wwarped

I'm betting the guy who video'd the jump walked down. the jumper (or the cops) probably sat waiting for him. watching the video, I'd say it was night time. the lack of traffic also is a clue. would you prefer ONLY tales of success? give the readers of this forum a distorted perception of the possibilities? I'm guessing here, but if they did NOT have a camera up top, maybe they would NOT have been caught? maybe people will be more careful regarding who they take to sites. we ought not take canaries... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

congrats! treat it well, and it will treat you well. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

true. we all get pumped by jumps. sometimes jazzed for hours. we can all get chatty over breakfast. people share their stories here regularly. it is an interesting story, and refreshing by itself. my issue is the need to make it a poll, as if they wish to determine if they are really cool or not. if they were not seen, were not hurt, and returned home safe, it was a great BASE experience. share stories. all cool. don't expect a grade. if you are jumping for the joy of jumping and personal satisfaction, it simply should not matter. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

sounds like "Bill & Ted" had a most excellent adventure... somehow I bet others have done it as well. we just never know as they keep it private, not public. oh, and making it a poll - wow. do "Bill & Ted" have a burning need to jump, or do they have a burning need to seek approval/attention? will it be posted on youtube? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

as you seem to be whinng yourself, is that an attempt at humor? it's a shame, as the end of your post detracts from a valid point. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

as you so clearly state, there is far more to site evaluation than simply knowing the altitude. I'm hoping others can learn from your unfortunate experience. I have yet to do anything other than a static line or PCA from the same object. I'm not comfortable opening lower, yet. my experience there is guiding me more than a range finder... good luck in potato land (or potatoe if you from the Dan Quayle school of spelling...). DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

uh, I see your point... maybe replacing "intelligent" with "otherwise intelligent" would be better? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

Someone should build a combo laser rangefinder/sextant unit. That would be pretty cool... cool but impractical... and talk about device dependent... (oops, I can't evaluate the site, my batteries are dead. guess we must go home...) I know of one alternate BD site that I've heard several different heights. somewhere between 220-240 ft. that represents over 8% error! it's a bridge! all it takes is a rangefinder pointed straight down, but we can't derive a consistent figure... guess how much it would vary if we had to measure angles as well? (oh, but it is a laser! it is accurate! - yeah, right...) last year, an intelligent jumper did an aggressive jump there based on these numbers. he got busted up. how the data gets interpreted (including awareness of error) is far more important than the data itself. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

why? just eyeball it. yes, I'm serious. isn't that what we do during the jump? (both before and after opening...) if you can't tell, jump conservatively. if the site looks marginal for a conservative jump, DO NOT jump. create an experience base with the site. then build on YOUR experience. height is just one variable. skill level, equipment, density altitude, wind patterns, etc. constitute many other valid variables. why worry so much on calculating only 1 variable? if it's so marginal you feel you need a precise measurement, DO NOT jump. it IS that simple. why insist on complicating things? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

keep up the good work. this is how people should GIVE to the sport, not simply TAKE. actions like that demonstrate claiming a right by acting responsible. too many people neglect the latter. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

people who BASE jump should realize they are test jumpers. what works for one, may NOT work for anyone else. you need to decide for yourself. 'course, I recommend taking small steps. so feel free to head out to a dz and jump a round parachute. see if you find it acceptable before using it in the BASE environment. jumping the round will also educate you on what you need in a site and the appropriate weather to perform the jump "safely." I gave up intentionally using rounds after too many jumps. 3 to be exact. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

answer: see the post that started this thread. it was written in an antgonistic tone. the author latter modified it to be far more reasonable, but the damage was done. opinion: it is not enough to simply ask questions or tell people to ask questions. questions generate information, a tool. how will the information be used? guidance might prove helpful, or insulting. should someone ask a buyer's intentions when buying a snowboard? bad things happen with those... especially when things look so easy on video. people regularly demand rights while avoiding a corresponding responsibility. I do not know of an easy way to thrust responsible behavior upon someone else. I really wish I did. heck, I wish I could ensure I always acted wisely... I regret many rash acts... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

it is not clear to me either why Felix gets ALL the criticism... I think the main reason is he doesn't "play well with others." by that I mean few have ever mentioned how he contributes to the community. he doesn't develop techniques, offer advice, or even present the best public image. his jumps frequently are not all that challenging. he basically it constantly taking from the sport to provide publicity to himself and his sponsor. I'll also state that his escapades are NOT leading to most of the sport's access issues. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

this discussion reminds me of the gun debate in the US. some want to restrict trade in guns, others wish to blame their operators... video (tv, movies, etc.) make it seem so easy, everyone thinks they know how to use one. few realize all the care associated with proper use. some skilled individuals desire to have NO restrictions on their activities. many unskilled individuals desire to have NO restrictions on their activities as well. collectively, the restrictions are designed to protect people from themselves. given enough motivation, people will gain access somehow, and it may not be pretty... (block access to a proper rig, and some will simply use a skydiving rig.) some will view carnage as justification for authorities to step in. the other side sees people failing to assume the responsibility associated with every right. some desire background checks and cooling off periods... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

that is sound advice for ANYTHING new. don't open too high, but don't suck it down to the basement either. no matter what others think, YOU must discover YOUR limits... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

that is too cool. it sounds like you appreciate the outstanding support as well. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

Ha ha, you're funny.... sadly, that is no joke... see the list. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

your BASE experience it not THAT important. you typically offer advice from other areas of expertise. your wide variety of knowledge is implausible, but by reports, true. anyone can be the exception to a rule... straight out of the Skin school of thought. it is valid, and probably more correct. I choose to try to remain positive and attempt to help. if we don't give up until impact, why give up here? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

so why do you participate? are you trying to elevate the forum and make it worthwhile? or do you like wallowing in the fecal matter? its fun. none of it matters, save the occasional local jumpers search, and info on new gear and ideas. different people use this forum for varying purposes. many come here to research BASE and learn about our sport. unfortunately, that includes law enforcement officials (such as NPS) and news reporters. perceptions matter to these people and I'd prefer them to have an open mind regarding the sport. they may see images of a jump and be shocked. they ask "what in the he...?" and come here for more information. I've been in non-BASE situations where you can spin such a situation to create either an ally or an enemy. I believe the best BASE jumpers are incredibly smart, dilligent, and detail orientated. you (Calvin19) appear to have an amazing wealth of knowledge. (actually, it can appear so broad to be implausible...) but many of your posts do not display it. each of us IS a face of BASE jumping, on a daily basis (unless you hide your activities). if you portray a reckless attitude, it will attract some and deter others. but are you attracting sloppy jumpers? the type of jumpers that will do things to make BASE more difficult? when law enforcement officials visit this site to research possibly opening a site (o.k. it's a long shot... but evidently they DO come here.), they frequently will NOT perceive the careful, meticulous nature of solid BASE jumpers. perception IS reality. this site helps many form their opinion about BASE. many of the people who post for a laugh provide many readers the excuse to dismiss BASE jumpers as reckless and irresponsible. sloppy habits (including representing the sport poorly) -> sloppy jumping (maybe not you, but by others)-> injuries or worse if you do not like all the access issues that are arising, ask yourself if you are contributing to the problem or the sloution... as in much of BASE, it is your call. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

but every video that is available to the public features a "public" face for BASE. these videos can influence public perception, for good or ill. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

e-mail, ftp, post to a private part of the web, cds, dvds. video tapes, etc. all work. arrange the details via PM. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

so why do you participate? are you trying to elevate the forum and make it worthwhile? or do you like wallowing in the fecal matter? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

I remember never noticing how many antennas existed until I started jumping from them. I also remember realizing local authorities had no clue about the amount of BASE jumping in the area. if calls came in about people walking around a field at night, and loud noises, people would think we were poaching deer. it just is a lot easier conducting less-than-legal jumps when no one knows to look up! the more publicity we seek, the more it will pop up on law officials radar screen. if owners are aware of activity, they will make it harder to gain access. once everyone knows about BASE, and that it has become relatively common, they will realize we are jumping THEIR antenna. how many are actually legal? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

please DO NOT. why not? because it feeds into many of the problems besetting the sport. BASE used to be something you really wanted to do. you had to show a lot of interest. you had to earn whatever you chose. I don't believe in facilitating. if someone thought it was a must see, well, make time. I believe BASE should be personal, not public. what purpose will the interview serve? Jeb did not control the message. heck, even when he hosted his show, his message ws probably filtered by editors. either way, the publicity will fuel the debate for those seeking to write new laws. "look how many of them are out there! we must control them!" many in the BASE community seem addicted to online video. it is an addiction that should be broken. an amazing amount of jumpers can recognize the well known sites, even without having been there. guess which sites are facing access issues because of sloppy jumping? keep it personal, not public. (oh, and the really cool, badass types NEVER walk around talking about it. they get known by OTHERS talking about them. posting your own video? yikes...) in BASE, details matter. the above points may seem irrelevant to you, but we need to change the mindset of the BASE community if we wish to curtail access issues. the people who want things NOW are creating problems. why encourage such behavior? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse