basehoundsam 0 #1 February 7, 2006 http://dailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_4447015,00.html Matt was injured seriously yesterday, and is currently at Denver Health. All our prayers and hopes go out to him . Jay Epstein Ramirez www.adrenalineexploits.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #2 February 7, 2006 can you post the text ?? requires login. Hope it's not too bad. Sending thoughts.scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brits17 0 #3 February 7, 2006 Piifish beat me to the punch... I would like to read the article. Heal up Matt! In my prayers... _______________________ aerialkinetics.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JeNnEjEnN 0 #4 February 7, 2006 ditto... hope you're doing alright Matt... get well soon!! Jen------------------------------------------- "Scars remind you that the past is real..." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
avenfoto 0 #5 February 7, 2006 Paraglider crashes at local park Local man listed in critical condition with head injuries By Christine Reid, Camera Staff Writer February 7, 2006 A paraglider is in critical condition with head injuries after crashing Monday morning at Wonderland Lake. Matthew Hecker, 21, of Boulder, fell just after 9 a.m. about 50 feet out of the air with such force that it "popped" his helmet off when he struck the ground, according to a witness. Hecker was taken by ambulance to Boulder Community Hospital before being airlifted to Denver Health Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition late Monday afternoon. Hecker's friend, Alex Gilmer, told rescue officials he watched as Hecker took off from the popular paragliding spot in north Boulder. Gilmer reported hearing the yellow canopy "crackle" as Hecker's chute folded and collapsed. Gilmer called 911 from his cellular phone. "He thinks the canopy might have hit the ground first," said Dave Booton, Boulder County emergency services supervisor. Rescuers from Boulder Fire Rescue, Boulder Open Space and Rocky Mountain Rescue hiked about 500 feet up the steep hill popular for paragliding and strapped Hecker in a litter before carrying him down. Hecker was conscious and in pain, screaming obscenities as he was loaded onto the ambulance. Gilmer told rescuers Hecker has been paragliding for about five years, and said he has even more experience in sky diving and BASE jumping, which stands for building, antenna, span and earth and involves leaping with parachutes from buildings, bridges, cliffs and other fixed perches. Hecker was listed as a winner of a scholarship in 2004 by the Mile High Youth Gliding Association for lessons on the nonprofit's Boulder-based glider. Kay Tauscher, owner of Peak to Peak Paragliding in Boulder, was walking her dog at Wonderland Lake near the time of the accident and spotted the two lone paragliders. "I thought 'That's weird, this is clearly not a day to fly,'" Tauscher said, noting the wind was blowing the wrong direction. "Anybody who's been through proper training knows today is not the day to fly." Paragliders launching from Wonderland Lake need winds to be moving in an easterly direction to fly safely, Tauscher said, not from the west like it was blowing Monday morning. When the wind is at a paraglider's back, it creates a condition known as a "rotor," Tauscher said, and paragliders are not engineered to fly in that "kind of air." Tauscher said there had been talk in the local paragliding circles about some younger, inexperienced paragliders launching in less than desirable conditions from Wonderland Lake, but there is no law that they must be licensed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
avenfoto 0 #6 February 7, 2006 im sure youll be alright... keep the nurses on thier toes... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lifewithoutanet 0 #7 February 7, 2006 Fuck! Pull through, Matt! Anyone talking to him, send him my best. -C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #8 February 7, 2006 was he doing aerobatics ?scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #9 February 7, 2006 Ouch. Vibes for Matt, and his family and friends. Does anyone have an address for cards and such?-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JaapSuter 0 #10 February 7, 2006 QuoteDoes anyone have an address for cards and such? Seconded. Somebody needs a carrot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pBASEtobe 0 #11 February 7, 2006 QuoteQuoteDoes anyone have an address for cards and such? Seconded. Somebody needs a carrot. Ditto on both the carrot and the request for contact info, such as address. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouYoung 0 #12 February 7, 2006 QuoteHecker was conscious and in pain, screaming obscenities as he was loaded onto the ambulance. Just what we expect from a jumper! Get better Matt! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lifewithoutanet 0 #13 February 7, 2006 Denver Health Medical Center Matthew Hecker 200-15 777 Bannock St Denver, CO 80204 -C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
magot 0 #14 February 7, 2006 Matt hope you come out of this all right . you still have to show me how you perfected the Mic twist. get well soon. MaggotTOSS MY SALAD I'm an invincible re-tarded ninja derka derka bakala bakala muhammad jihad 1072 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edge01 1 #15 February 7, 2006 All the best to you brother .Get well . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cesslon 0 #16 February 7, 2006 Dam, get well soon. atleast he could swear, thats always a good sign. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amanduh 0 #17 February 7, 2006 damn this is not a good day. Screaming obscenities....that's great...lol Matt, hope you heal up real soon man..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 0 #18 February 8, 2006 Get well soon Matt. Have fun with the cute nurses . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pBASEtobe 0 #19 February 8, 2006 QuoteGet well soon Matt. Have fun with the cute nurses . Hopefully he'll get as cute of a physical therapist as I got when I was in the hospital with my broken femur! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lifewithoutanet 0 #20 February 8, 2006 QuoteHopefully he'll get as cute of a physical therapist as I got when I was in the hospital with my broken femur! Few people are THAT lucky. Damn. Why'd you have to go and bring her up? Watch yourself by the stairs...we might drop you again just for the visiting hours. -C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicknitro71 0 #21 February 8, 2006 Get well bro!Memento Audere Semper 903 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DexterBase 0 #22 February 8, 2006 Shit, shit, shit. Matt, can't let this slow you down bro, we still have that big project coming up. I know I can't handle it myself so I'm going to need you around. Pull through this buddy. Fuck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pope 0 #23 February 8, 2006 Matt is still in the surgical intensive care unit and is listed as "serious, in a critical state." Please keep him in your thoughts--We can't lose such a creative young mind in the world, let alone the sport. I'm going to try to go down tonight. stay strong brother! pope edit: it kills me that this happened mere blocks from my house and I just found out now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DexterBase 0 #24 February 8, 2006 QuoteI'm going to try to go down tonight. Can you be sure to tell him (even if he's unconscious when you see him) how hard the community is pulling for him? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lifewithoutanet 0 #25 February 8, 2006 Quotesuch a creative young mind in the world I second that. A lot of people may look at what he and his buds have done and say "They've got balls", but it's the brains that have brought them through this. I've got a lot of respect for them and these days, am rarely surprised when I hear of something else Matt's doing or has done. -C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites