Dd0g

I have some good video of him throwing a dead 'possum off a bridge. . . does that count? Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

A wise fellow and friend just wrote me the following words: "Tough times don't last, tough people do." Thanks, Neil - that really means alot right now. Let's usher these tough times off the stage for a while and queue up some good times again. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Deepest condolences to friends and family, it is so hard to lose people and practice doesn't help. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

We have decided to hold a memorial/celebration of Dwain's life on Sunday, 12th October. One one of the nicest things about Dwain was his eagerness to interact with and also learn from relative newcomers to BASE. He didn't want to just hang out with the "cool kids," and he was always a bit disappointed when newer folks were too intimidated by his reputation to talk with him as a person, not as "Dwain Weston." To that end, I want this memorial to be as inclusive as possible. It is NOT just for folks who knew Dwain for a long time as close friends - it is also for folks who might have been touched by Dwain in other ways. Nik's memorial was for me one of the most powerful experiences of my life, both in the pain of saying goodbye but also in the sharing of Nik's life with people who knew him from all directions. We're going to meet at 3pm at LaTourelle Falls park. The plan is pretty loose, we'll share some Dwain stories and maybe a few folks will jump or maybe not. I'd like to think that there will be some big memorial in a nice place where everyone comes and stuff, but I don't have it in me to organize this and the "official" funeral is apparently small and not open to the public. But we can hook up out in the Gorge on Sunday and share some stories, some smiles, and some tears. Why not? Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

My thanks for your kind words, and for the generous heart behind them. A wise jumper (was it Tom or Dwain or Slim or Nik or someone else. . . I don't recall) told me that the hardest thing about BASE is losing friends, and that if we aren't able to embrace that part of the sport clearly and with honesty, then we'd best find a new sport. Dwain lost so many truly great friends in the sport; he knew the cost better than anyone. BASE has brought me together with truly the most amazing, beautiful, interesting, complex, frustrating, intellectual, spiritual, corageous, ridiculous, hairbrained, brilliant people in the world. It has then taken them from me, one after another. If you join our sport, this will happen to you - it is wonderful, and it absolutely sucks. Remember however that the beautiful bird singing in the forest is not meant to be held in a "safe" cage - if he is put there, he'll die. The shark must keep moving to stay alive - imprison him in a small tank and he drowns. Some people want to grab onto beauty and claim it all for themselves - fuck everyone else, fuck the rest of the world, and fuck beauty. They'd rather destroy it than share it with the world. Fuck those people. The beauty is in the living, and it is for the living that we all rise each morning. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Raist has been kind enough to start a page of Dwain photos: http://dwain.e-raist.com/images/ Please email me any more you have, and we'll keep adding them. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

There are times in life when we laugh, and there are times when we cry. Then there are times when we do both at once, this is one of those times. Dwain was the unquestioned best of the best in the sport of BASE, a leader in all areas over so many years. Dwain was also my best friend, and someone I'll miss more than I can possibly imagine. Dwain taught me BASE; I taught him to climb. He taught me to surf; I taught him to dance. We spent so many hours together over the years: driving to objects in the middle of the night, coming back from surfting on the Oregon coat tired and wet and hungry, sitting on the sofa at Nik's watching movies, generally goofing off. In all the hundreds of hours we spent together, I dont' think we ever really disagreed about anything. He was the only person in the world with whom I was completely comfortable, never feeling anything but at ease with a kindrid spirit. Even in moments of extreme exhaustion, and certainly in moments of incalculable danger (and we certainly shared far too many of those little adventures), we seemed to just operate on the same frequency. The only time he ever got really mad at me was when I stole his rig in Malaysia and jumped it for all the world to see, thanking "my dear friend Dwain for this exceptionally careful packjob." Even that anger faded fast as he cracked his crooked grin and admitted he'd have done the same thing in my position. We were just kindred souls, too similar on too many levels to be anything but soulmates by default. I shared his highs and lows, he shared mine. I shared in his stories of sexual adventures, he shared in my stories of chemical excess. We shared so many BASE adventures, opening objects and jumping in conditions no sane person would consider. I was probably the only person who could follow him off many exits, and I did a few he wouldn't repeat himself. He taught me aerials, I rotated gainers faster than he did. We laughed so goddamned hard together, so hard our stomachs hurt. We laughed at ourselves, and at the utter absurdity of the world. Dwain and his plans for his cult, talks about technical stuff and about BASE gear. Hundreds of emails back and forth, countless phonecalls late at night, relationships started and ended. Depressions, high points, low points, boredom, total excitement, driving and hiking and climbing and jumping and flying and soloing and rolling together. And now he is gone forever. I think that so many people around the world know Dwain as the absolute ruler of BASE. Sadly, so few really got to know him as Dwain. Me and Slim and Karin and Ray and DJ and Tom and a handful more saw the really beautiful sides of him. Fuck the jumping and the technical brilliance, the really great parts were the sardonic humor and the hairbrained plans that he'd take just a step further than anyone else, and that sometimes came together in truly spectacular accomplishments. And, of course, Nik. Dwain never really got over the loss of Nik. Few knew how close they were; they, too, were absolute soulmates and they seemed to balance one another's highs and lows. Both with enough ego to spare, neither took the other too seriously. When Nik passed on, the world changed. It was the end of an era, something Dwain and I knew at once. The house where we all gathered, the weekend trips, the crashpad after late-night parties, the barbequeues. . . it all died with Nik, and a big part of Dwain died too. We mourn loss, but can our mourning undo it? No. Dwain saw and lived through so many horrible moments in BASE, and they rode heavy on his soul. Try has he did, he could not shake feeling responsible even though he knew logically he was nearly always the one who quietly held people back, prevented tragedies, pointed out errors before they happened. Now, I carry the burden of responsibility as Dwain leaves us all behind. I knew this call would come someday, much as Dwain and I joked about growing old together and telling stories of days gone by to while away the years. Some people burn so bright, it is as if by some law of energy conservation they just can't go on like that for long. Loving Dwain meant loving and accepting that part of him, too - and that was never easy to do. I've twitched for years when the phone rings and I suppose I'll go to my own grave doing so. Just too many calls that one never wants to hear. Frasier already misses his dear, dear friend. The adventures the two had together! Funny how Dwain bonded with dogs, I am sure Sabre will miss him dearly as all the rest of us do. I feel for his family terribly; to have lost someone like this, someone who reflected so much the love and caring of his parents in how he embraced life. He was such a beautiful soul, even the parts of himself he didn't like. There is no light without darkness, and Dwain had both in ample supply. The light he shared with all the world. The darkness, he kept mostly to himself. I wish I could have taken more of that darkness from him, enough to more than balance it all out. I know he did that for me, over and over again. I miss him so much, it feels like my world has lost one of it's dimensions and is utterly flat. I'm angry and crushed and confused and bitter and remorseful and contemplative and just so, so sad. A big part of me died yesterday, and I'm trying to make sense of how life goes on from here. Dwain was a brilliant man, a genuine friend, and an enigma even to himself. He as my best friend, someone I'll never forget as long as I live. He's touched many lives, but it is the impressions he left on me that feel the most empty right now. He and I spoke for hours and hours last week, we laughed and we cried and we shared the old times. I'd give anything to share just a bit more with him, as there's nobody else who really knows anymore. I send condolences to his many other friends, and to his family, as well as thanks to the many dear friends of mine who have sent their good thoughts and kind wishes. Even though I know it happened and I knew it eventually would, I just can't accept that he is gone. "Like a flower pressed flat and dried, we try to hold on to the past and say, this is exactly how it was the day I first saw it. But like the flower, the past cannot be trapped that way. It loses its fragrance and its vitality, its fragility becomes bitterness and its colors fade. And when next time you look on the flower, you know that it is not at all what you sought to capture, that that moment has fled forever." Robin Hobb, Fool’s Errand, p. 661 Peace, D. Spink BASE 715 last student of Dwain Weston +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

He successfully did a double from a 210 foot bridge with altitude to spare, but basically lost interest in the sub-200 goal as he felt it was unnecessarily risky and sort of boring at a certain level. I repeated that double from 210 but ended up with a broken ankle; I'll leave the sub-200 double to somebody else. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

I am headed out to make a first jump from a 1100 foot-ish big wall up here in BC this Wed, the 1st of Oct. Weather looks perfect, glacier conditions are good. To do the jump you'll need to be ok soloing 5.7 on good rock with a BASE rig on as I will be covering about 12 pitches of rock to get to the exit platform and do not have time to belay the whole way. Or, if you climb well at this level but still need a belay I could put a rope on for some pitches so long as your climbing is fast enough to ensure we aren't taking too long. I'm going slider-down just in case there are issues. This is a one-day trip from Vancouver BC and back, so if you have an open day drop me a line and we'll talk. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

BASE isn't risky, it's just that mistakes are unforgiving and very expensive. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

I'll be at the turkey boogie for sure, so we'll have a chance to do some jumping there. Open invitation to BASE folks: the proverbial red carpet is rolled out to come up and visit the boys here in Vancouver BC. If you know how to ride, you can hop in the saddle and do some flatwork with a couple of multimillion-dollar international showjumpers. If you know how to jump, we'll build fences until you say "uncle" or we hit 1.80 meters ;-) Oh, and we might even find time to get some BASE jumps in as well! Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Well, my maudlin post regaring Niks birthday sure has stirred up a bit of sediment from many directions. While it's good to hear some voices I haven't heard from in far too long, I've also had more than a few folks ask as to my whereabouts. At the risk of boring to tears the assembled audience, I shall forthwith offer a summer synopsis. In May of this year, I moved to Canada. Packed up my car, loaded up the dogs, sold everything that wouldn't fit in the trunk, and off I went. The States have just become too shrill and taut and generally police-state-ish for my tastes, and I don't see that changing for a decade or so. I'd initially planned to go from here to Switzerland, but fate intervened. Some horses I used to own live up here, so I started hanging out a bit with then after my arrival. One thing leads to another, and now I'm trainer in charge of three Holsteiner showjumping stallions, one Holsteiner gelding, one mare, and one quite nice little colt. . . plus a Percheron stallion. How I went from being a casual observer of my used-to-be-owned-by-me horses, to their full-time trainer is a long and somewhat drama-filled story. Suffice it to say that I grew up riding competitively, and apparently I've been unsuccessful in flushing the equine bug from my system. My re-acquaintance with "my boys," as I generally refer to the lot of 'em, has been simply blissful beyond words. Folks who know me, know that my relationships with my dogs and "my" horses are the touchstone of my existence. So, this process of stepping back into an active training/managment role of the stallions has been wonderful. Admittedly, it has involved a great deal of sleep deprivation, countless hours of grueling work, lots of schooling in the heat of the summer, thousands of kilometers of driving them to and fro in horse trailers, many dollars out of my not-so-deep pockets and resulting cash crunches, and yes plenty of drama. Now, however, they are all safely settled into a gorgeous barn in the foothills of the BC mountains. It is, quite simply, a lifetime dream come true for me. Additionally, my lead stallion (Capone) really set the world on fire in the showjumping ring after my summer of training and preparation with him. He ended the show circuit this year with a 9th place in the Keg $50,000 Grand Prix here in Vancouver, followed by a double-clear 4th place finish at the Masters tournament at Spruce Meadows in Calgary. The latter was in the 1.45 meter division - roughly five foot high fences, with some of the most competitive classes in North America. I wasn't able to ride him myself in most of his classes this summer due to an old ankle injury - yes it is from BASE, of course. In large part due to his performance in these shows, Capone has been invited to join a national showjumping team at the Olympics in Athens 2004. I don't know if we'll go through with it - doing the Olympics means skipping lots of other events that offer huge prize money, but on the other hand it's the fucking Olympics. Time will tell. . . I did only a bit of jumping due to time constraints, but I've had some beautiful exits this summer to boot. I've got scouted out over a dozen 1,000+ foot, virgin alpine faces in the North Cascades - on both sides of the border. Sometime, when I have time away from the horses, I'll actually open some of these new exits. In sum, I'm buried in paperwork I didn't complete over the summer. My US driver's license expired and I have yet to get a Canadian one. I've put down some roots up here and expect to stay for a very long time, and I'm tired so now I am going to sleep. Hope everyone else out there had good summers, too. I didn't make Lauterbrunnen this year. That sucks, but I'm looking forward to Petronas for sure - that is, if Slim will take me ;-) Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Celebtrated Nik's birthday by finally getting off the Big B with my friend Raistlin. A beautiful day filled with good conversation, rocks, trees, and bue skies filled out the picture. Getting arrested the night before set the proper tone - Nik would have approved, for sure. What is up with American BASE jumpers ignoring their "friends" this summer, and generally being assholes to one another? Seems that we used to consider one another friends and folks stayed in touch and were cordial to one another. However, during the last few months all the cool kids seem to be into ignoring people and otherwise behaving like spoiled frat boys. The number of American BASE folks I consider to be true friends has been dropping steadily as this sort of behavior seems to spread further. I think so much of the "old guard" of American BASE is being superseded by self-appointed "experts" in the sport who have little to add other than strings of injuries or lots of routine jumps from routine objects. Note to new jumpers: the heart and soul of American BASE isn't spending its time making itself into paper heroes online; we're out in the woods and in the cities, jumping stuff with good friends and carrying on the traditions handed down from the folks who mentored us into the sport. Nik's passing left a void of moral leadership, I think. Into this void have stepped several folks not fit to follow in his footsteps, let alone carry on his traditions. It is sad to see BASE go the way of self-important, humorless wannabees with no life outside BASE and too much ego in the sport to see clearly. Yes, you all know who you are. For me, I honor his memory by jumping with good friends and having a fucking good time while doing so. I make a point of laughing at myself and most everything else, and I'm always happy to meet new folks, be they "important" or newbie, it matters not. Finally, above all else, I've not forgotten what it means to be a true friend - not just someone who is a "friend" when it is convenient and useful. Thanks, my friend Raistlin, for the good jump last week. Thanks to Shane for a good jump a while back, and here's to many more jumps with other good friends over the months and years ahead. All the rest of you humorless, fair-weather "friends" infesting this sport: go find another sport to spoil with your bad attitudes, this sport is too special for your bullshit. First pint and ground crew always on US! Peace, Dd0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Yes, that opening did look a bit snivelly to me but that's the nature of the beast slider-up. After all, the slider is designed to prevent the parachute from opening. That's its job. Low-pulling can be quite rewarding, both on the visual side and on some deeper "gut" level, in my experience. I've seen more than a few folks take it deep enough to hit the ground with a canopy not quite fully pressurized, let alone flying properly as a wing. I'm not so into that myself any more as I just don't like the resulting broken/torn ankles and knees that result from these non-ideal landings. Other folks are willing to pay that price, and they keep taking those jumps deep. Ok, in all fairness I've been known to take slider-down stuff deep more than a few times and I do like that game as I feel it is a bit more controllable. Slider-up, I really do like to get my brakes off before I land - that's sort of my safety margin to deal with a snivel. If I'm that deep and I get a moderate snivel, it is likely I won't walk away from the landing though I'd expect to survive until the ambulance arrives. Deeper than that, and even a moderate snivel could well result in a funeral. Someone who posts quite often here broke has back when his canopy sniveled into the talus, slider-up, during a low-ish deployment. The risk is real, and while BASE folks tend to die from object strike I'd suspect that many limps came directly or indirectly from low-pulls. If you want to play that game, I'd suggest you learn it over water as I know of at least two jumpers who would be dead today were their low-pulls not done over water. Interestingly, one of those jumpers is the same jumper who broke his back on the talus. Go figure! Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Jimmy is a prince, on many levels, and a testament to the quality of folks in our sport. Hope to see you this weekend, Jimmy, and hope the back is healing up well my friend! Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Sad news indeed - the early summer was promising to be a less painful year than last. It pains me to hear that we are going in the wrong direction since then. Be safe out there, folks - we are all brothers and sisters in our souls. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

I've not played myself with the unpacked stuff but I have done more than a few jumps alongside folks doing them and had a chance to gauge opening altitude pretty well. In my experience, the McConkeys are getting open perhaps 10-20 feet higher than traditional static lines. I'm not sure I'd bet my life on this on a, say, 130 foot object as I am not sure how consistent this is (in other words, I don't know the shape or distriubution of the probability curve of opening heights for the unpacked stuff). I believe that one's exit has a substantive effect on how quickly the canopy is pressurized and flying, but it is better for folks with firsthand experience to speak to that issue. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Sad news for all. Good thoughts and condolences from the canine crew in Vancouver BC. The article (if my French is still working) suggests that two other jumpers have been seriously injured in Lauterbrunnen since June ("[d]ébut juin, deux autres adeptes de ce sport extrême avaient été grièvement blessés lors d'un saut près de Lauterbrunnen"). Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

The Russian Extreme Project has been at it again, up in Greenland: http://www.ruexp.ru/eng/ These guys have really done some solid stuff - hats off to them! I bet their sponsors would appreciate it if folks dropped a note to them, thanking the sponsors for their support of a group doing really positive, interesting work like the Russian Extreme guys have been. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Ouch - not good publicity. Glad he's ok, in any case. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Glad to hear the jump went well for you! It's a beautiful exit and I knew you'd enjoy it when the time was right. The E's are where it's at, as I am sure you'll now agree. I even think this counts as a "real" BASE jump Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Mick, I have a new server coming online in a few weeks and I could host the site no charge for you if it'd help lower your overhead. Lemme know if interested, I know the hard work you put into the site and despite our differences occasionally over the years I have great respect for the dedication you have given to the site despite ample political nastiness. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Hmm, well phrased that way I suppose one must agree with you. BASE is much less forgiving of errors than skydiving or most any other sport. things happen fast; problems escalate quickly if not avoided or addressed with precision immediately during a jump. Nonetheless, those of us who have pushed limits in one way or another in BASE really don't lose sleep at night worrying about "low altitude," not carring a reserve, or mysterious canopy malfunctions. We worry about over-delaying and getting a snivel, flubbing aerials and entangling in our gear, or jumping new exitpoints that are too underhung to clear consistently. Most of al, we worry about off-headings and object strike under canopy, on each and every jump off hard objects. It is difficult to explain the dynamics of BASE to skydivers, as the primary drivers of BASE effectiveness are essentially orthogonal to those in skydiving. In BASE we have no mother-bear that sets rules and regulations within which we must operate. Thus, we rely on our own judgment, experience, and wisdom in making decisions. In doing so, we hone or ability to dynamically manage risk - something essentially unnecessary in skydiving, where safety is achieved through uniform rules and statistical management. In BASE, all the statistics in the world don't mean much since each jump is essentially a statistical singularity. Peace, D-d0g BASE 715 +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Hmm, not many fatalities in the past 5 years due to canopy "gear failure." A few PC problems (one a packing issue, one potentially a gear choice issue), and several instances of over-delaying while camera flying on one's back. Lots and lots of object strike under canopy. The statistics speak for themselves, really. Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.

Admit it, you'd freefall that building in any case! I seem to remember a 210 foot building in A'dam and lots of tram wires in all directions. . . Peace, D-d0g +~+~+~+~ But this, surely, was the glory that no spirits, canine or human, had ever clearly seen, the light that never was on land or sea, and yet is glimpsed by the quickened mind everywhere.