base428

Congrats Baxter. We've been following your progress over the last month on your website. You probably had ample opportunity to beat your personal record for "most days not changing your underwear". At Kjerag in 2004, Baxter went 7 days on the same pair. Baxter, YOU ARE THE MAN!!! (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Actually, there is a BASE park in the works in the USA. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I was contacted by a production company about a year ago to do a BASE jump with this camera. I've got some pics of a bellymounted harness they sent me if you're interested in seeing them. The project never came to be. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

You're right, BASE age doesn't really matter. Someone please tell that to MyTwoCents, who originally attempted to correlate BASE experience to BFL opposition. Gotta run, cya. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Yep, my bad. I changed the original post. But Jimmy's name was in the description and I doubt anyone wants their name on that list while they're alive, joke or not. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

SabreDave, I agree with much of what you write. The BASE community is amazing and my best friends are all jumpers from around the world. Heck, I just flew to Kansas City last month to visit Donk, yet, I might balk at driving 5 miles down the road to visit a local non-jumper friend. And if I burn in, I'd rather see everyone celebrate my life rather than my death as well. I do see where most people find humor in putting Jimmy's HIDGAF as #113, but we've had time to laugh and now I'm glad the entry is gone. Many people struggle with the risk of BASE jumping and whether or not to participate. After 15 years, I still struggle with this as well since a serious injury or death would greatly affect my family (wife and two kids now). But I continue to jump because it's in my blood. We might not all agree with each other, but we are all BASE jumpers. I'm happy to jump with any one of you because we all share a very common bond. EDIT: Group hug, anyone? (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I stopped laughing at death after the 2nd BASE fatality I witnessed. No one wants to end up on the BASE fatality list, especially when they're still alive. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Actually, it's the old schoolers that don't like the present format of the fatality list. I count 15, 17, and 25 years in the sport for the most outspoken opponents. Or are you talking about another group of politically correct sissies? (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I find absolutely no humor in including #113 on the list. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Something isn't right here. A very large majority of jumpers felt the list should stay, but you listened to a handfull of opponents (me being one of them) and yanked the list. Strange. Quite simply, I objected to the present format of the list. -Numbering the dead isn't helping our sport or our fallen friends. -The big read "111" at the top of the page is indicitive of a fascination with death. -The lack of statistics, such as listing the most common causes of BASE fatalities, reduces its educational value. -The page, in its present form, causes more harm than good in my opinion. Have you read any recent BASE articles in newspapers that didn't refer to Nick's list? As mentioned before, the educational value of the list is enormous. If the BFL could be cleaned up a bit, with the changes mentioned above, then I think it would be a valuable tool for new and old jumpers. I think many of you place yourselves and the sport of BASE jumping on a pedestal. Yes, it's dangerous and people die. Yes, it takes a smart and level headed person to survive. But it ain't rocket science. The average Joe knows that BASE jumping is dangerous and 99.9999% of the public will never even consider trying it. The few people that enter our sport should be educated by qualified instructors or mentors - not solely by what they read on the internet. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Jimmy's thoughts on the BFL may not be popular, but he is not alone. The list does have educational value, so why not make it more educational and list some statistics (XX people died filming on their back, XX died from slider up cliff strikes, etc.). Removal of all numbers (the current "tally") would add value as well because the media won't cite it as much and jumpers won't simply be remembered as #1XX on the list. The BFL should be educational as well as a way to honor our fallen brothers. But we must minimize the chances of it being repeatedly used against our sport on TV and in newspapers. My thoughts on the list from March 2005 (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

This is a tough one. I'm finishing my basement and my wonderful wife has graciously permitted me to install a urinal in the bathroom. I've wanted one for years (no seat up/down controversy, less splashing, saves water, quicker, etc.). Most guys can understand the advantages. My question to you is the following: Will a waterless urinal smell bad even though it's not being used but a few times a day? I'm sure most of you aren't familiar with the waterless urinals, but they use a special liquid that is lighter than urine so it floats on top, sealing the urine from the restroom atmosphere. Cool, eh? My main concern is that the urine hitting the sides of the urinal will eventually stink. Otherwise, I'll have to purchase a 0.5 GPF (gallons per flush) auto-flush version and provide a water supply (still a cool urinal). So, any waterless urinal experts out there? Here's a very cool urinal. And here's a waterless version. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

It's "O'Reilly" (with two L's). I like him and I hope his program sees continued success. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Take nothing but pictures....leave nothing but footprints. This saying has been around a long time. I absolutely LOVE your artwork (especially NickNitro in his mom's house), but I think bolting a gargoyle to an exit point would go against the few morals that are part of BASE jumping. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

My name is Iza Redlinska and I represent PLUS - Journal of Polish American Affairs published in English in US and distributed nationwide in 25000 copies. Our next issue will be concerned with recreation and we are covering extreme sports, also BASE jumping. Do you know of any Poles or Polish Americans (they do not have to speak Polish) that are enthusiasts of the sport and would like to be interviewed? Please do not hesitate to have them contact me at: IzaR (AT) PLUSjournal (DOT) com Posted by BASE428 at Izabella's request... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Our exact words each year include "the river is your primary landing area". The water rescue guy (long pony tail) told you this as well early during the Friday 7pm meeting. Regardless of whether you heard us or not, the river is currently our primary LZ. We pay $2800 for four boats each year and they will usually be plucking you out of the river before you come up for your first breath of air. And yes, we are each ultimately responsible for our own safety. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Not that I want to rehash this again, but I have some new information below.... More freefall is good. If you have a pilot chute error (like the last 5 fatalities in Twin Falls), then you have more time for it to be cleared. You also have more time to set up for landing. I agree with you on this one, which is why I approached the Bridge Day Commission (BDC) to get approval to do PCA's from the catwalk level this year. I wanted all first timers to be PCA'd from the edge of the steel so there would be no chance of object strike if they PCA'd from the normal exit point on top of the bridge. The BDC didn't waste any time saying NO. I believe they are worried that catwalk access would give us an advantage in obtaining permission to jump beyond bridge day, but the official reason was overcrowding of the catwalk. The main landing area is the RIVER. If you can't hit the RIVER, then you've got bigger problems. The smaller LZ that you speak of is quite easy for anyone with decent accuracy skills. I've seen the newest of newbies hit the LZ each time without any problems. I've even seen a round parachute land dry in the LZ (crazy Russian guy). But yes, it can be intimidating until you actually land there and water level is a factor. Jumpers have plenty of time to get prepared for the jump and then get in line after a gear check when they're ready. We don't force anyone to jump within a certain time period. There is no stopwatch. The BDC and NPS chose to disclude the BASE Jumping Coordinators (Bill Bird and I) in the release of both fatality reports so far. I received no questions or calls from the BDC/NPS relating to the fatality reports, nor have I ever officially received a copy of anything related to the fatality. I was not given the opportunity to review or provide comments prior to the "public" fatality report released earlier this week. The public fatality report is full of errors and assumptions. I've officially requested a REVISED fatality report from the BDC. The main cause of Brian's fatality was his pilot chute deployment into his chest at the 5 second mark, where it became trapped for at least 2 seconds. I was able to review more video recently on a high def TV and this is the conclusion that I (and others) have come up with. Brian was able to extract his PC from his chest at 7 seconds and you can see a lot of right arm movement at this time. Hopefully the BDC will correct the fatality report based on this and other information I have submitted to them. Could Brian have had more recent experience? I don't know, because no one knows the date of his last parachute jump. We will check parachute currency this year, but I doubt it will affect but a handfull of jumpers. There is much more information to mention, but I'm not that interested in posting to this forum lately. If you want to know more, email me. But I did want everyone to know the technical reason for Brian's fatality (PC deployed into his chest and trapped from 5-7 second mark). (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

We will have a currency requirement for PARACHUTE jumps (not restricted to BASE jumps), since many people at Bridge Day will have no prior BASE jumps. This information will be available shortly at www.bridgeday.info. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Ahh, so you want to stereotype West Virginians? How original. Sorry, I'm not offended by your remarks. Sticks and stones.... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I'm offended by your profanity. It's only a big deal when people want it to be. And lately, EVERYTHING is offensive to minorities. Perhaps white folks should refer to a "unacceptable words or phrases" manual before conversing with others. Nappy hair has no negative connotation to me, sorry. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Executive producer Bernard McGuirk was the first one to call them "ho's". So why aren't they going after him? I guess anyone can be a ho, but nappy hair comments are racist. Imus has nappy hair. God Bless the United States of the Offended. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Black people DO have nappy hair. I'm not sure who to blame on this one. Blacks for getting all upset over a few words, or whites for wimping out and apologizing. Big deal. Sticks and stones, people. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Perhaps our cover was blown when Carl B. appeared on "That's Incredible" in the early 1980's? Or when all the big names in BASE jumping appeared on "Donahue" in the mid-90's? I still have the Donahue tape in my VHS collection..... Most of us have shot video, aired video, or done interviews for TV. BASE jumping.....it is what it is. Time changes all things and time will continue to change our sport. It's true that BASE jumping exposure on TV has increased. But we are also opening new sites, gaining more legal access, and the public is slowly accepting us because of it. BASE jumping today is what skateboarding or BMX was in the 70's. But I don't think BASE jumping is worse off today than it was 25 years ago. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Congrats Bryan. Kids are much more fun than advertised... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

As a small business owner, I WISH we could go back to cash. After Visa/Mastercard takes their 3% cut of my sales, they hammer me on chargebacks and monthly gateway/service fees as well. In the last few years, Visa/Mastercard RAISED their rates by at least .20% despite credit card sales increasing. Visa's latest tactic is to penalize merchants if they don't fork over information about sales such as the tax rate paid. It's basically a way of generating additional revenue from merchants who don't comply with THEIR requirements. And the merchant is always guilty when a chargeback occurs......I doubt many of you understand the process. Ever had your credit card numbers stolen? Happened to me last year and I never lost my card. Hackers must have got my info from a merchant I purchased from. The lure of cash back on your credit card purchases only serves to suck us all in to their monopoly. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.