15,600

[NickDG 23]

I was fooling around with my calculator and I tried averaging the jump numbers at Bridge Day over the past 26 years in relationship to the danger. Most Bridge Days in the 80s recorded five to six hundred jumps. Lately they've been getting close to eight hundred. Someday there'll be a Bridge Day with a thousand jumps.

So, and this is very site specific, but isn't everything in BASE, and without figuring in the bandit jumps, there's been 15,600 BASE jumps made at the NRGB. In that time there have been three fatalities, only two of which occurred on a Bridge Day. Throw out the bandit fatality (with all due respect) and considering what we are doing is being done by BASE jumpers of varied experience levels, who can tell us we don't know what we are doing?

I usually get tripped up with math so if you think this is way off, let me know. I figured the average number of jumps at 600.

The NRGB has been very good to us . . .

Nick BASE 194

[mostwanted 0]

nick, could you make some calculation including the "leading-to-injury-incidents"? would be very interesting, wouldn't it? thanx.

[mnischalke 0]

Contrast what you know from the past 26 years to what happened on the river itself on the last weekend of September, alone. That was just three weeks prior to BD2005.

Here's a report of the incidents on the river. Several severe injuries (one of which that included a lifeflight was not included here, as the NPS proper wasn't involved, directly) and one fatality occured. The fatality is a bit fuzzy on details, but note that "blunt force trauma" was the coroner's ruling as the cause of death.

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Gauley River National Recreation Area (WV)
Gauley Festival Weekend Incidents


Thousands of whitewater boaters were drawn to the Gauley Festival Weekend on September 24th and 25th. The event, which is sponsored by American Whitewater and held in Summersville, West Virginia, is billed as the largest whitewater boating festival in the world. Thousands of private boaters and commercial rafters enjoyed four days of high water releases from the Summersville Dam on the Gauley River. Competitors from across the United States and Canada participated in two paddling competitions, the Wavesport Open and the Annual Upper Gauley Race. Throughout the events, the park’s river patrol and protection rangers responded to numerous rescues, EMS incidents and a fatality on the river.


Friday – Wavesport Kayaks, along with a number of other sponsors, held the 2nd annual Wavesport Open paddling competition. Judging was held at Pillow Rock rapid, Hungry Mother rapid and Sweets Falls. An experienced 25-year-old kayaker from Kentucky suffered back injuries while competing at Pillow Rock rapid. The competition involved entering the water from a ramp placed on a large rock above the rapid. The kayaker was stabilized on-scene and transported by event EMS personnel downstream, where they were met by a medical evacuation helicopter from Health Net Aero Medical Services. The kayaker was flown to the Charlestown Area Medical Center.

Saturday – River rangers on patrol of the Upper Gauley observed a kayaker flip over at the top of a Class V rapid called Pillow Rock. The kayaker struck her head and neck on a rock and was unable to roll or pull her spray skirt for a wet exit because she had lost sensation in her upper extremities. A member of the kayaker’s boating party was able to pull her out of the boat and get her to shore. Rangers responded immediately and began patient care, including immobilization and placement on a backboard while still in the water. The victim was then moved to a raft where patient care was continued. A registered nurse who was guiding a commercial outfitter raft and a river ranger took over patient care and, based on signs and symptoms and vitals, determined that the victim was most likely in the beginning stages of spinal shock. It was determined that she needed to be evacuated by helicopter. Health Net Aero Medical Services responded out of Charleston. The helicopter was able to land on a large rock in the river between two sets of rapids. Rangers and other river users who were assisting moved her to the helicopter where Health Net personnel took over patient care.
Saturday – On the lower Gauley River, a river ranger and a park planner were conducting a patrol and encountered a kayaker who had struck her head on a rock in a rapid known as Diagonal Ledges. They conducted a patient assessment and determined that the victim did not have life threatening injuries. Because of limited access into the Gauley River canyon, it was decided that they would assist her with transport out by river. At the takeout, the victim’s father picked her up and took her to the hospital.

Sunday – River rangers responded to a report of a spectator who had injured her leg while climbing on the boulders at Pillow Rapid. Upon arrival, rangers conducted an assessment, stabilized the injury, and carried the patient downstream to where the park’s rescue cataraft could be accessed. The injured 58-year-old woman was taken downstream, through two sets of rapids, where a West Virginia conservation officer was able to access the river via a jeep trail. Upon arrival at the evacuation point, rangers were notified of a hiker who had fallen near the river and was injured. Rangers responded to the scene, evaluated her injury, and determined that she had a moderate contusion to her right leg. The rangers transported her and the original victim to the evacuation vehicle where they were driven to a hospital.

Sunday – At the same time as the above, yet another injury was reported at Pillow Rock. A 28-year-old woman from Canada flipped her kayak and was experiencing muscle spasms in her back after swimming the rapid. A kayaker who was also an EMT evaluated her and determined that, with assistance, she could hike out of the canyon via a fishermen’s trail. Local emergency responders from Keslers Cross Lanes VFD assisted the rangers with placement of ropes that aided with the climb out.

Monday – A commercial rafting customer died after suffering an apparent heart attack. The victim, a 50-year-old man from Louisville, Kentucky, was thrown from his raft in a Class V Rapid known as Iron Ring. After being swept through a good portion of the rapid, he was pulled back into the raft, where he became unresponsive. CPR was begun and continued as the raft traveled downriver approximately one mile, where it was met by an ambulance. He was taken to Summersville Memorial Hospital, where was declared deceased. The West Virginia Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma. West Virginia DNR officials, who regulate commercial rafting, and NPS rangers are cooperating in the follow-up investigation.

enjoy

mike

Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills--You know, like nunchuk skills, bow-hunting skills, computer-hacking skills.

[NickDG 23]

>> could you make some calculation including the "leading-to-injury-incidents"? would be very interesting, wouldn't it?<<

I know, for a fact, if you BASE jump for a lifetime you will get hurt. So I don't worry about that so much anymore. All of us oldies have been hurt, and some of us hurt bad. I've come to the point that as long as nobody is dead the rest doesn't matter. It's just plaster and a few aches and pains later on.

We've never had an injury free Bridge Day, but we came close once or twice when only a few people twisted ankles. The problem with bridges is while they offer a good place to have an off heading opening, and especially with the NRGB being so tall, you can even have a slight deployment problem like an over rotation or pilot chute miss, or snivel, and still pull it out. You can't do that downtown at the Flat Iron building because it will kill you. But, the problem with bridges is always the terrain. The fact they had to build a bridge there means the terrain is so rough they couldn't build a road. That almost always means it's also a lousy place to land a parachute.

mnischalke, thanks for the great (if sad) info. But, I know the problems between Rangers and BASE jumpers is not one of safety. They still continue to say BASE jumping isn't a legitimate use in a National Park because it's too dangerous. Compared to everything else, that's a bunch of baloney . . . People live and die doing whatever they do. When did they get the power to regulate that?

NickD BASE 194

[mnischalke 0]

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But, I know the problems between Rangers and BASE jumpers is not one of safety. They still continue to say BASE jumping isn't a legitimate use in a National Park because it's too dangerous. Compared to everything else, that's a bunch of baloney . . . People live and die doing whatever they do. When did they get the power to regulate that?

Well, Nick, to be blunt, we will continue to legitimize their position by paying to attend an event in which they continue to hold most--if not all--of the cards.

"yes massa, I takes yo table scraps, an I sho do loves it."--no racial prejudice intended, nor should it be implied.

I didn't attend Bridge Day this year. For me, that was a huge sacrifice, but upon principal, I cannot knowingly contribute to maintaining--if not further enforcing--the status quo of the "standoff" between us and them. They were afforded a certain level of power when the NPS was established. They have used their autonomy to create a whole new set of rules, unhindered by any traditional checks-and-balances system. They have specifically targeted us and continue to prosecute us for our forefather's missteps.

Fuck that.

We have been dealt but one hand, and I believe that hand is strong. We are THE SINGULAR REASON 150-200 thousand people show up in Fayetteville on the third Saturday of October. This is the case that we, not the rangers, have the power. We know that, and despite their posturing, so do they.

We are one year away from BD06. No tickets have been bought. No rooms have been reserved.

I say right now that WE, AS A FAMILY stand firmly together--set aside our selfish, short-sighted needs for today--and fight for our right to use OUR national parks. I say we BOYCOTT Bridge Day 2006!

It's a little pain today, for a bigger gain tomorrow.

And let the media/political frenzy begin...

mike

Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills--You know, like nunchuk skills, bow-hunting skills, computer-hacking skills.

[mnischalke 0]

Just to clarify, by " ... paying to attend an event ... ," I mean the portion of each slot that goes through Vertical Visions' hands into the NPS pocket.

I think the world of JB and can't imagine how BD could be run anywhere near as well without him (and his peeps). He's the guy with the ass on the line, here. So, I will certainly chip in to cover his expenses for being the contracted BASE "entertainment provider" for the year of our boycott.

mike

Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills--You know, like nunchuk skills, bow-hunting skills, computer-hacking skills.

[RhondaLea 3]

So by this measure, base in a controlled environment has a fatality rate of 1 in 7800 jumps vs. the skydiving rate of 1 in 65,000 jumps.

But I think the overall mortality rate gets skewed by doing the numbers this way. I think USPA puts out a "per jump" fatality rate because it looks a whole lot less grim than a "per participant" fatality rate. I don't think that following skydiving's lead is good practice, although that seems to be the way it's going...in more ways than one.

I know this really wasn't your point, Nick. Sorry.

rl

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

[Calvin19 0]

"Base in a Controlled Environment"
That is Hillarious.

-SPACE-

[RhondaLea 3]

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"Base in a Controlled Environment"
That is Hillarious.

You spelled "hilarious" wrong.

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

[skypuppy 1]

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Quote

"Base in a Controlled Environment"
That is Hillarious.

You spelled "hilarious" wrong.

I think it's a play on words -- you know, a steep hill is a cliff.

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

[skypuppy 1]

Rhonda

Where did you get the skydiving stat? I think that's what Bill Booth quotes in his OLD tandem waiver video, but I thought it had actually decreased to more like one in 80,000 over the last few years.

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

[RhondaLea 3]

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Rhonda

Where did you get the skydiving stat? I think that's what Bill Booth quotes in his OLD tandem waiver video, but I thought it had actually decreased to more like one in 80,000 over the last few years.

I made it up.

Okay, you're right. It's old. But, more seriously, it varies from year to year. In 2003, which had a relatively low fatality rate compared to the three years prior thereto ('99 was a relatively good year; '98 was a fucking pathetic horror show), the magic number was 1 fatality per 79026 jumps made. I can't find the numbers for 2004.

But that just makes 1 in 7500 base jumps look even worse.

Still, I think both are misleading figures. And I wish we had the means to collect accurate data.

rl

P.S. Re "hilarious," PM sent.

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

[pbla4024 0]

Could somebody estimate number of jumps at Perinee bridge?

Fido

[Calvin19 0]

never could spell,

and your right, the NRG bridge is as controlled as its going to get...

[freakydiver 0]

I'm confused

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enjoy

????????

I don't care what you participate in, if you get hurt, it isn't a good thing.

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

[mnischalke 0]

As opposed to the literal meaning of the word, as is often the case in American slang, I used the word "enjoy" in place of "something to chew on" or "do with it what you will." If I had meant "enjoy" to mean "Yeee fucking ha! Let's celebrate the carnage" I might have actually capitalized and punctuated the word.

Such as in this case:

Have a great day!

mike

Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills--You know, like nunchuk skills, bow-hunting skills, computer-hacking skills.

[RhondaLea 3]

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never could spell,

and your right, the NRG bridge is as controlled as its going to get...

You don't need a spellchecker as long as you have a spelling nazi.

I wasn't sure if you were just making fun of me or if you were talking about the circus that is Bridge Day. It does seem odd to use the word "control" in the same sentence, when I think about it.

It really isn't like herding cats. It's more like herding skunks.

rl

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

[freakydiver 0]

Man my bad - i was like whoa. I digress...

All apologies - bsbd.

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

[RhondaLea 3]

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Man my bad - i was like whoa. I digress...

All apologies - bsbd.

The appreciation of irony is a learned skill.

rl

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

[charmsdroppop 0]

Hey hotel to nowhere buddy. OK smarty with #'s how come we couldn't leave or get out of "the hotel" ? We must have been on a mission outside of California. How many times did we scan every hall and elevator and there never being an exit. I say what was that stuff? ***is it dark yet?

is it dark yet

[Calvin19 0]

no way! never making fun!



bridge day IS a circus, i had only seen it on film before last week...
then i got to add to the carnage with some crazy diving board stuff.
damn that was fun...