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slackercruster

Ever try BASE?

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BASE IMO is far safer than skydiving when done the right way. What's the most dangerous part of a skydive? besides the drive there and back. Getting into that possible coffin called an airplane. bridges and towers rarely fall down. buildings and cliffs present their own challenges and need to be treated as such. I've taken quite a few newbies on their 1st jump and it's been very rewarding for them. Don't listen to the naysayers. It can be done as safe or safer than a jump from a plane.

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slacker, I would suggest you went for a jump or more, and discover that there is more to the sport than wingsuiting and BASE jumping (which are all over the youtoobs)
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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I struggle to understand how, as what appears to be an active BASE jumper, you can hold that view. The margin for error in BASE is so much lower than that of skydiving. Given the number of active jumpers in both disciplines the accident/fatality rates are far higher in BASE as well.

I have several friends that have BASEd and a few who continue to do so, several who don't - one because he is dead (from a BASE jump) and one because he spent 8 weeks in a coma, (from a BASE jump). Not one of my BASE friends would ever say BASE was safer than skydiving.

I know you caveat 'when done the right way' but I still fundamentally disagree with you. I know that in the BASE world I am probably not allowed to even express an opinion however as I don't jump.

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

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I struggle to understand how, as what appears to be an active BASE jumper, you can hold that view. The margin for error in BASE is so much lower than that of skydiving. Given the number of active jumpers in both disciplines the accident/fatality rates are far higher in BASE as well.

I have several friends that have BASEd and a few who continue to do so, several who don't - one because he is dead (from a BASE jump) and one because he spent 8 weeks in a coma, (from a BASE jump). Not one of my BASE friends would ever say BASE was safer than skydiving.

I know you caveat 'when done the right way' but I still fundamentally disagree with you. I know that in the BASE world I am probably not allowed to even express an opinion however as I don't jump.



+1

that is if you dont keep on static-lining from bridges..

other than that, as a friend of mine put it "BASE is no joke!"..

so far, one guy i've personally met died in BASE, none in skydiving..


edited to add: ueli gegenschatz most prominently said, if done the right way, BASE can be done safely; ironically, he also died, subsequent to a BASEjump.. [:/]
“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

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slacker, I would suggest you went for a jump or more, and discover that there is more to the sport than wingsuiting and BASE jumping (which are all over the youtoobs)



Was just curious how many of you BASE.

I plan to take a plane jump sometime. Wingsuits look to be out for me. Don't think I can ever meet the 200 jump in 18 month rule or come close to it.

BASE looks out for me too. Lost all interest in it after I came accross this site...

http://www.splatula.com/bfl/

BASE is most dangerous sport in the world, jumpers dying ever other fudging month like clockwork.

Got interested in wingsuits after I watched some vids on it. Loved this one. Great POV filming. But guy crashed and died shortly after filming it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/fmalan1

I figured wingsuits from a plane must be pretty safe. So thought about getting into that. But it takes an amount of dedicated time I don't have to put into it.

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But it takes an amount of dedicated time I don't have to put into it.

do you plan on dying in the next months/years ? [:/]

For the wingsuiting, you do not need to crush the 200 jumps in 18 months, you can also jump a bit "less regularly", but will be requested by your WS coach ( if you decide to go with the coaching way), a slightly higher number of jumps.

Reason for that would be you need to be "fluent" in the activity, have some time in it, and have your brains clear enough to try some new stuff....

Of course if you don't have time, you could purchase a wingsuit and huck yourself from a cliff on your 1st jump ever... But it would most probably be a one-shot experience....

edited to add : in some remote places (provided you are in the US), tehre "would be" places where you could wingsuit-tandem, or in the US you could Tandem-BASE
scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

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BASE IMO is far safer than skydiving when done the right way. What's the most dangerous part of a skydive? besides the drive there and back. Getting into that possible coffin called an airplane. bridges and towers rarely fall down. buildings and cliffs present their own challenges and need to be treated as such. I've taken quite a few newbies on their 1st jump and it's been very rewarding for them. Don't listen to the naysayers. It can be done as safe or safer than a jump from a plane.



Wow. If that's how you feel please do the sport a favor and don't ever take anyone else out for their first jump.
Fiend

I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark. - Thomas Hobbes.

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Was just curious how many of you BASE.

I plan to take a plane jump sometime. Wingsuits look to be out for me. Don't think I can ever meet the 200 jump in 18 month rule or come close to it.

BASE looks out for me too.



Dude, you've not even started yet, so how can you possibly start planning what you will or won't do? There is absolutely no point over analysing things at this stage. If and when you actually start skydiving you'll know what effect it has on you and what portion (if any) of you're life you're prepared to dedicate to it.

So, take things a step at a time, and stop worrying about what you might be able to do in 200 jumps time when you've not yet made 1 jump.
Do you want to have an ideagasm?

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But it takes an amount of dedicated time I don't have to put into it.

do you plan on dying in the next months/years ? [:/]

For the wingsuiting, you do not need to crush the 200 jumps in 18 months, you can also jump a bit "less regularly", but will be requested by your WS coach ( if you decide to go with the coaching way), a slightly higher number of jumps.

Reason for that would be you need to be "fluent" in the activity, have some time in it, and have your brains clear enough to try some new stuff....

Of course if you don't have time, you could purchase a wingsuit and huck yourself from a cliff on your 1st jump ever... But it would most probably be a one-shot experience....

edited to add : in some remote places (provided you are in the US), tehre "would be" places where you could wingsuit-tandem, or in the US you could Tandem-BASE



Wingsuit-tandem would be interesting. Didn't know one could do that.

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Was just curious how many of you BASE.

I plan to take a plane jump sometime. Wingsuits look to be out for me. Don't think I can ever meet the 200 jump in 18 month rule or come close to it.

BASE looks out for me too.



Dude, you've not even started yet, so how can you possibly start planning what you will or won't do? There is absolutely no point over analysing things at this stage. If and when you actually start skydiving you'll know what effect it has on you and what portion (if any) of you're life you're prepared to dedicate to it.

So, take things a step at a time, and stop worrying about what you might be able to do in 200 jumps time when you've not yet made 1 jump.



Well, I'm an old guy. I'm into lots of stuff. So I have a tendency to look at my abilities and see where I can fit in comfortably.

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BASE IMO is far safer than skydiving when done the right way. What's the most dangerous part of a skydive? besides the drive there and back. Getting into that possible coffin called an airplane. bridges and towers rarely fall down. buildings and cliffs present their own challenges and need to be treated as such. I've taken quite a few newbies on their 1st jump and it's been very rewarding for them. Don't listen to the naysayers. It can be done as safe or safer than a jump from a plane.




Statistics don't support your claim.




To the OP
~I did some B.A.S.E. jumping years ago, back when we just used slightly modified sport gear. I have about a dozen jumps but no A, so I never did get a number. :(

Wife & I made a deal when the kids came along, she's quit flying air races and aerobatic routines at air shows, and I would quit B.A.S.E. jumping...all of which are pursuits that have very little margin for error with quite possible catastrophic results even it you don't make a mistake.

I've lost more friends to B.A.S.E. than to Skydiving, and I have a LOT more friends that Skydive. Most of the friends I have that do B.A.S.E. jump have been injured at various times along the way. It just doesn't make sense in my cost/benefit analysis...but that's just me.










~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

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From my very limited exposure to both I wouldn't ever say base is safer but doesn't it depend a lot on the kind of base jumping? Skydiving already pegs pretty high on my acceptable risk-o-meter but I do kind of want to jump a big wall once or twice just to mark it off the list. Big walls are certainly much safer than antennas or buildings, right? A 3000 feet its pretty close to a skydive minus the reserve, yeah?

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Big walls are certainly much safer than antennas or buildings, right?



You can't generically compare one object type to another object type. All objects are different and each object has it's own challenges. But if we were to think generically, I would still say that Antennas do not have the same hazards as Earth (call them Big Walls if you must) because the landing areas of Antennas are often larger and more forgiving.

When it comes to BASE you have to factor in the entire jump not just the free fall. How do you get up to the exit point? How is your geared configured? What kind of exit do you do? How long before you deploy? Do you need to track away from the object? How high or low will you deploy? What do you do if your deployment is not on heading? What kind of landing area is there? Assuming you land safely, how do you and your jump party get out of the landing area?

Finally one person's tolerance for risks in BASE is not the same as another person. Obviously going hand held flat and stable off of a 400 foot cliff is less risky than someone doing a double gainer off of the same exit point. There are just too many variables to think of BASE in generic terms.


Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

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BASE IMO is far safer than skydiving when done the right way. What's the most dangerous part of a skydive? besides the drive there and back. Getting into that possible coffin called an airplane. bridges and towers rarely fall down. buildings and cliffs present their own challenges and need to be treated as such. I've taken quite a few newbies on their 1st jump and it's been very rewarding for them. Don't listen to the naysayers. It can be done as safe or safer than a jump from a plane.



This is idiotic. Unforgivably so, coming from an experienced skydiver.

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Comparing BASE to skydiving is like comparing flying airplanes to helicopters.

If you want to compare the safety aspects, it's pretty impossible because no one really knows how many jumps are made in the BASE community.

The Perrine Bridge is without a doubt the most jumped object in the USA. It's legal and the landing area is large and forgiving. Most new jumpers get their start there as most of the BASE gear manufacturers, mentors and local instructors take their students there.
I think the safety record there is pretty good. Probably better than most DZ's as far as fatalities per 1,000 jumps. But there isn't a way to keep track.
Going hand held from Perrine is a safer jump than skydiving, there is so much less that can go wrong.

When things get dicey in the BASE world is big walls, wingsuits, trying to out track a ledge, weather and other issues. Read through the Splatula BASE fatality list. There are a lot of low pulls, off heading openings and wall stikes. The more you add in BASE, the more the margin of error decreases. The same with skydiving, but it's magnified in BASE.

The problems in BASE jumping are similar with new jumpers, as with skydiving. Newer jumpers try objects over their abilities, sort of like downsizing a canopy too quickly.

One thing BASE jumpers are way better at than skydivers is knowing their gear and how to assemble it.

BASE can be done safely. Comparing the safety records is impossible.

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Comparing BASE to skydiving is like comparing flying airplanes to helicopters.



I'd say it's more like comparing jumping with one parachute to jumping with two parachutes.

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The more you add in BASE, the more the margin of error decreases.



Yeah. Or subtract - like one of the parachutes.

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The same with skydiving, but it's magnified in BASE.



Yes, and one of those several factors is jumping a single parachute with no reserve. Say what one may about causal factors in reported incident statistics, that factor does exist. It should be acknowledged for what it is.


BTW: In the interest of disclosure, I'm "No, but I'd like to try it"; i.e., probably a Bridge Day jump one of these days.

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>BASE IMO is far safer than skydiving when done the right way.

If you define "the right way" as a 5000 foot BASE jump off a crane, over an open field, with a direct bag static line and a standard two-canopy skydiving student rig - yes, I'd agree.

However, no such sites exist. In the real world, on average, skydiving is far safer than BASE.

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Comparing BASE to skydiving is like comparing flying airplanes to helicopters.



I'd say it's more like comparing jumping with one parachute to jumping with two parachutes.

Quote

The more you add in BASE, the more the margin of error decreases.



Yeah. Or subtract - like one of the parachutes.

Quote

The same with skydiving, but it's magnified in BASE.



Yes, and one of those several factors is jumping a single parachute with no reserve. Say what one may about causal factors in reported incident statistics, that factor does exist. It should be acknowledged for what it is.


BTW: In the interest of disclosure, I'm "No, but I'd like to try it"; i.e., probably a Bridge Day jump one of these days.



The fact that you are jumping / deploying so low that you only have time for one parachute is a lot more important than the fact that you only have one parachute in terms of why BASE is more dangerous than skydiving.

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