Number 100 . . .

[TVPB 0]

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I vote we provide care for those who care. and let the others take their chances head on with gravity. BASE is self regulatory in it's absolute nature. Even if you show it the respect it deserves, it CAN kill you, so for those who show no respect, it's simply a matter of time and probability.

Harsh. No. Impact is harsh.

Here is my proxy vote too.

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[sabre210 0]

These comments i should add are nothing whatsoever to do with the tragic fatality mentioned in the initial post, of which we know little or nothing of the experience or circumstances.

My sincere sympathies go out to the family of the deceased.

ian

[TVPB 0]

Brats & Ego's & Stuff.

We know, because we were. And some of us still are. But we do not proclaim to know all. Only some things.

It's just like flares and sideburns. It comes, it goes, and we always seem to be going in circles.

Now, what stupid thing can I try next . . . . . . . . .

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[GreenMachine 0]

Blue Skies Mr. Lonnie Bissonnette,

I teach some of the ground schools at my dropzone and have never asked a student why they want to skydive... however I could easily answer that question for myself in 10 words or 10 pages.

Conversely, I was asked why I wanted to BASE jump by several people who I approached prior to my course, I was asked that during the first hour of my FJC, and Nick's post mentioned "taking time to stand down and re-evaluate our motivation". Hence I firmly believe my polite request for others to share their motivations was reasonable. I openly and honestly shared mine, as lame as they have sounded.

How about you guy --- want to put into words why you BASE jump? Of course you do not need to justify your actions to me, I am a stranger with only 7 BASE jumps, but most of us who visit here are kindred spirits who enjoy parachuting and living by our skills. More importantly many of us could learn something.

With Respect & Curiosity,
~Tom

[dmcoco84 4]

I can't put mine into words but I know why the moment I step off the edge. For me...its worth every risk.

Coco

[Amanduh 0]

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want to put into words why you BASE jump?

I feel that everyone has their own reasons for base jumping.

For me, I continuously wonder why i base jump. While others are at home with their family, playing on the computer, going out with friends to clubs, etc...I'm sneaking around during the wee hours of the night, jumping fences, sweating to get to exit and putting my life on the line, knowing I have to wake up for work in 4 hours...and then I question myself : why the hell am I doing this?

But... at the exact moment my feet begin to leave an exit point and I know there is no turning back... in that moment, I truely understand why I BASE jump. And that feeling/understanding, is something I cannot explain in words to anyone even if I tried. It is all for me. It is my heaven.

[inzite 0]

I've tried explaining it. I can't.

The coolest friends I have are the ones who simply accept that I can't explain it. Sometimes I try to put it in words by saying that "it's the most beautiful sport I know".

But that just doesn't quite capture it.......especially because to a non-BASE-jumper it's not a beautiful sport. It's "people throwing themselves off of objects with parachutes".

[TomAiello 25]

I think the point of asking the question is more to make you think about it than it is to actually come up with an answer.

I tend to be more impressed with people who put thought into asking themselves these questions, rather than either the folks who never engage in introspection, or the folks who think they have one defining answer.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[hookitt 0]

I just want to fly. That's my one defining answer

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

[460 0]

As dumb as this sounds, I almost wish I could get the same level of satisfaction doing something less dangerous.

Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

[yuri_base 1]

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since this is a sad milestone for us all I thought it important to say something . . .

I think a round number by itself doesn't represent any milestone. It's just a number. Incrementing 99 to 100 doesn't have any special meaning as neither 65 to 66, 199 to 200, or 665 to 666 do. Given enough time, there will be 200, 666, 1000000, etc. BASE fatalities someday.

But the ratio of the highest BASE number to date (Joy's List) to the total number of fatalities (Nick's List) -- or L/D ratio (Life vs. Death) -- gives us some food for thought...

Currently, L/D ~ 11.

Of course, the highest BASE number represents only some percentage of total number of jumpers, but one could argue that this percentage doesn't change much with time.

Also, the derivative of this ratio (that is, the number of BASE numbers issued in one year to the number of deaths in that year) may reveal some tendencies.

Eleven... Per 10 alive, 1 dead.

Yuri

Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

[dmcoco84 4]

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It is my heaven.

That’s a good way to put it. The time between when I arrive (climb, gear up, exit, freefall, and land) and leave with a big smile on my face is the happiest I've ever been. Nothing gives me a greater feeling of joy and fulfillment than BASE has. Like Hookitt said, I too wanna fly. Makes you feel free (a feeling totally different from skydiving in my opinion).

Coco

[NickDG 23]

>>From personal experience Nick, this attitude of yours just gets you unpopular!!!!!! I know. Because I am.<<

That's for sure, and I've seen both sides of it.

When Carl was alive and running the USBA he was, except for writing up his adventures and passing on what little safety info there was at the time, hands off as far as what we should and shouldn’t be doing. He believed nature would just take its course. And he was right. When his widow Jean took over she wanted everything down on paper and the word "organization" became her mantra, and we hated it . . . and many even took to hating her.

Carl had a slight advantage over us in that he died before the fatality list became so populated. He himself is only number seven on that list. Had he lived until today I’m sure his position would have hardened up – as a person would have to be heartless or brain dead not to show some pause over the current numbers. And Carl was neither of those things.

Last night, over a beer with skydiving friend he said to me, “There’s only been a hundred BASE fatalities? Gee, that’s not too bad at all.” And I suppose in the abstract it can be thought of like that. The problem is it’s not abstract - not to me, and not to many others who knew so many of those people.

If you can duck in and out of BASE jumping in just a few years you don’t have to face the responsibility of the young ones dying. And we (all of us) are responsible because we make the jokes, share the videos, and generally aren’t that shy anymore of showing what a grand old time we’re having. But if you’re still in the game after twenty years it's going to start to eat on you.

The answer, I think, is still the way it’s always been – one person passes BASE on to the next. No matter if it’s a BASE course or someone you met at the DZ that seems to work as we die not so much from bad information but from bad judgment or just plain bad luck. And I have no idea what to do about that. So that’s when the term “regulation” bears its ugly head. Because we don’t know what else to do. And I chuckle sometimes when someone tries to explain to me that regulation will never work as I invented many of those same arguments.

I suppose in the end we can only control ourselves personally and I can sleep at night only because anyone who ever gets BASE from me gets the warts and all. So yes, my own attitude changed from a “let the brothers go” total freedom, and fly the jolly roger thing - to where it is now. And to those coming up the same change will occur in you too. Unless you're heartless or brain dead . . .

Oh, and the latest word on this tower fatality - it was static line, and during the climb out the bridle got in front of the jumper, around his waist area, and on launch the dynamic force overloaded the break cord and it parted before opening the container.

NickD
BASE 194

[460 0]

That's not much better than the odds of Russian roulette. At least we have a lot of fun jumping.

Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

[ZegeunerLeben 0]

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Oh, and the latest word on this tower fatality - it was static line, and during the climb out the bridle got in front of the jumper, around his waist area, and on launch the dynamic force overloaded the break cord and it parted before opening the container.

>>Do you know if he had a 46 attached to his bridle?
I would think from 250ft he'd have a chance if he had a 46 attached, but not so much if he was entangled with it.

[NickDG 23]

The first report from the weekend did mention a pilot chute, but the lastest one did not.

It always takes a while to get the details sorted out . . .

NickD
BASE 194

[yuri_base 1]

I compiled the numbers from BASENumbers.org and BASE Fatality List, here's the trend of L/D ratio from 1983 (note the vertical axis starts at 7).

Yuri

Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

[460 0]

This is interesting. Imagine that after all these years that jump fatality rates are as bad as they were back in 1988. Same thing happened in skydiving when that sport evolved.

Looks like a death sandwich without the bread - Steve Deadman Morrell, BASE 174

[NickDG 23]

Very good, Yuri!

NickD BASE 194

[NickDG 23]

Here's more info from this afternoon:

The jumper was PCA-ing himself after helping two others get off first. The bridle got in front of him and he launched. Although the pilot chute inflated the bridle is essentially wrapped around his body. He realized something was wrong and fought with it and did manage to get some canopy material out but it was entangled with his body also. He died immediately on impact . . .

NickD
BASE 194

[yuri_base 1]

I updated the spreadsheet with running 1, 3, and 5 year averages.

For what it's worth...

Yuri

Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

[TVPB 0]

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Oh, and the latest word on this tower fatality - it was static line, and during the climb out the bridle got in front of the jumper, around his waist area, and on launch the dynamic force overloaded the break cord and it parted before opening the container.

FUNDAMENTALS!!!!

Sad.

Condolences to all involved. And that is ALL OF US!!!

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[TVPB 0]

To ZegeunerLeben

Here are a few lessons.

I have S/L two people without any p/c attached.

I trust with my own experience that I will do the job - AND I use double redundancy (hand held + S/L). The two people also trusted me implicitly.

HOWEVER, I WILL NOT TRUST ANYONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR ME. No matter if they are way better than me, or way worse. I will walk down.

I want that big p/c attached to my bridle regardless.

Why? Because in the end, my life is my responsibility. And it is up to me to manage my own risks.

There is a jumper who asked a taxi driver to hold his p/c off a 50 m bridge!!!!!!! The taxi driver had never seen a jump before. Would you do this??? In the end he hung on for dear life, the bridle burned his hands, and the canopy was distorted quite a bit (not such a good thing from 50m), but the principal remains.


p.s. this is harder to achieve when you are inexperienced.

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

[yuri_base 1]

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You see I plan to Be One of the ones that will be looking @ #-199 & Wondering who's ??? . #-200 . ...

I might have a frighteningly accurate estimate when that's gonna be.

In the last 15 years or so, according to data from BASE #'s vs. time graph, the number of BASE jumpers has been growing exponentially with the time constant of approx. 0.095/year: N(Year) = N(StartYear)*exp(0.095*(Year - StartYear)).

Thus, the number of BASE jumpers doubles every

ln(2)/0.095 ~ 7.3 years

(like money at 9.5% interest rate will double in 7.3 years)

If the current rate of 1 death per approx. 10 issued BASE #'s stays the same for several years, 100 more deaths will "take" 1000 more new BASE #'s, so #200 will go in when BASE #2070 (1070 today + 1000) is issued. 2070 is 1035 doubled, and 1035 was issued approx. in September 2005. 2005.7 + 7.3 = 2013.

So, those who will be alive in 2013, will be wondering who's #200.

Those who will be alive in 2030 (2006 + ln(10)/0.095), will be wondering who's #1000.

Exponential explosion of the number of jumpers leads to exponential explosion of The List.

Yuri

Android+Wear/iOS/Windows apps:
L/D Vario, Smart Altimeter, Rockdrop Pro, Wingsuit FAP
iOS only: L/D Magic
Windows only: WS Studio

[Calvin19 0]

Sadly, i didnt even read any farther down this forum to see if anybody beet me to it, but i have a thing or three to say about what you did there say.

to most of us jumpers,
the point of BASE jumping is not the freefall, its not the short ass canopy ride, its not the 100th death, its not the feeling we get when we read about the 'incident report' out of 'BASEist monthly'
this is NOT a sport about following the rules, or jump order for safety, or correct deployment altitude, its not about landing accuracy or the perfect track,

Man did not explore the world (and sadly, later totaly destroy it) by paying 20USD (25in CO) to ride the same little sailboat around the same lake up to 30,000 times in a lifetime.

They built there own boat, drew some maps, found a good crew, bribed someone else into paying for it, and they left. they went and saw the world.

Granted, all those great explorers learned to sail on cutelittle boats, around the little lake where they live, but some moved on.

A lot of those little explorers stayed there, in the lake, perfected their sailing. they raced other wannabe explorers, and probably took home a lot of women who thought that sailing is the last great adventure.

but then, the real explorers got home, some of them dead, some of them failed horribly, but those ones that got home, they have character. I guess they went out to drink with the wannabe explorers, shared stories of the lake, and raceing, then stories of the grand ocean, new islands, new land.
and those women were there, and still went home with there wannabe explorers. and you know why thats ok with everyone?
because that, as well, is not why most base jumpers do what they do.

Now is where i am supposed to say WHY base jumpers do what they do, and WHY its ok to risk everything. Im supposed to redeam myself for makeing fun of skydivers for the last 1000 charecters. but im not going to.



none of the BASE jumpers that are considered respectable, blame you or anybody else who chooses to quit or never start. I guess, All i got to say is that BASE jumpers all have different reasons, for doing what they do. they get out, and they see what is out there, just another way to prove that they are Audacious.

AUDACIOUS, is not an insult, from the first time i was called it as an insult i fealt complimented, because I AM A JUMPER. like DG brilliantly sad before, I, and US, will forever be BASE jumpers.
so, greenie, this is obviously just a pep talk telling averybody to be themselves... quit for anything you want. start for the same reason.

AUDACITY:simply, bold courage
so, essentialy, nevermind