchair accessable".

Interestingly enough, when I met with the Department of Transportation about putting a platform out on the bridge, their main objection to a permanent platform was that handicapped people wouldn't be able to get through the sidewalk easily enough. Which is pretty funny considering that (a) you have to go up about 20 stairs to get onto that sidewalk, and (b) Russel is the only guy in a wheelchair I've ever seen out in the middle of the bridge. The bridge engineer was pretty understanding when I explained that we needed a bigger platform for Russel, though. Still, there's a load of politics and bureaucracy to work through.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[chutem 0]

It WAY KICKS ASS that He DOES!!!!!!!!!!
James