321Cya

Heard about the rockfall problem. It's been reported on the radio and in newspapers a in the last few days. However, as AirCanada says it won't affect the jump (hopefully...) cause it's on the other side. I'm actually interested in how much ice on the rocks we can expect this time on the hike up. Don't know wether to say fortunately or unfortunately, but global warming seems to help us when it comes to melting of the ice, which would make the hike a lot easier and less tricky... J. www.vandrunen.ch

I am ofcourse referring my question to those who hiked up there and not those who had a chopper ride... www.vandrunen.ch

Is there anybody who has jumped the Eiger recently and can tell me something about the current conditions up there? cheers, J. www.vandrunen.ch

I bet he can handle it... and WE DO love the guy!!!! lol J. www.vandrunen.ch

Rotterdam was an absolute blast... I would hereby like to thank GO FAST for making all this possible. Hope to see you all next year. Here`s a small video I made of the event: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=4138 J. www.vandrunen.ch

The first one is a favourite of me jumping, while the second one is a favourite that I took myself of base915... www.vandrunen.ch

Hope BASE qualifies. I have a bunch of skydiving shots, but they don't beat the BASE ones in my opinion... www.vandrunen.ch

And I, who took the pics, flew without tracksuit.... Damn, I actually thought my track was simply superb J. www.vandrunen.ch

http://www.20min.ch/tools/suchen/story/23171424 English: A 35-year old survived a jump into high-voltage powerlines. The man BASE jumped of a cliff in the Vercors area (site name is in article anyway) in France on Monday. After a freefall he openend his parachute as planned, but the man couldn't get it under control and flew straight into the 63000 Volt cable, according to the Mountain watch. The rescue services had to wait long until the power was completely switched off. Only then a rescuer could abseil down from a helicopter and bring the man in safety. The rescue operation lasted for more than 3 hours. The victim, from the Grenoble area, suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns and is now treated in a specialist medical center in Lyon. All the best to you and I wish you a quick recovery! J. www.vandrunen.ch

Gender: Male Age: 28 Location: Switzerland Family Status (married, single, children, etc): Engaged Did you skydive before you started to BASE jump? Yes How did you first get started in BASE jumping? Always wanted to do it, but took my time to get a decent amount of skydives in (500 in my case) and then I suddenly found myself completely wasted after an event in Norway on the edge of a cliff with borrowed gear . Once back home I purchased gear and started jumping off bridges for a while, the proper way to start. Did you attend a jump school? For skydiving yes, BASE jumping no How long have you been jumping? Skydiving since 1997, BASE since 2003 Did you plan on BASE jumping from the start? I didn't start skydiving specifically for BASE jumping, but I have always wanted to BASE jump. This feeling already started when I was very young. I remember seeing a BASE jump on TV once. Besides that I have always done 'extreme' or 'action' sports from a young age. How much does it cost to BASE jump (jump, gear etc)? Lots What do you think of when you see others jump? When I'm jumping with them I think 'Hihaaaa', or 'oh shit' or 'nice jump bro'....etc. When I don't or can't jump I simply wish I was there... What do you think before you jump? I'm shitting myself What do you think while falling? Good question. I never thought of what I think while falling. It's more like concentrating and focus on body position, position in the air, filming others and making sure we don't fuck up all together (this is for high jumps/long freefalls). Low jumps: F*******k!!!!!! What do you think once you land? Woooohooooooo!!!! Have you ever gotten hurt BASE jumping? Cuts and brooses, but all from climbing up/down to exit points (knock on wood) Do you illegally jump? yes Why do you BASE jump? Same answer as for why I smoke... Hoooooked! Good luck with your project and let us know if you pass. Perhaps you could post your portfolio on here once it's finished. J. www.vandrunen.ch

I use a .3 (Red Eye from WayCool) for BASE jumping and general freefly. When I film my freefly team I zoom it in slightly... You could compare that to their .45 Blue Eye lens. For handcam shots I use the .25 Black Eye which I think is too wide for general skydiving use. You'll find them here www.waycool.com.au and you can order them online. J. www.vandrunen.ch

What the hell were you doing inside the house??? Checking the view from the front window? Respect J. www.vandrunen.ch

yes...but not 'up there', more like 'down there'... Can't wait to get off here J. www.vandrunen.ch

What exactly is 'rope riding'? Never heard that one before... J. www.vandrunen.ch

Is this what actually happend or is this what 'you think' might have happenend? The article doesn't give detailed information... J. www.vandrunen.ch

For all you guys who don't read the BASE forum, here's a link of a post I made with my very first stills... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2245194;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread (*Scroll down in the thread and you'll see a second post with a few more pics!) I got a Canon 350d, normal kit lens 18-55mm. Since this photography stuff is all new to me I would appreciate any feedback and/or advice on camera setting etc. FYI: In all of these stills I used the sportmode and manual focus on about 2-3 metres (6-9 ft for Americans ) Gosh, I love this photography stuff... Enjoy! J. www.vandrunen.ch

Sounds like all 3 were on 1 platform/support system that failed, rather than on individual fall arrest systems. Or perhaps individual fall arrest systems while all using the same point of attachment(s) that ended up failing. In Industrial Rope Access (which is what I'm doing) this is unheard of. I believe there are only 2 or 3 fatalities since IRA is used. I therefore believe they were not using this method. It's sad that something like this can happen in the 21st century. When more news comes about the cause and the fall arrest equipment used it will be interesting to read about it. I would appreciate it if you could post it. J www.vandrunen.ch

Yep. Great offers, fast service! Thanks again for the advice. J. www.vandrunen.ch

Here ya go... www.vandrunen.ch

Canon 350d with standard 18mm-55mm lens www.vandrunen.ch

Oh yes, and he drinks even more beer... J. www.vandrunen.ch

Some sweet pics attached from yesterday. It was my first jump with stills camera

Thanks dude. Got it to work. J. www.vandrunen.ch

Any Photoshop experts that can help me out here...? I`m trying to downsize some high quality stills to 120kb (max. size for uploading on here!), which I can do by reducing the `image size`. However, once it`s as small as 120kb it`s not much larger than a thumbnail. How can I reduce them to 120kb and still keep a fair size picture of reasonable quality, if at all possible? FYI: I work on a Mac with Adobe Photoshop. thanks in advance, Joris. www.vandrunen.ch

Just tested the switch and indeed it does exactly the opposite of what it should do (press=no pic, don`t press=pic). Even at times it seems to work ok, but the next moment it doesn`t. Bugger... Now I have to wait even longer to start playing with my new toy... Thanks for the advice guys. J. www.vandrunen.ch