Reaching for the risers?

[TomAiello 25]

Quote

Last spring I blew my right toggle on a slider-down jump.

What style of toggles where you using?

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[skibumhass 0]

i have been taught not to reach as a friend of my mentors apparently cut one riser away doing so but what ever

[freeflysoul 0]

I always go reach for risers just when I feel the opening shock.
My main concern before that moment is to keep a good body position.
I've seen people touching the extracting canopy while reaching the risers with a good chance of an entaglement (expecially if you jump a MULTI equipped canopy)...

3,2,1,C-YA!!!
V.
BASE #1075 / BMI #I-002 / PFI #042 / EGI #104

[DaveO 0]

My on headings got noticeably better when I quit reaching for my risers and just went back to the box position after I pitched. Who knows?

"When it comes to BASE, I'll never give advice, only my opinion"

[Mac 1]

After looking again at the pics from the recent TFs fatality, do you think the transition from such a head high exit to such a head low position can be attributed to a "going for the risers" postion? The acute difference in postion cant be solely from reaching for the risers on deployment.... or am I being really stupid in this conclusion?

I am a little confused by the thought that the reaching for the risers may have had an issue in this....

I only note, as I always reach on pitch and find my body postion is helped by doing so.... (I know others disagree with this)

[TVPB 0]

My opinion(s) :

- firstly, my preferred technique is thus. I deploy. My main focus on deployment is clear area for the equipment to deploy (back pointing upwards), and to know the relative position of my shoulders to the ground. I prefer to have shoulders symmetrical and perpendiculer to the deployment (parallel with flat ground), but I also like to have fun on lots of jumps so I allow for my shoulder angles and am ready for off headings as per their relative position. As soon as I throw the pilot chute, I focus on body position, understanding how flat / angled my shoulders are, etc. In one continuous motion, I move my hands to where my risers will be as the deploying canopy is just about to reach line stretch and I start swinging through. As I am moving my hands there, I sense what is happening to my body whilst various parts of my harness tensions up against the body. This gives me an early clue as to what my heading will be, etc. IF everything feels fine and the visuals are confirming that feeling, I move towards toggles. If there is ANYTHING questionable in how I feel, then I will grab my risers in anticipation of heading correction. Note that I grab the risers at the toggle area such that I am always going for the same place. The input to heading corrections is dependant no how much force is placed on my harness and where (see example below), and how my gear is set up.

NOTE: THIS IS NOT WHAT I TEACH MY STUDENTS - IT IS THE TECHNIQUE FOR ME - I have a few jumps under my expanding belt (lots of high level competition CRW and lots of BASE)!!!!! I also vary this technique depending on what object I am jumping from, the type of jump that I am doing, the gear that I am jumping, how I feel, how current I am, etc. For the above to work well, you need to be experienced, current, very 3D aware of your body position, and in tune with the gear you are jumping,

For example, if my left shoulder is dipped, I will usually feel tension on the left shoulder at the start of the swing through (the tension confirms what I think my shoulders are doing - feedback). I will also usually feel slightly higher pressure on my left leg strap at the latter stages of the swing through. Because I am feeling uneven tensions and I initially estimated that my left shoulder was dipped, my mind is already focused in dealing with a left off heading. So I will focus on getting my hands on the rear risers (this assumes minimal lateral separation from an object). My focus will also be stronger on the right riser so that I can put more effort into correcting the heading that way. My peripheral vision becomes heightened such that I am focusing on heading correction but keeping an eye on the object. This allows me to alter my decision r.e. heading correction if the heading is coming around too much.

STUDENTS AND INEXPERIENCED PEOPLE:

What I see in the photo is not ideal IMHO. Unless you have long arms and are very flexible, you will be reaching further down the risers and will have less leverage and control over your inputs. The good point is to gain more leverage you have to reach further up your risers and this takes more time - so you are saving time. But you have to balance time with response time from your inputs. Someone else in this thread mentioned reaching for the 3 rings. There is stuff all leverage there. Although you can get to your 3 ring quicker, it will take longer and more effort to get the response you want out of your canopy to get the heading correction you are after.

With absolute beginners I recommend body stability as number one. Given that you should be jumping off "safer" objects such as bridges initially, heading correction is a little less critical initially, so you get to focus on squaring your shoulders and allowing the canopy to come out stable and on heading. So pitch your pilot chute, square your shoulders in a good stable box man position, and in the latter stages of your swing through, reach for your risers. The trick with absolute beginners is to get them to count (1000, 2000, 3000 - maybe 4 and 5 for those quick counters ). This forces them to keep a stable body position for longer and allows the canopy to deploy properly. If you don't want to jump off bridges initially and object strike is more relevant, then you need to get your heading correction sorted straight away. This means getting onto risers sooner.

There was a point made about line twists and reaching for risers. The point on rotation is very pertinent. Another example of this is figure skaters, when they start a spin there limbs are extended. As they bring their limbs closer to their bodies the rotational speed increases immensely. Divers do this on multiple somersaults and twists. So do aerobatic BASE jumpers. The line twist scenario usually comes in the following situation: if a jumper does have unsymmetrical shoulders and they are badly head down, they will load the riser on the side that is shoulder down quite heavily. They will then start to spin around that pivot point and in that direction (i.e. left shoulder down will lead to left twist). Because they are head down, their body has to travel down under the influence of gravity, and the excess speed of the body has to translate / dissipate somewhere. Twisting around is the only palce to go. If the arms are in, then this spinnig will be faster - just like the figure skater and diver. This will make the twists worse. If you reach too low on the risers, you have minimal chance of stopping the twists due to all the force and speed involved.

That's why a student should count and remain balance in a harness and jump off objects initially where heading correction is not life critical (just technique and fundamental learning critical).

There is much benefit in getting onto your controls as earlier as possible. But you have to balance this benefit with the potential cost of stuffing up your body position which causes the heading problem in the first place. So beginners should focus on body position through the deployment and heading control at the latter stages of deployment. And jump off a safe object initially.

Experienced people are just that. They can choose for themselves.

Quote

I got tired of having my hands spanked with risers. I wait.
take care, space

When doing CRW, I used to watch other people deploying around me (When doing tight multi way exits and close openings). I got whacked in the head a few too many times by my risers. Now I use peripheral vision. This is relevant to BASE camera people who watch others whilst deploying. Make sure your head and camera are not within riser deployment range, otherwise you get bitch slapped - I recommend the wider risers for bitch slapping, they hurt less as the slappign covers a wider area...

You getting too old for B&D Tracy???? Love your work bro...

Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck

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