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adventurechick

Thinking about BASE

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Lately, everytime I see a tall building or bridge, I think to myself... "I wonder what it would be like to jump that... and how/where would I land."

I'm still pretty new to skydiving with only 87 jumps... but am considering BASE jumping. How many jumps do you suggest one to have before they start BASE and is there anything I can be doing in skydiving now to prepare me for future BASE jumps?

Finally, is there a BASE class offered anywhere for your first BASE jump?

PMS #449 TPM #80 Muff Brother #3860
SCR #14705 Dirty Sanchez #233

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My only advice is to stay in skydiving alot longer and enjoy it, within this time you will have some scares, see some scrapes and injuries and will loose some friends, once you get used to that environment in skydiving, then re-assess your want to get into BASE, as you will see it more, and then at least you will be partially prepared...

please dont rush into BASE, Its a horrible sport and not as nice as it looks on video and not as romantic as it seems in the passion of newly introduced to skydiving....

I started BASE with 500 skydives with over 150 focused on getting into BASE, and I still was not prepared for the mayhem I got into.... Please dont rush into it...

http://hometown.aol.com/base194/myhomepage/base_fatality_list

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How many jumps do you suggest one to have before they start BASE and is there anything I can be doing in skydiving now to prepare me for future BASE jumps?



Several hundred more. Try to do as much CRW and Accuracy as you can. Sport accuracy is probably more applicable than classic accuracy--if you use a classic accuracy style canopy (which is quite similar to a BASE canopy). Consider switching to a large 7 cell canopy for your skydives (Ravens can be found fairly cheap for this sort of thing).



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Finally, is there a BASE class offered anywhere for your first BASE jump?



A complete list of FJC providers can be found at the end of the article here, which is an updated copy of the one linked at the top of this forum.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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"Now that you have an idea of what a BASE jump ought to look like, get your hands on some BASE video. The best video for this is the "Lemmings Exits" series from Bridge Day (http://www.lemmingsvideo.com/). Try to get several years of "Lemmings Exits", and whatever other BASE video you can find. Watch the video, preferably with your BASE mentor. Evaluate each jump. The more errors you can see before jumping, the more likely you are to avoid them yourself."



The Lemmings video link in the intro to base is a bad link.

edit to add:

Also the baserig link is invalid and the vertigo link are invalid. All 3 links point to aggregated relational link farms.

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Can someone maybe PM me a name of a person who is around deland/titusville/z-hills who does B.A.S.E. that could possibly be a mentor in future BASE jumps?

PMS #449 TPM #80 Muff Brother #3860
SCR #14705 Dirty Sanchez #233

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The Lemmings video link in the intro to base is a bad link.



Yep. Thanks for pointing that out.

After the death of Will Forshay (the producer, videographer and owner of the Lemmings footage), the Lemmings website is gone.

Fortunately, Jason Bell has acquired the rights to distribute this footage, so it is now available from the Vertical Visions Web Store.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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Can someone maybe PM me a name of a person who is around deland/titusville/z-hills who does B.A.S.E. that could possibly be a mentor in future BASE jumps?



Start with your local BASE Gear manufacturer (in Z-Hills). Especially being female, you ought to be on the lookout for issues like those discussed in this old thread. I'd say you ought to talk to Kathy at Morpheus to get an experienced, and female, perspective.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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Also the baserig link is invalid and the vertigo link are invalid. All 3 links point to aggregated relational link farms.



Note that the links have been corrected in the updated copy of the article which I linked in my post.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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In reply to:
"A complete list of FJC providers can be found at the end of the article here, which is an updated copy of the one linked at the top of this forum."


You have omitted Miles Daisher's course. Another option for learning to BASE in Twin Falls Idaho. milesdaisher.com

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You have omitted Miles Daisher's course. Another option for learning to BASE in Twin Falls Idaho. www.milesdaisher.com

Fixed it for ya. And another...............[/url]www.johnnyutah.com[url]
"No cookies for you"- GFD
"I don't think I like the sound of that" ~ MB65
Don't be a "Racer Hater"

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With every bit of positive input (which you have a lot of in this thread), you need the Dr Phil perspective. This is the Yang to the Ying that you have been getting.

That is where I come in.

Impress your future mentors and coaches by making some effort prior to asking some very basic questions.

e.g. The fact that you are asking how many jumps are required and that there are many published and easily found articles about this topic, will turn off half your possible mentors. If you were male, that would knock off the other half that is left (hence the advice from TA).

Why? Now this is my perspective, but if I had someone approach me for BASE training and they were absolute beginners and they showed no initiative to learn anything for themselves, I would be thinking, this is going to lots of hard work initially and I would have to be on my toes the whole time because I am not sure that person would ever make an effort and work hard. I would also be concerned that that person was in a hurry, wanted quick solutions, and was likely to get out of the sport just as fast as they got in. I may also think that that person would be more likely to advance too quickly. This all adds up to hard work and risk. So why should I bother.

Now if the potential student made an effort, were humble about their lack of experience, and they were showing very obvious signs of initiative, and willingness to learn and work hard, then I would be more likely to invest my time. This would lead to much better instruction AND learning and a heavily reduced risk factor.

Just something to consider.

Good Luck with it all.

p.s. there is nothing wrong with asking questions per se. You are doing the right thing there and people are willing to help. But just put in some hard yards prior and you may get much better results from the whole process. Better results in BASE jumping could mean things like . . . . staying alive.

TA is a great reference in terms of learning, listen to what he says.
Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

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

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Thanks everyone! I think I have a long way to go before I do my first BASE jump.... such as working on my exits, accuracy, and canopy control. I can't wait to start reading and learning about the sport. Even though I may not be ready now... my first BASE jump will come! Until then, I plan to soak up as much information as possible and practice!!

PMS #449 TPM #80 Muff Brother #3860
SCR #14705 Dirty Sanchez #233

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I think as a very bright woman you will not have a great problem finding a mentor or a person giving you advice for getting in to base.

Sometimes i wish, i would be a woman. ;)

Good luck by your efforts!

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Less time posting to dorkzone, more time skydiving.

Also, you can't practice BASE exits from a plane.

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Could I practice BASE exits from hot air baloons?



Yes. But a better mechanism is to practice them into a swimming pool, or to construct a pendulator. Practicing them from balloons, or on BASE jumps, allows only a very small number of practice exits per hour, whereas a swimming pool, pendulator, or foam pit can allow you to practice literally hundreds of exits per hour.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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Whow Tom! Either you got just carried away, or you have done some SERIOUS excercise since the last time we met....

Hundreds of jumps - means at least 200.
200 jumps in 60 mins (=3600 secs) makes an average of one jump every 18 seconds... and this a whole hour long ;-)

Sorry, could not pass on that one.
flummi
* Respekt - ist uns're Aufgabe (fanta4) *

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Well...one every 30 seconds is probably a better estimate. I've had a student stay on the pendulator for over an hour, doing exits at approximately that rate, though.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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The pendulator in Norway was cool. Probably more scary than the jump itself. Best get a couple of beers in first! :P

---------------------------------------
Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club
www.skydivebristoluni.com

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ok, but not out of a pool or into a foam pit!
flummi
* Respekt - ist uns're Aufgabe (fanta4) *

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Yeah, same concept but your one looks really fancy! :P

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3741/copyofdscf0576fj3.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/4258/copyofdscf0577rj0.jpg

There's the Norway pendulator. The lines are not really visible in the first pic, but hey. You sure couldn't do one every 30 secs there. It takes at least that long to climb up! Haha, i did mine at midnight and jumped the next morning.

Loved the place, highly recommended.

---------------------------------------
Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club
www.skydivebristoluni.com

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I enjoy reading the, how do I get into BASE forums for the mocking that whoever asks that question gets. Yet when someone who from their profile seems to be a pretty girl.....

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