jimmyp

Well, I just got done with a 2 day ropes/rescue course taught by Lee Hardesty. Watching Brian and Lee pull Maggot off the wall during the TB was a wake up call for everyone who saw it. Many of us realized that we did not have the skills and knowledge to do what those guys did. I've climbed for years, but I've never gotten beyond reading the rescue books. In a situation like that (Maggot hanging by 1 line on a sandstone flake), timing was critical and these guys had to have set some kind of speed record in getting to him, not to mention getting him back up on top. So after everyone left the boogie, we were left with a canopy half way up the wall flapping for everyone to see. For one, someone might see it and think that it was someone trapped up on the wall, for another, it isn't the best advertising for BASE in the area, and thirdly, it is straight up littering. Lee and I joined forces to retrieve it. On day one, Lee showed me how to set up the anchor and pulley system, then made me set it up. On most sites, you would just rap down and get the canopy. Here, it is so overhanging that just going down the line leaves you hanging out in space 20 feet from the wall(and canopy). After Maggot was pulled up and hauled out, Brian went back down for the canopy. He spends alot of his time in Yosemite and he did some kind of crazy king swing like freaking Tarzan and swung in under the roof, grabbed on and put a piece of protection in to keep him from swinging back out. From here he was able to rap down to the canopy but didn't even have time to get the canopy before wall strike #2 happened and he had to go down to get Marty. Well, Lee and I weren't up for the Tarzan thing, so we had to come up with a different solution. Lee wanted to use his new fishing pole, so he went down the line, armed with that. He managed to snag the canopy, but the fishing line broke. He came back up the line as we were running out of daylight. I asked him if it was scary hanging out in space like that and he told me that I would find out what it felt like the next day. I spent a rather restless night thinking about what it would be like to hang out there, but resigned myself to the task as only being fair. I had a different plan for myself. Lee showed up the next morning and I proudly showed him my grappling hook that I had fashioned out of 3 hooks from the ends of tie down straps (see picture). I had duct taped them together to form my weapon. We got out there and Lee showed me another pulley system as well as presenting me with my very own Traxion Pro(rescue/hauling pulley). I went down the line to the canopy and yes it was freaking weird and scary. I would start to swing my grappling hook around in a circle and the motion would start to rotate me away from the canopy, so I would just keep swinging my hook until I rotated back around towards the canopy and then let fly. Eventually I managed to snag the canopy and pulled myself in to the wall. The canopy had managed to get some more lines around some different flakes and as I was pulling these, big rocks were falling down around me. Again, very weird and scary. I was finally down to the one line that Maggot was actually snagged with. What I found out was that the poker chip that is in the stabilizer(slider stop) had been wedged in so tight that I could not pull it out. I got out my trusty pocket knife and started cutting through the canopy. I knew that once I had cut all the way through, I would swing back out into space. Although at this point, I was convinced that the rope I was hanging on was not going to break or that my Gri Gri was not going to magically disintigrate, it was absolutely bizarre to cut this last piece of the canopy away and be pulled away from the rock out into space. For those of you who saw Brian ascend the rope during the rescue, this is not how it goes. I'm not sure how he cheated, but I'm convinced that no one can ascend a free hanging rope in the time that he did. I will have to review the video, but I am pretty sure that we will be able to spot the small electric winch or the anti-gravity belt that he was using. Ascending a free hanging rope, my friends, sucks! Even with Lee sharing some of the burden by simultaneously hauling me up with the rescue pulley system. Anyway, if you got this far in my narration, I hope you got a laugh and enjoyed the story. A million thanks to Lee for showing me the ropes. I won't be as quick or smooth as those guys were, at least I now have the knowledge to do what we all witnessed on that Friday out at Mineral Bottom. JP

Between Basic Research and Vertigo, Apex has done configurations of almost every possible venting layout. Just the center cell, all of the cells, 5 of the cells, different sizes, etc... Here is a simplified, generalized summary of our findings: Venting all cells pressurizes the canopy too quickly on anything beyond 2 seconds. We're talking possible structural damage to the canopy, rig components, and jumper. The other main problem with this configuration is that there is so much air entering the canopy on anything beyond a 1 second delay, that the canopy pushes the air out the nose and actually backs up on opening. We just built a canopy with all cells vented for a jumper who is just going to use this canopy for very low jumps, period. Where he lives, this is what he has and he loves it. Just venting the center cell is ok, but it really doesn't pressurize enough of the canopy to make it worthwhile. Canopies built with 2 cells vented(one on either side of the center cell) is a pretty good configuration if you don't want quite as much pressurization on opening as a "standard" vented canopy. If you heavily load your canopy or do longer delays, typically. The "standard" configuration that we use is venting on 4 cells, not the center or the end cells. This has tested the best in all areas of canopy performance. I know that this is a very general description, but the Turkey Boogie is coming up fast and I gots ta go! We are currently working on these types of articles for our website complete with pictures and should be ready sometime in the next 100 years. Thanks! Jimmy P Apex BASE

Katie from the BLM called a few days ago and asked us to post this: The BLM has made a new trailhead for the bottom section of Tombstone(Can we post this name for clarity, Tom?). The new trail doesn't climb that first steep section up to the petroglyphs, it begins to the right of the old trailhead in the bottom of the wash. She(and the BLM) has requested that we use this trail instead of the old one to reduce the erosion on the hillside. Why is this good news? Many reasons. Basically, with volunteer efforts by Trail Mix and friends, a trail for BASE jumpers has been built. Certainly not exclusively, but predominantly for us. We are a recognized user group. In addition to building this new trail, Katie went all the way up the existing trail and complimented us on staying on one trail and being ecologically aware. Many times we find ourselves(and have seen other BASE jumpers) picking up garbage and beer cans from other user groups. It's this kind of awareness, and attitude that has helped us form a great relationship with the BLM. We can only hope that this will someday be recognized by the National Park Service. In every way, BLM land is our testing ground for entry into the Parks. Keep up the great work and hopefully many of you reading this will get to test out the new trail next week over Thanksgiving. In addition to all of this, Katie said the new trail is shorter and faster. Thanks! Jimmy P Apex BASE

Ha! Instead of going back to a spring loaded pilot chute for wingsuit deployments, let's go sideways and develop a rocket fired pilot chute(without the flames, of course, maybe compressed air). For those of you who don't know Nick and I, we're joking, or are we...Boohaha

Thanks Jaap, Actually, I'm glad you did it, now I have to make the time to get er done. JP

OH, Did you have to call me out like that Jaap! Yes, the website is published, but it is far from complete. As far as the Velcro rig is concerned, we are still working on the redesign, it will be very similar to the Apex DP(dual pin) container in every aspect, except of course, for the closure being Velcro instead of pins. It is interesting to see the Velcro rig taking a back seat to the pin closed rigs, but not unexpected. The sport has gone from pin closed skydiving containers, to single parachute Velcro closed containers and now single parachute, pin closed containers. I can't wait to see where we go in 10 years. What fabric will we be using for parachutes, will they still be 7 cell ram air canopies or something else? Now, back to the website. I guess Chino and I will have to get crackin and get that thing up to speed. I'll post when it gets to where I'm happy with it, probably in about 5 years. Jimmy P

There is a climber from Colorado who has climbed and jumped "C" Tower a few times. He has volunteered to fix ropes during the Turkey Boogie on the rappel side of the tower(which wouldn't interfere with other climbers going up the routes). He needs help to do this from at least 1 other experienced climber. This opportunity is not to be missed if you are experienced with ascending a fixed line. There won't be anyone teaching ascending at this location. This is for people who already have experience ascending a fixed line and have their own jumars, harness and slings. Please reply here or PM me. Thanks, Jimmy P I have attached a picture of "C". It is a 400 foot tower perched on top of a 1,000 foot talus. You can outfly the talus almost to the campground where you park. It's awesome! The exit point is directly over the arete(corner) so if you have a 180, you only have to turn your canopy about 45 degrees to avoid hitting the tower.

Slickrock campground is owned by Matt and Jamie. The telephone number is 435.259.7660 www.slickrockcampground.com They are offering 30% off on cabins to jumpers and 40% off on tent/RV sites If you are looking for a hotel, you can drive around town when you arrive and look for the best deal-like I said, it's the off season and this town is all hotels and restaurants- you WILL get a room at a great rate. If you would rather confirm a reservation, go to www.discovermoab.com/hotels.htm Thanks! Jimmy

Turkey Boogie 2005 Who: Any jumper who has at least 50 BASE jumps and wants to jump a bunch of new areas in Moab. What: Guided approaches to many new sites and revisiting many old favorites. Turkey dinner at the Apex shop on Thursday evening. Where: Moab, Utah. If you arrive early, call the Apex Moab shop upon your arrival in Moab and we will let you know what’s happening at that moment. (435.259.1085) When: From Thursday, November 24th through Saturday, November 26th. Many jumpers are arriving early. If you are arriving early, we will help you hook up with other jumpers at that time. We will start guiding on Thursday morning. Meet at the McDonald’s parking lot at 7:30 a.m.(McDonald’s is closed on Thanksgiving so don’t plan on breakfast there!) Why: Because most people don’t have the time to find new exit points when they come here on vacation. We currently have about 120 exit points and about 1,108 to go. Last year the weather was just about perfect all day for the entire event, this is typically the best time of the year to jump, however 4 years ago we got shut down pretty hard by the winds. It is usually calm all day and the temperature is perfect (in the 60’s). It’s not a bad idea to come prepared with a Winter jacket and a rain jacket as well. How much? This year we are again charging a $25 boogie fee. We are giving $5 from each participant to the BLM again this year to thank them for allowing us to jump as permitted by the Constitution of the United States of America. Your money will get you all the free guiding you can handle, transportation by Coyote Shuttle on Friday for Mineral Bottom, a T-shirt, lunch at Mineral bottom on Friday and a Turkey dinner on Thursday night (everyone brings a side dish). Tentative schedule of events: Thursday November 24th: Meet at McDonald’s at 7:30a.m. to split up into smaller groups. You can choose to revisit a site you’ve already been to or choose a new location. Dinner will start at 6pm at the Apex Moab shop. Friday November 25th: We will spend the day out at Mineral Bottom, two Unimogs(military transports) will again be shuttling jumpers up from the bottom all day. We request than a minimum number of cars go out to Mineral to minimize impact on the area. Jumpers will want to bring whatever you need for the day as it is a 30 minute drive back to the last gas station once you are there. Apex will be setting up the grill and serving burgers and hot dogs again. Saturday November 26th: All participants will meet your group leader wherever and whenever they told you to the night before. Some destinations include Echo Canyon, Moonflower Canyon, Potash Road, Mill Creek, Fisher towers, the Rim wall, etc… Each guide will be moving on to additional locations throughout the day. Our own Hank Caylor, climbing legend and some say ex-porn star, will be setting up in Day Canyon with his fluffer, Jimmy P, to get people up a couple of fixed ropes to jump one of the jewels in the crown, “Jug or not”. There are also fine jumps in this canyon which do not require ascending a fixed line. Additional information: There are many hotels in Moab. This is the off season and many are offering rooms at around $30-$40 a night. A hostel-which includes the Watermelon and Grandmother’s house (435) 259-6057, as well as spaces within some of those rental houses will be available. Camping is always an option here, but be prepared for some very cold nights. We will have fixed ropes set up at some of the more technical sites. For these, you will want jumars, slings and a harness(and everything else you need to jug) to access these sites. Some are only twenty foot sections that can be toproped(harness only) but one is a 100 foot vertical wall which requires a knowledge of ascent with jumars. We do not have any tower climbs/jumps planned at this time, but if anyone is interested in this type of specialty jump, please contact us prior to the boogie so that we can arrange climbing partners. We have some new sites and some great new adventures planned. Thank you and we look forward to another great event. Jimmy and Marta Apex BASE 2710 So. Hwy. 191 Moab, Ut. 84532 moabATapexbase.com where AT=@ (435) 259-1085

No, you are probably referring to the S. African ZP, which does have that feel to it until it gets dusty. I have never seen any other fabric that has the same weight to it as these affected PC's , it is very noticeably thicker. jp

You would have gotten one of these pilot chutes from Apex, not Vertigo or BR as we did not have this fabric at that time. Jimmy

Jaap's incident is probably a combination of factors. It could be that the pilot chute fell into your burble because it hesitated, or the bridle not having enough slack didn't allow the pilot chute to reach clean air. Either way, no pilot chute will inflate if it is sitting on your back. I am not defending the pilot chute or trying to say that this is not what happened. But the jury is definitely still out on this one. I would use any of these pilot chutes handheld, without question. But that is not our call, our call is to offer replacement of any of these pilot chutes. Jimmy

We received a small amount of zp from a manufacturer who claimed that they could not get completely zero porosity in their zp fabric unless they increased the amount of coating. All nylon destined to be zp is calendared (hot rolled to essentially squish the threads making them flat, thus decreasing the gaps between the weave) and then treated in various coatings to prevent the air from getting through the weave of the fabric. When you feel the fabric, it is heavier. Yesterday we were shown video of one of the pilot chutes, made from this material, used during a one second delay. The pilot chute was stowed and when thrown, hesitated in a cylinder shape for just less than a second. Once a little airspeed had built up, the pilot chute inflated normally and deployed the parachute normally. On an ultra low jump, this is not acceptable (most jumps for that matter). The same day, some Aussie friends were in town and happened to have the same material pilot chutes with them. One of the jumpers experienced the same phenomenon. At this point we realized that it was not an isolated incident and decided to notify all customers that may be involved. At this point we're not sure of the exact cause, whether it is the additional weight of the fabric or the "stickiness" of the fabric, or a combination of the two. Currently, it appears to happen only when the jumper goes stowed and does a short delay (1 second). Regardless, we are offering a replacement of the pilot chutes made from this material. Please contact [email protected] to arrange an exchange. HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE 1 OF THESE PILOT CHUTES? Luckily, we only made a small batch using this fabric. The fabric in question is either royal blue or gray and has a sticky feel. It would have been delivered within the past year. Thank you, Jimmy, Todd, and Marta Apex BASE

Just for the record, although the picture is of pizza wall in Moab, this whole thing has absolutely nothing to do with Moab or the BLM directly. NBC just used a stock photo that they had. This is a site specific incident of jumping over a very popular climbing area. HOWEVER, everything is related and any attendance of jumpers at this meeting will have long reaching effects and is definitely recommended for whoever can make it. Jimmy P Apex BASE

Excellent work young jedi! Jimmy, Marta, Nico and Lua

Thanks everyone, She also found a company called patriot extreme travel insurance which might work. Jimmy

There is a jumper from the UK coming to the states to BASE. She cannot find travel insurance that will cover her. Does anyone know of a health insurance company that will cover BASE jumping in this situation? Thanks! Jimmy P

The rest of the slack goes in between the zp and the mesh that you have contained the rest of the bridle in. The 2 differences are that the s folds are shorter so that they are not under your grip and they are not contained by the mesh as the other previous folds are. Once the pilot chute is extracted, they fall out of the pilot chute. I always stow the pilot chute first, then tuck just enough bridle so as not to be exposed under the side flap, then under the bridle protector flap and any excess remaining bridle just in between the bottom of the rig and PC(inside the BOC). JP I have attached a pic to clarify

The only difference between the method you are showing and the way we teach is that we leave more bridle out of the part that is contained by your hand as you toss. You should have a bit more bridle than full arm stretch out to the side in order to prevent this exact situation. The other result of not having enough bridle out of your grip, is that you can pull your pins. Once you release your grip, the bridle is free to extend to full stretch. Jimmy P. Apex BASE

One dramatic disadvantage to a larger pilot chute is the amount of drag on the center cell once the canopy is flying. For instance, with a 222 sq. foot canopy and a 52 " PC, the canopy end cells will begin to outfly the center cell and create a stalling situation. This is especially pronounced when you go to flare and slow down the forward speed of the canopy, reducing the pressurization of the canopy. This is especially dangerous because it usually causes the canopy to collapse at about 10-20 feet off the ground. So if you are going forward with any of these experiments, do it over water as suggested! There is definitely too much of a good thing and too much pilot chute is bad. Over the years, the BASE community has pretty much figured out what size pilot chute works best with what size canopy and delay. These numbers are not arbitrary but a result of many years and many people testing different configurations. Jimmy P.

We've always had the Syko toggles with the shorter pins. We had our manufacturer of pins build us longer ones for the WLO's. The reason for this is to have the same pin connecting the brake line to the toggle as well as going through the loop which goes through the brake setting itself. This allows us with one motion to release both points. There have been a few instances of bent pins when jumped slider down, so we recommend using the Syko toggles for these jumps. Marta and I have been using the WLO's for all jumps and haven't had a problem with bent pins. When the brake line setting is not pre-tensioned each jump, the pin is shock loaded and can bend. It is quite easy to straighten the pin and no replacement is necessary. With the merger into Apex, Marta and I are moving to Perris for January and February when we will merge the rig designs, risers, pilot chutes, etc... This will be a very exciting time and there will be many changes taking place. The idea is to take the best features of each item and make one super deluxe product in each category. Jimmy

Wow, The reaper is swinging like crazy these days. Erich was such a cool person. Always a smile. One time he came to the shop and just kept giving me pictures that he had taken and had printed. A generous soul who will be missed. Marta and I will light a candle and remember great times. Love to his family and friends. Jimmy P

For about a year, Todd, Annie, Marta and I have been working out the details on merging Vertigo Base Outfitters and Basic Research into Apex Base. The rough details are that Apex(Todd, Marta and Jimmy) bought BR(Annie-Todd) and Vertigo(Marta and Jimmy). Anne is going back to her love of nursing as a profession, but have no fear, she will still be jumping full time. We are still working out the details of merging some of the products. For now, all products offered by each company will still be available. We will be keeping all of the canopies that are now available from both companies. Production and design will be based in Perris, CA. Todd will run this side of the business alongside key people like Karen. Marta, Jimmy and their staff will remain in Moab, running the jump courses, focusing on a much more interactive website, ads, videos, events, test jumping,etc... So now you know why BR invited Vertigo to be a part of the Superbowl... To the future!

Hey, We need a shipping address for Mary. Could anyone who has this information pass it along to Vertigo at: [email protected] Thanks! Jimmy

Hey hey hey, The Turkey Boogie is on again this year. Bigger and better than ever. Has it been a year already? Yikes! Turkey Boogie 2004 Who: Any jumper who has at least 30 BASE jumps and wants to jump a bunch of new areas in Moab. What: Guided approaches to many new sites and revisiting many old favorites. Turkey dinner at the shop on Thursday evening. Where: Moab Utah. If you arrive early, call the Vertigo shop upon your arrival in Moab and we will let you know what’s happening at that moment. When: From November 25th through November 27th. Many jumpers are arriving early. If you are arriving early, we will help you hook up with other jumpers at that time. We will start guiding on Thursday morning. Meet at the McDonald’s parking lot at 7:30 a.m.(McDonald’s is closed on Thanksgiving so don’t plan on breakfast there!) Why: Because most people don’t have the time to find new exit points when they come here on vacation. We currently have about 90 exit points and about 1,108 to go. Last year the weather was perfect all day for the entire event, this is typically the best time of the year to jump, however 3 years ago we got shut down pretty hard by the winds. It is usually calm all day and the temperature is perfect (in the 60’s). It’s not a bad idea to come prepared with a Winter jacket and a rain jacket as well. How much? This year we are again charging a $25 boogie fee. We are giving $5 from each participant to the BLM this year for permits. Your money will get you all the free guiding you can handle, transportation by Coyote Shuttle on Saturday for Mineral Bottom, a T-shirt, lunch at Mineral bottom on Saturday and a Turkey dinner on Thursday night (everyone brings a side dish). Tentative schedule of events: Thursday November 27th: Meet at McDonald’s at 7:30a.m. to split up into smaller groups. You can choose to revisit a site you’ve already been to or choose a new location. Dinner will start at 6pm at the Vertigo shop. At this dinner you will have the option of choosing which adventures you will go on the following day and will arrange with your group leader as to where you will meet the following day. Friday November 28th: All participants will meet your group leader wherever and whenever they told you to the night before. Some destinations include Echo Canyon, Moonflower Canyon, Potash Road, Mill Creek, Fisher towers, the Rim wall, etc… Each guide will be moving on to additional locations throughout the day. Saturday November 29th: We will spend the day out at Mineral Bottom, two Unimogs(military transports) will again be shuttling jumpers up from the bottom all day. We request than a minimum number of cars go out to Mineral to minimize impact on the area. Jumpers will want to bring whatever you need for the day as it is a 30 minute drive back to the last gas station once you are there. Vertigo will be setting up the grill and serving burgers and hot dogs again. Additional information: There are many hotels(Motel 6 is offering a sweet deal to jumpers again-just mention that you are coming out for the Vertigo BASE jumping event (435) 259-6686), a hostel-which includes the Watermelon and Grandmother’s house (435) 259-6057, as well as spaces within some of those rental houses will be available. Camping is always an option here, but be prepared for some very cold nights. We will have fixed ropes set up at some of the more technical sites. For these, you will want jumars, slings and a harness(and everything else you need to jug) to access these sites. Some are only twenty foot sections that can be toproped(harness only) but one is a 100 foot vertical wall which requires a knowledge of ascent with jumars. We do not have any tower climbs/jumps planned at this time, but if anyone is interested in this type of specialty jump, please contact us prior to the boogie so that we can arrange climbing partners. We have some new sites and some great new adventures planned. Thank you and we look forward to another great event. Jimmy and Marta Vertigo Base Outfitters 2710 So. Hwy. 191 Moab, Ut. 84532 Vertigobase.com (435) 259-1085