JaapSuter

Yeah, we'll use Russel's. Your carrot has been in places... I don't think anybody would want it anymore.

That's a splendid idea! I'm all for it! As long as its for people who got hurt on a base-jump or while driving to an object. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get my own carrot back! I wonder how long such a scheme will last, but it's worth a shot! Anybody in need of a carrot? PM Russel!

And gugigatseli means kitchen-cupboard! I love that word. Love Switzerland too. Still my favourite country in Europe.

Fuck dude, that sucks. PM me your address and size. Maybe the karma will save me from a similar fate. All other handicapped people will be getting carrots again.

Dude, you so would have won a t-shirt for that one! I base jump because people chase me to the edge pointing a gun at me!

I'll run the risk of opening up the old toggles versus risers debate, so please split this thread if necessary Tom. Have you seen Slim's video? How much effort did you put into your deep brake settings? Do you have several ones for different wind configurations? Apologies if this sounds judgemental. After having practiced both styles, seeing Slim's video and realizing that only perfect brake-settings are good enough to give toggles any potential, I was easily converted to a riser guy. Even with perfect brake-settings, it takes a skilled canopy pilot to minimize the forward surge when popping the brakes, especially in a high stress situation. Add to that the potential for missing your toggles. If that can happen to an experienced jumper like Slim, it can certainly happen to me. Here is another video and thread from a guy who hit a cliff after going for toggles. In that same thread he mentions that he would go for risers in the future. True, but I'd rather hit only the ground, than hit the object followed by the ground. I wonder if landing a lightly loaded semi-stalled base canopy at the base of a rock is really that deadly. I can't judge this for sure, but I have a feeling that with enough body armour, a solid PLF, a slight incline and a certain amount of luck, you could walk away with only a few broken bones.

Interesting thoughts... At this point though, if you want to clear the toggle away from the riser completely, you have to pull your hand backwards with an open hand, correct? That leaves the potential for the toggle slipping out of your hands and losing them, especially if you have big-grab toggles. Granted, I never actually tried what you're suggesting here, and I'm sure going to have a look at it on my next skydive. Just rehearsing it my head though, it doesn't feel right. I'd rather grab the risers above the toggles if necessary, and then transfer to toggles after that. Once your heading is facing away from the object, unless you're doing ultra-low or super technical objects, you have plenty of time to let go of the risers and make sure you grab the toggles correctly. Big-grab toggles make this even easier, although I'm personally beginning to believe this advantage is not worth it.

Hooray!

Hey everybody, after much discussion and deliberation, fifty beers, six strippers, two hookers, and a moderate amount of blow, the judges have been able to come to a conclusion. First Prize - a t-shirt The first prize goes to Rob Price also known as Skypuppy: No doubt in my mind at all, Im old school. There's only two reasons to BASE jump. For the girls, and for the glory. Everything else pales. The jury was awestruck by the honesty expressed in this simple and straightforward answer. The judges unanimously agreed that the only reasons why anybody in his right mind would huck himself off an object would be girls and glory. It's for the same reason we climb Mount Everest, we land on the moon and we travel to the South Pole; to impress the ladies and to live beyond our own death. Besides, it makes for an awesome t-shirt. Imagine being carried away into an ambulance wearing a shirt that says: "For girls and glory!" Second Prize - a t-shirt The second prize winner was immediately obvious. Mainly because it caused two heartstrokes and five premature ejaculations among our old-time jury members. Our lovely Karen Thomas also known as K763 happily admitted: and besides, it makes me wet. And that pretty much says it all... Honourable Mention - a t-shirt The honourable mention goes to Jamie also known as Fireflyr. He brought out the homie in all of us by his creative use of the contest limitations. It made us drizzle fo' nizzle, put some shit up my fizzle and high-five some of my local brothas. Ice Ice Baby; word to ya momma, Jamie! Jamie, Karen and Rob. Send me a PM or email with your address and your size (S, L or XL, if you really need M let me know and I'll have another one printed). The shirts will be on their way shortly. Special Category - potentially a t-shirt Joel Broadbent also known as yexotay could win a shirt for himself. Unfortunately, his entry was past the deadline. So the judges imposed two conditions. One, did you hurt yourself on a base-jump? Two, if so, would you be willing to share an incident report? Totally understandable if you don't want to. But if you do, a shirt will be coming your way too. Either way, I hope you'll be jumping again soon! Climbing ladders with a cane is totally doable, I've seen it done. The judges would like to extend a special thanks to all participants and their extraordinary contributions. The follow-up of this thread will now be dedicated to flaming away at the terrible decisions the judges have made. Three, two, one, go!

By landing on rear seatbelts of course!

Thanks Al! Great post. I can never get enough of base history.

Besides, who says I'm a judge? I'm just the messenger. I've heard the judges are just a bunch of horny old-timers though, so I don't think you have to worry much.

I stopped classifying my jumps according to the letters B.A.S.E. and O a couple of years ago. I mean, that is so eighties! These days, I classify everything according to the S.H.E.E.P. system. S - Stupid H - Has lost desire to live E - Equals certain death E - Even Cornishe wouldn't jump this object P - Peer pressure is what killed me Does that make me a sheep-jumper?

NO! A very strong no. If you have to rely on your instructor to survive in this sport, you are in the wrong sport. The instructor is there to help you should you choose to use his help. The instructor has no obligation to you to make sure you stay alive. The instructor is like an altimeter or a helmet. Very useful when used properly, but they're just a tool. They carry valuable information that you can choose to leverage in order to increase your chances of not getting hurt.

Awesome! You just identified the first step towards avoiding this in the future. Apparently you have had problems flaring in the past, but in a familiar environment (over the big grass landing area) you managed to overcome these problems. Then you took it to the airway and the new element of having asphalt under you overloaded your senses in such a way that old problems resurfaced. That is nothing to be ashamed off. It happens to everybody. The only problem is that you were unfortunate enough to be barefoot. But here too, you already acknowledged that it wasn't the smartest choice you could have made, so another problem has been identified. And henceforth, two lessons have been learned. Great job! Now close your browser. Go have a beer. Then come back for a skydive when your feet are healed. Try wearing a brand new pair of Hanwags. I swear by them for all my base jumps, but have actually started using them for my skydives as well. Jaap Edited for spelling.

And if you do live on the edge, you need to be prepared to take the responsibility for your own mistakes. I don't know nearly enough to comment on your accident, but I do get the sense that you're laying partial blame on factors other than yourself. Except for some plane incidents and the occasional freefall and canopy collision, skydiving is a sport where accidents are solely our own doing. Let it be known to everybody reading this; when the day comes I hurt myself or die on a skydive or a base jump, do not hesitate to make fun of me. If I'm stupid enough to hurl myself out of planes or off of shit with just a wad of fabric to save me, surely I deserve somebody pissing on my grave. Please analyse my accident. Please tell other people that I put myself in that position by my own choice and that it was a stupid thing to do so. Let it be a lesson. We all have the choice to not skydive. We need to realize that skydiving is first and foremost a sport that requires a survival instinct with a strong focus on safety. Deriving pleasure from the sport is a distant second goal, lightyears behind. Every time you jump out of the plane, you are dead. Until you do something about it. And if you don't do it right, there is a high probability to get injured. These are the choices we make, and these are the choices we live by.

Forgive me my ignorance. Obviously in the grand scheme of things our debt to the people who jumped before us can never be repaid. The best we can do is show our respect to them, and minimize concessions to the NPS. However, it seems that every time somebody brings up the rules, people have to exaggerate it. I suppose that comes from the rules installed around the time the Flatbed Ten were jumping. Take the Twin Falls rule of not jumping from the rail. Ignore for the moment the ongoing discussion whether or not the sherrif has actually made this a rule, and consider it hypothetical. Is this rule really such a big deal? I have no problem respecting the establishment there and climbing over the rail before jumping. Rules come in many forms and on many levels, and when we do get access to the parks, it doesn't necessarily have to be something like a time-window. It could be as simple as try to land in meadow X only and prefer to avoid meadow Y, unless in an emergency. As long as the NPS sees the majority of jumpers land in meadow X, everybody's happy. So what that there is rule? Does that really bother the anarchist in us that much; that we have to give up a tiny bit of freedom to please more than one party? Again, I think I understand the jumping history of the national parks, and I have the utmost respect for everybody who has made a jump there, and even more for those that have paid a price. But the word "rule" has become so loaded and emotional that it slows down rational discussion. That handicaps the way we approach the NPS in my opinion.

I think the volume of 'most' depends very much on the actual rules installed. The ABP has stated clearly they are not interested in a strict set of rules. I wonder if the people whose gear is lying somewhere in an NPS storage room agree with you. I'm curious if Jan and Frank would have agreed with you. Besides; even when the rules are there, you can still continue to make illegal jumps if you want. As long as you respect the establishment and don't endanger the platform that other people have worked hard for.

Abbie, stop talking Dutch on these boards. Not everybody will understand.

This artificial limitation had to be installed after the recent dropzone.com ban on essays. Those people going slightly over the 32 words, don't despair. If you're entry is of high enough quality, we will overlook this requirement.

Actually, it's five. I would have replied, I'm just not sure who Space's post was directed to.

Hey, I have printed some shirts after Russel's Great Adventure. They were supposed to be ready for Memorial Day, but of course they showed up the day I got back from Twin Falls. On the front it says: "Not funny, not cool..." and it has a silhouette of a go-and-throw. On the back it has Russel's X-ray pictures and it says: "...and even paraplegics smoke it low." I've attached a picture. I've send out all the ones I have promised to people, but now I'm left with a few more. Since I'm not allowed to advertize on this forum, I guess I'll just have to give them away. All you have to do is explain in less than 32 words why you base jump. Entries will be judged on creativity, humour, sarcasm, romanticism and history. The deadline is Wednesday 10:00pm PST. After the winners are announced, they will be contacted by PM for their address. The small print; the judges will remain anonymous. Nonetheless, if you have a suspicion who they might be, feel free to bribe or blackmail through personal messages and email. Copyright for the winning entries will remain with the original author. However, the organizer reserves the right to print new shirts with the winning entries to serve as prizes for the next contest: "Why base sucks..."

Skinflicka, I've searched for a bit, but I completely miss the sarcasm, the bitterness and the joke that your usual posts contain. Please, just to humour us, write another post with a snappy one-liner. Otherwise some of us might begin to think you're occasionally making sense. And it scares the hell out of me...

That's what I meant as well: "and end up sending students into the world that realize they have a duty to try and give something back to the sport." Most of their students that I have met feel the obligation they have to the sport. So I don't think Nick has to worry quite yet.

If we carefully study this spectrum image, we notice that blue light has a shorter wavelength than red light does. A shorter wavelength means the Karman street directly behind the pilotchute can dissipate significantly faster, thereby greatly reducing the turbulence. In other words, does the color of pilotchutes have an effect on inflation and oscillation? Can a blue non-vented pilotchute work better than a red vented pilotchute? Thanks, Jaap p.s. Happy now Skreamer?