Dd0g

I imported Capone as a 2.5 year old young stallion from Germany and did most all of his training through his first Grand Prix, which I rode with him when he was 5. Since then I sold him and my other boys to some investors who can keep developing them financially. I work with the investors nowadays to manage the horses and help out with collections, schooling, security, etc. Alas, due in large part to my BASE injuries it is hard for me to jump the "big" fences (1.4 meters or about 4.5 feet and up) routinely and not end up very lame (broken ankles, mostly). So now I school and coach and my good friend Isauro rides the boys in the larger classes. It is much scarier to watch from outside the ring than it is to be in the saddle, for sure! I've been riding since I was 2 (before I learned to walk) and competed for almost 10 years as a kid in the hunter rigs (two Pony Hunter championships to my credit) and honestly for me riding and jumping are no scarier than running down a sidewalk. Well, actually, running down sidewalks is pretty scary for me with all my gimpy joints! The interesting thing I've found is how much BASE has helped my riding. I've most certainly developed more consistent and stronger "grace under pressure" skills since I started jumping three years ago. This has helped me so much in working with horses that are easily spooked, particularly stallions. They react so much to our emotional state as riders - for me, being able to smoothly enter what I call "the Zen state" before I ride has brought lots more confidence to the horses I train and compete. Someday I want to be issued "Grand Prix BASE #1" as the only BASE fool who has also completed as a GP showjumper! Not much crossover between those two sports My fears with horses are all about "my boys" being injured during training or competition. I have no concern over being hurt myself - I've been injured so much and I heal pretty well. But the risk of the horses being hurt is something I try hard to make smaller and smaller every day. Oh, and earlier this summer Capone and Isauro were unofficially invited to join the 2004 Canadian Olympic showjumping team. Needless to say, this brings me great pride though we have much yet to do before we're officially on the team and headed for Athens next summer! Peace, D-d0g ps: photo of me jumping Capone around the Modified circuit when he was a baby at 4 years age. +~+~+~+~ 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.

Yep, I'd still jump as it is a fun thing to do physically - particularly backcountry stuff. Not all things in life need be risky to be fun. However, were the risk removed then I am sure I'd look elsewhere for a way to "scratch that itch." I've cycled through many high-risk behaviors in my years (mountaineering, high-end soloing, driving crotch rockets very very fast, handling young stallions, psychedelic drugs, etc.), and BASE is doing a nice job of keeping that demon in line for me the last few years. It's always something, isn't it? This has been my risk-fun game for most of this summer: http://www.osjs.com/Shows.htm Nowadays it is quite possible to do lots of BASE with very little risk and many people do this. Remember that risk is not the same as fear: roller coasters are scary, but not really risky. Experiencing fear can in and of itself be fun, but we need not have risk alongside fear, or the converse. 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.

Great to hear that the trip went well, Per, and I hope we can share some exitpoints in September! 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.

Color me paranoid, along with MH and many other BASE folks of ill-repute. With TIA and all the rest of Amerika's infatuation with citizen surveillance of late (courtesy John "I lost my senate election to a dead man" Ashcroft and cronies), I'll spend that weekend out in the beautiful backcountry where nobody asks me for photo ID before I exit. 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'm heading down that way next weekend but not this weekend, alas. Good luck on the ride, and be safe! 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'v jumped a 38 at terminal a number of times, and it seemed to be fine. Then again, these were jumps with good separation from the object - if I was pulling close to an object I'd go down to a 32 to avoid center cell strippage. 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 already heard the rumors - congrats! 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.

Plus, almost without exception, locals are fun to jump with and even more fun to party with. Right, Tom. . .? 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 were going to make the trip, but our medication was running low and it just didn't seem prudent. Seriously, I was busy over the weekend. It's the middle of the equine breeding season, and my stallions are more than a little busy. Given my unique skills in this area, I was called on to help out over the weekend. So there you go - while you all were having fun jumping off bridges, I was jacking off stallions. Now, honestly, which sounds like more fun? Peace, D-d0g ps: I hear they do some BASE jumpin' up here in Canada - if I can ever get my rig back from Deputy Dumbnuts I am looking forward to re-acquainting myself with the sport. +~+~+~+~ 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 spent some time in Ecuador mountaineering in the '80s. It is a really great place, folks are friendly and the Otovalans and other natives are truly amazing and open people. As to BASE, at least on the mountaineering side things aren't so hot. Most of the climbing I know about there is volcanic (Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, etc.) and not very steep. There is the Illiniza massif which might have some exitpoints of reasonable interest, though it'd take some mountaineering skills to approach them as the altitude is 15,000+ feet. with glaciers, etc. I was stuck in a hut during a storm for five days on that trip, and we had nothing left to eat but malt nut flavor Powerbars. To this day, if I smell those vile things I get quesy. . . 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.

Yes, that's correct - his weight isn't enough to cause the wing to fly forward - it's just going to stall down, not fly forward. The suspended weight needs to be enough to both pressurize the canopy, and to cause it to fly forward, as a wing. I do suspect that beyond certain weights this relationship breaks down. Such as, take 500 pounds and put it under a canopy with the brakes set. What happens? Dunno, but it might not be the same thing that happens in more reasonable weight ranges. Ditto, put 20 pounds under a canopy and it won't even pressurize correctly. 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's been talk in an unnamed city in the Pacific NW (PDX) of putting a wingsuit on some poor sap, tying him into a harness, taking a pickup truck up to 100mph or so, and unreeling the wingsuited test dummy from the truckbed like a psychotic kite. Fortunately, nobody's actually gotten around to doing this yet. It'd be damned cool. . . until the first highway overpass. Not to mention, how do you reel the kite back in? Questions, questions. . . 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.

This is incorrect. Most all BASE folks who have had multiple experiences landing after a blown/lost toggle agree that one can get better (more controllable, softer, more consistent) landings flaring with one rear riser and one toggle. Throwing the second toggle away is a natural reaction, sort of. However, a little practice with one toggle and one riser will quickly get much better results both flying/steering the canopy and flaring on landing. I used to make a habit of blowing out brake settings doing deep (4+ second) slider-down deployments, so I ended up landing alot with missing brakes. I can do either way, but given the chance will always going with riser and toggle, no question. A day at the DZ with a BASE canopy will help to simulate this, though this will be slider-up and the mechanics slider-down are somewhat different. The best way to do this would be to find a nice, tall object, jump it slider-down, throw away one brake, and fly in and land with brake and toggle. Repeat on the other side. Voila! Ready for action. For what it's worth, if one is landing with both rear risers the very common mistake made with BASE canopies is to flare TOO early and TOO hard. Rear risers are more subtle than toggles, and collapse much more of the canopy, much faster. Wait a second longer than you think, and don't crank too hard on the risers - better to come in with NO flare at all than to backstall and land with a collapsed canopy, going backwards (I broke an ankle doing this once, and learned the hard way). 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.

Here's how it works: I weigh 225 pounds at exit (plus rig). Someone else, oooh, we'll call him "DW" for argument's sake, weighs alot less. Hypothetically, 160 at exit (plus rig). DW is jumping a 245 Troll, and trying to snake an extra jump (hypothetically), he leaves it in line at exit point. As soon as he jumps his other rig, I put the 245 Troll on and jump it. What happens, assuming DW had the brakes tuned properly for his bodyweight? On opening, I have MORE speed than DW - the lighter jumper. This is both MORE forward speed and MORE downward speed - both vectors increase with the increase in suspended weight. This is true both before I pull the toggle, and after I pull the toggles. Logically, it must be true - with more mass to control and the same wing, the only variable that can change is vector speed. Again, this is true both before I pop the brakes and afterwards, as well. Thus, if I am going to snake, err, "jump" DW's Troll safely I need deeper brake settings. This will cut out the forward speed, converting it into DOWNWARD speed on opening. So, with my properly-set deeper brakes I will be stalling faster down than DW would with his properly-set (shallower) brakes. Once I start flying, I'll fly faster under this canopy than DW (or any lighter jumper) will. I owe this explanation to Ray L. as he first explained it to me in a way I could visualize. This is why, ceteris paribus, a heavier jumper faces more dangers in BASE than a lighter one. We can't upsize anywhere near where DW can jumping a 265, and on even the biggest canopies we'll be flying faster - and stalling down quicker, than smaller jumpers. Additionally, during super low freefalls we have more accelerating mass to decelerate on canopy pressurization. We also need bigger canopies, which are heavier to extract from the packtray. We decelerate slower as a result of both factors. Thus, a freefall from even 180 feet can be comparable to a smaller jumper doing 160 or so. I owe this explanation to Dwain himself, and I probably owe him several avoided broken legs (or worse) for reminding me that huckin' my big butt off really low (150-160 feet) stuff freefall is way more unsafe than the same jumps for someone who weights 30-40% less, fully-loaded. Then again. . . I get hassled alot less walking down the steet than smaller folks do ;-) 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 don't recall Russ (Walling, the "Wallfish") ever claiming to be a grammar guru. However, he has a well-earned reputation for drinking like the proverbial "Fish" and still getting up the next day to climb hard. Plus he makes pimp gear! 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 think this question is terribly dependent on the definition one chooses for a "BASE jumper." On one end, I estimate that perhaps 5,000 folks alive today have made a BASE jump at one point in their life. This may be on the high side, but not by an order of magnitude. On the low end, I'd say there are probably less than 200 people in the world who are really experienced enough to open a wide variety of new objects by themselves, and who are up to speed on most all current technical trends in modern BASE. In actuality, I'd guess this number to be closer to 100 worldwide. In terms of jumpers who have proven capabilities across a wide swath of the sport (from low freefalls and subterminal aerials to big walls and tracking skills, along with object opening experience across the BASE categories, through the more arcane skills of object acccess and other "cloak and dagger" techniques), probably around 50 or so worldwide. In other words, as the sport develops further we are having more and more folks who become specialists in one area, primarily. The days when, say, Dwain has been at the top of areas of the sport ranging from ultra-low freefall through aerials and subterminal tracking are fading. No mere mortal can be the best at it all nowadays (though Dwain is no mere mortal, clearly). Similarly, there's really no climber who is at the top in sport, trad, bouldering, aid, mountaineering, technical mixed, etc. While "Europe" (including the Scandanavian countries) isn't technically a country, there are probably more folks jumping in Europe on a quasi-regular basis than everywhere else in the world combined. As one example, there's 30 folks jumping pretty regularly in the city of Antwerp alone. . . extend that out all through Europe, and it's lots of folks. Many aren't active online, but they are jumping - alot. I'm hearing that there are many new jumpers coming up through the ranks in Russia nowadays. Dozens. If those jumpers continue, and in turn train more jumpers, that could be a huge group of jumpers in a few years' time. Australia has given so much to the sport in terms of technical advancement, attitude, and plenty of super-talented jumpers. However, in pure numbers I don't think there are that many active Aussie jumpers. . . at least compared to Europe or the USA. America has plenty of jumpers, but not many who make it past the "do a few (dozen) jumps from a few existing objects" category. Nothing wrong with that, but I just don't think the American spirit circa 2003 is really breeding lots of really top-end BASE folks compared to other areas of the world. This is, of course, not to say that there aren't many super talented American jumpers (present company excluded). I've heard that the substantial majority of several gear manufacturers' sales is - and has been for years - to Europe and Scandanavia. Of course, all of the above is simply one canine's biased opinion, nothing more. 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 Wallfish strikes 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.

I've got to the point where I use direct control only on terminal jumps (greater than 10 second delays). I'm sure that I have rambled on endlessly about this elsewhere, but in a nutshell direct control scares me as it keeps the canopy at line stretch but uninflated a bit longer - perfect time for an off-heading to develop. I've always wrapped the nose around the packjob, both slider-up and slider-down. On a gut level, it makes sense to me - present the nose first, bidirectionally, to encourage initalization of nose-first inflation and decrease the chance of rotational off-heading at line stretch or just thereafter. 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.

Like so many other aspects of BASE, object access techniques and protocol are best learned from mentor(s). Getting access is really an art as much of a science, and the sport has historically had (Thor Alex, as an example) and has today (Tom, Jeb, Dwain) folks who are really good at getting access in a non-aggro manner. I do think that in some areas of the world object access is becoming a bit of a lost art - with more and more legal jumps, more and more jumpers have never really had to learn how to play the sneak 'n peek game. In any case, there's several encyclopedias worth of beta on access floating around in the collective unconscious of BASE. If you try to re-invent the wheel on that side of the sport, you'll certainly spend lots of time in jail, burn lots of objects, and generally make a big mess. Most folks aren't going to share these skills with just anyone walking in off the street; they'll generally come as part of the larger progression of mentorship. 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's a pretty active community of jumpers in Portland, Josh - please drop me an email if you'd like to hook up with the local crew and broaden your understanding of BASE and of the local scene. 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.

Perhaps I am not really expressing my thoughs effectively, and for that I apologize. I find it hard to put into words, but I know many other jumpers who have experienced this situation in their own jumping. When I am very current with my jumping (which comes from having done over 10 jumps in, say, less than 7 days time or so), the technical aspects of jumping become pretty second-nature. Packing, exit, canopy flight. . . all are so current that little energy goes into thinking about them. When I'm this current, I start to expand the types of jumps I'll do - generally, taking more risk. Open a hairy object, freefall something that I've only static lined before, take a jump a little deeper, add aerials, etc. A few times in my career, however, I've felt like I was simply getting immune to having a gut feel for the risk of these types of jumps. Not that I was ignoring the risk - logically, I could still analyze it fine. However, in a more emotional sense I just could not "feel" the risk. Standing at exit, the whole process had become so routine that it seemed no more unusual than driving a car. This state scares me. When I find myself in this state, I have decided that I'll back off my jumping a bit and let things settle down. Too many times, while in this state, I've pushed just a bit too far and in hindsight wondered at how my gut-check of excess risk didn't kick in. Anyhow, that's another attempt at defining the subject at hand. Perhaps there are other jumpers reading this that have (or have not) experienced this, and can share their thoughts. Fear exists for a reason; when we transcend fear (even temporarily) in an objectively risky thing like BASE, there is a risk that we assume danger that, while logically perhaps acceptable, really isn't acceptable from a more holistic perspective. 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.

Yes, some jumpers do take risks that are much higher than what most other BASE folks would consider acceptable. That said, new folks often don't have the knowledge to know what jumps they watch are really risk and which ones might look "risky" but are well within the comfort zone of a given jumper. As an example, slider-up low pulls (below, say, 250 feet) are very risky. A hessie will put the jumper into the ground with not much open. Skill can moderate this risk a bit, but skill isn't going to change the fact that hessies happen and will eventually happen in a low pull, causing death. Many other types of jumps would be risky for an inexperienced jumper, but for someone with the skills to do it (and the currency to be sharp) that same jump might well be within the bounds of normal BASE risk. While many of us will say we're not really into BASE to chase the bleeding edge of risk. . . there's also no denying that being on the cusp of a jump that one knows is at or beyond that risk edge is an exciting feeling. The butterflies in the stomach, the sharpened senses, the feeling that time is slowing down. . . However, having things go wrong when one has stepped up to the edge of the envelope is generally not much fun and can make us wonder about exactly how comfortable we are with risk. "Do or die" jumps should be exciting, not routine. When the become commonplace due to high currency or simply the accumulation of experience. . . it's a good time to lay off jumping for a bit and let the risk meter recalibrate a bit. Like, when any canopy ride longer than about 10 seconds seems like an eternity, that might be a good time to be sure one's risk calibration is properly set. . . . not that I'd ever do any of that "risky-type jumping," mind you. I'm all about safe and sane. 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.

Congrats! Whatever anyone else says, your BASE number has meaning to YOU and that's what counts. 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.

Actually, that's not saying all that much -Yuri's lean and mean! I think Tom has retreated back to the wilds of Alabama on us. Either that, or he's been "patched." Beware the patch, the patch tells us things we don't want to hear, things we should not hear. 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.