DexterBase

It didn't fall apart on you did it? I like the one I got because it has disc brakes, front suspension, and it's red and black... with flames...

Well, we're buying lots of gear so I tried to keep my expense low on the bike but get something that will get me started. If I really like this stuff I can get a better bike for next season. I got a Specialized Hardrock Comp disc. I got it for $500. I know jack about bikes. Hmmm... Maybe I should have asked here first huh?

My girlfriend and I decided to get into adventure racing. I picked up a new mountain bike yesterday. Wow. I've been looking for a good excuse to get back into shape. This should be pretty cool, we have all winter to train for the spring races. I'm excited.

Yo Russel, I know that doing your PCA the first time we (well you), tried the "Feat of backyard engineering" we built over at Tom's house, was one of the highlights of my BASE career. Holding your pilot chute as you lowered yourself out there and then TURNED AROUND WITH ONE HAND 486' above the water, was truly inspiring. Watching you let go and drop off into the void and onto the pages of BASE history was such an honor for me. Thanks for letting me in on the action! Please, let me know if you need any help with the later stages of Project pBASE. I will be happy to drive, fly, hike, or climb to help you realize your goal. Seriously, just ask. Respect dude. ---Chad

Everyone has a plan until everything goes wrong. It's nice to exit stable, have a nice clean on-heading deployment, fly an approach through easy air conditions, and land in the water so the safety boat can pick you up. But... What happens when you exit head low, go totally out of body position, swim a little, kick the dbag as it comes past your feet, and wind up with three line twists, flying toward the trees? It's what you do in the next ten seconds that really matters. (on many BASE objects you have more like two seconds) 50 skydives. Is it enough to give you a reasonable confidence that you have the skillset and the presence of mind to react quickly, correctly, and efficiently in order to save yourself? Once you leave the exit point there's no amount of support personnel that can do a thing for you until you're on the ground, in the trees, or in the water. I should know. I started BASE jumping with less than the recommended number of jumps (this was six years ago when Tom A hadn't made his "Getting into BASE" article accessible to the many new young up and coming BASE wonders) and I very quickly realized that I needed to go back to the planes and the altitude or my BASE career and my run on this earth would be coming to an abrupt halt in the very near future. Now I'm a pretty solid novice BASE jumper, I'm technically competant, and I've had a lot of fun getting here. Ultimately it's up to you and you alone. But when it really comes down to it, what makes you or me special? Why push it too hard too soon before you even really know what pushing it is? You may end up in scary territory without even knowing you're there until it's too late. Make good decisions, but first, gain the knowledge to make the decisions from an educated point of view.

Googles.... hehe...... Um, I'm sure you mean goggles right?

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time." Jack London

So, anyone care to update us on Bridgeday? I can't be there so naturally, I'm a bit curious.... I guess I can call someone who's there.

If I had to write that list, I'd include wind, especially for slider down openings. I'd also include the random black death factor that just tries to kill us. Of course, if you packjobs suck to begin with... have a good one, I'll exit after you so I can get your groovy opening on video.

I'm in the market for an industrial sewing machine. What do I need to look for and what are some things I should be aware of when buying a used machine. I plan to use the machine for general rigging use. I appreciate any wisdom and hard-earned advice you could share with me.

Aaaahhhhh, the B team. Edit: Yes, Red and Black. That should do it.

I have a letter for exactly this purpose. In addition to the letter I have instructions on exactly how I want the letter distributed in the event of my death. I'm teaching someone about BASE now and I made him sit down and write his own letter. I think it helps you sit in someone elses shoes for a minute and realize how serious this game really is. I get sad when I read my letter, trying to imagine my family and friends reading it. I think if you die BASE jumping, there are going to be discussions within your circle of family and friends about why you were doing it. If there's anything you don't want left unsaid, a BASE letter might be appropriate.

My opinion is that Asylum builds the best pilot chutes, vented or standard. The quality of work is impeccable and there are lots of subtle things that make the pilot chute more burly. If I had you here I could show you what I'm talking about since it's much easier than writing and I'm actually pretty busy right now. If you feel like it, take my word for it and order some Asylum PC's. You won't we disappointed, in fact, you'll be extremely satisfied. --------------------------------------- Disclaimer: I am not an Asylum sponsored jumper. Asylum doesn't give me free gear, discounts, or other perks. The only affiliation I have with Asylum is my complete satisfaction in their gear and their excellent customer service. Sponsored... hehe... who'd be silly enough to sponsor me anyway? ---------------------------------------

Hehehe... This is so cool. I love you guys.

I actually have one half built on my sewing table... hehe

Lines freestowed in a tailpocket are very unlikely to affect opening heading. There really isn't that much tension on the lines as you're falling away, pulling the packjob to linestretch. There's not much force exerted on the canopy by the deploying lines so it's hard to imagine the lines inducing a turn into the packjob. If the video is showing a rotated packjob before it gets to linestretch you can pretty much eliminate uneven risers (caused by bad body position). Your likely culprit is either PC oscillation, wind pulling the PC off to one side, or part of the container inducing a turn into the packjob as it leaves the packtray (this one can be caused by packing, tight container, poor body position, or high forward speed). The packjob is really vulnerable to any inputs between the time it leaves the container and the time it gets to linestretch. An oscillating PC can easily mess up your heading. There are no secrets to stowing lines neatly, just take your time, make sure the bights are seperate, and don't mash things up when you close the tailpocket.

This post may be best in a separate thread. Tom, please feel free to move it if you think it's appropriate. While my recommendation is for everyone to get gear checks prior to exit, I don't always get one or ask for one. I don't have a problem with setting my rig down, opening the riser covers and closely inspecting everything there, opening the pin flap to check bridle routing and taking a look to see if I'm sporting the proper size pilot chute for the jump I'm about to do. After that, since my packjobs are very consistant and I know how much my pin tension will change based on the amount of clothing I'm wearing, I'll put the rig on and jump it without asking for a gear check. What is my logic? A lot of the time I jump with people I've never really worked with or whose experience I'm unfamiliar with. I also like to check out what others are doing with their gear while they're packing. Not to be nosy, I just really love parachutes and it's fun to see what others are doing with theirs. I've picked up some cool tricks this way too. I often see packing that concerns me, inattention to little details that I refuse to overlook, and a lack of inspecting components between jumps. If I don't think someone maintains their gear or packs to my level of comfort, I don't feel that getting a gear check from them will accomplish anything. I think they'll open the riser covers and give it a glance, open the pin flap and give it a glance... seeing what's supposed to be there instead of noticing a subtle detail that may be important. If I'm jumping with someone who I really trust (Tim, Tom, Ray, etc) Then I'll ask for a gear check. Kmonster does everything the way I do it because I taught her. I know she knows what to look for in a gear check, and I absolutely trust her to give me an exit point gear check. Basically, I trust myself more than anyone else in this world. As a friend of mine said, "Nobody wants me to live more than me." If I look at my rig and deem it safe to jump, then it's good and I'll bet my life on it.

No, no, no.... Slim, I'm so sorry. I wanted to make a jump with you so badly, I even talked to Ray about it hoping we'd get to flick something together. I'll be jumping this weekend, hopefully you can still join me for a 2-way. What do you say? Of all the jumpers out there, you are one of my biggest inspirations. I will miss you.

Basically, to make a very long story short, we were busted jumping El Cap after sunset on Sunday evening (the 12th). We found the exit point and waited until the sun was setting but still light enough to see what was going on, get video, and identify our reference points in freefall. We exited from the "historic" exit point in a 2-way and had a freefall just over 15 seconds. We passed the top of the spire in freefall and deployed just below it. We flew our canopies to the meadow and landed next to the treeline. We put all our gear in stashbags and were about to put a little distance between the cache and ourselves when a ranger ran up through the trees. The opposite direction there were three men in civilian clothes holding radios. It was obvious that we were surrounded and there was no need to run so we stayed put and cooperated with them. We were detained as more rangers were called. When the other rangers showed up we were searched, handcuffed, and transported to the Yosemite holding facility. There we were booked and charged with air delivery. We were released in the morning on $500 bail each and told to appear on the 14th at 10 AM at the Yosemite Magistrate. We talked to the judge and the prosecutor wanted to give us a $2500 fine in addition to complete equipment confiscation and 12 months unsupervised probation. We pled guilty to the air deliver charge since the prosecution had a pretty solid case against us (my helmet camera footage showed the whole jump and the following sprint to the woods) and we didn't really have grounds to plead not guilty. Several rangers claimed to have seen the whole jump and the person who called the rangers in the first place was a climbing ranger who was on the spire as we fell past him and deployed our parachutes. In the end the judge gave us each a $2000 fine, permanent equipment confiscation, and 12 months unsupervised probation. The $500 bail we each posted was applied toward our fines. I asked for my camera back along with the footage of the jump. My partner asked for her ProTrack out of her helmet since this gear didn't have anything to do specifically with the BASE jump. To our surprise, the prosecutor honored our request. We walked away with the camera and data logger. The oroginal tape will be mailed to us as soon as they make a copy "for their records". The case against us was pretty solid. It's the whole air delivery law that pisses me off. I honestly believe it's unfair for the NPS to allow many types of risky activities in the park but exclude BASE because it's, "so dangerous". I want to wage war against the policy that makes enjoying our national parks in the way we choose, illegal. On a sidenote, as we were sitting in court a person was charged/convicted with a DUI in the park. He pled guilty and was given a $1500 fine and six months unsupervised probation. I find it rather hard to swallow that driving drunk and endagering everyone on the road is less dangerous than jumping from the cliff and landing a parachute in the meadow. We have more BASE rigs so we can keep jumping. So HA! Marty tilly from Asylum worked really hard to get my new rig finished so I could get back in the air and Ray Losli built me a SoftCock that I threw my extra BlackJack into for Kmonster to jump. "They can take our rigs but they can never take our jump!" --Kmonster Ultimately, we knew the price and we knew the score when we decided to jump at dusk. I knew what the stakes were and I decided to jump. Kmonster feels the same. It is true that there was a ranger sitting on the spire and he did radio in our location and what we were up to. When we were arrested, we were about ten seconds from getting away. I'm confident that if there wasn't a ranger on the spire we would have been clean and gotten away.

Oh yeah! hehe... The last Turkey Boogie was amazing and this time I know the exit points and I know what I want to jump (mostly stuff I never had time to jump last time). I am very excited!

Right on guys, that was exactly the kind of information I needed. You dudes are too cool. Again, ThanX

Just wanted to take a second to thank Martin Tilly on a public forum for all the help he gave Kmonster and me the past couple weeks. Kmonster and I showed up in town and immediately bombarded Marty with requests for 32" pilot chutes and other accesories. He came through and we picked up the gear we needed in time to go chuck some really cool objects in the area. One of the objects we jumped was...um.... less-than-legal and we were treated to a free ride and a place to stay overnight. We didn't get our gear back. After court the following day, as we were literally driving back from court, we were on the phone with Marty trying to line up new gear. I had a new custom rig nearing the end of production and happened to have an extra BlackJack for Kmonster to use. Marty let us come into the shop while he finished my rig right in front of me while I looked over his shoulder shaking with excitement. My new PerigeePro is the sickest BASE rig I have ever seen. I'm not even playing or trying to sound cocky, you'll see it when we jump together! The quality of work is amazing and it really made me feel good about my decision to get another PerigeePro. The rig came out beautifully. The BlackJack is awesome. I use the word precisely. AWESOME. Nylon confidence, absolute most rock-solid canopy. Ever. I've jumped Foxes (vented and not) and the Ace. The BlackJack is clearly where it's at. When we told Marty that I had an extra BlackJack sitting around but no container to put it in so Kmonster could keep jumping, he located a container that he let us borrow so she could continue playing. (I will ship that rig back to you today or tomorrow at the latest) All these things added up showed me that there's so much more to a BASE manufacturer than the gear. Asylum produces the highest quality BASE jumping equipment I've ever used and I will be buying and jumping Asylum gear with absolute confidence. Marty, you're truly one of a kind and I appreciate all you did to help us out. There are people you meet in BASE that are cool and there are people who make the experience memorable, but every once in a while there is a person you come in contact with that really stands out. Thank you for keeping the dream alive, I'm proud to call you my friend. Look for my gear orders coming your way! ---Chad

I have some Mighty Mak canopies and I am wondering if any of you old timers can bring me up to speed on these canopies. Pretty much all I know is that they're 335's and have 9 cells. I want to know more about them so any information would be super! B.A.S.E.!!! (

I have a better idea. Let's get together, prove that using an archaic law to prohibit BASE jumping and preventing us from using our national parks is unconstitutional. There are enough holes in the illegal air delivery law that it seems possible we can beat this thing. I have very recent first-hand experience with the NPS view on BASE jumping in the national parks. If you're interested in what happened, call or PM me and I'll give you the details. How many of you would seriously support a bid to take the decision away from the NPS and have a different authority decide what we can and cannot do in our national parks? This issue has suddenly become rather personal to me. What a cool jump though!!!

It's not a "Mc"anything... McConkey is a somewhat accepted reference to an unpacked rollover move. I guess Shane McConkey did an early one and the name sort of stuck... sort of. I was a little focused on the jump while we were doing it so I could be wrong but I'm reasonably certain Mr McConkey wasn't around. Therefore, I see no need to have a "Mc" in the name of the move. We need a cool name, a crazy name. How about the "holy crap-I think I'm going in-I have no PC to toss-wait a second-It opened!" move?