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Interested in hearing from anyone who has plans on visiting Thailand before the KL event. Please PM Thanks, Jamie

Congrats baby boy! Jamie

I don't use this method much but front passenger floor mats from your vehicle usually do the trick. You already have them with you and it prevents you from carrying something else around that may look suspicious if you should be caught by the PO PO. They usually have a rubber underside that catches well on the prickly surface and have the nice carpeting on top for your comfort. Usually these are always big enough to cover whatever span you're trying to get over. With razor wire you'll probably have to bend some of it to get over just remember to bend it back in place when your done. Also, remember to place the floor mat somewhere you'll be able to easily get to it when you're done jumping. enjoy, Jamie

Whoa... concieve around April? But it was only this past August that we were down in Oklahoma to raise hell and witness their marriage. Nothing was said at that time about her being pregnant. Hmm... it must be a pre-me :) Congrats Kristy and Ray! Jamie

Tom was sorely missed this past season at the Perrine. In my opinion, Tom accomplished one of the most remarkable feats in BASE Jumping. I remember making an early morning jump with him during the fall of 2004. This is when Tom was doing 4 jumps a day from early May to mid November and was as quiet as church mouse about the whole endeavor. While we were walking out on the bridge I was commenting on how the winds were usually calm during the early morning hours. To which Tom replied, " yeah, I have only had to miss two days of jumping due to the winds." I was like what? That's abusive! I thought for sure he was shitin' me. He wasn't! At that time Tom had made ( if my memory serves me correctly) somewhere pushing 700 jumps. All of them packed and just about all of them climb outs. He would make 4 in the morning starting around 5:30am and then pack all of them in the afternoon. He didn't do unpacked jumps. To pay homage to Tom, this past summer I tried to make at least one jump everyday. Most of these jumps were unpacked and I still failed at accomplishing this goal. I don't know how he did it. Jamie

Mikki, What's up bro? Just to clarify, the information that I posted previously was another opinion offered by jumpers at the bridge. Tom had posted what he knew at the time from info he gained from speaking with jumpers on the bridge at the time of the incident. However, he had left and did not have the opportunity to speak with the jumpers who saw it from below ( these jumpers were friends with the deceased and pulled him from the water). They both informed me at separate times that they saw the PC inflated and wrapped around his ankle. One jumper stated that he didn't see the pitch but looked up directly after and saw a inflated PC wrapped around his ankle. The other jumper stated that he saw him pitch and the PC inflated and went right around his ankle. They both said the deceased jumper dragged the PC with him into the water. When they found him his shoe was missing and his pant leg and sock were severely torn. The bridle was still tightly wrapped around his leg. There was no packing aid found around or near the PC. These guys also informed me that this jumper was anal about making sure his pull up cord was accounted for during his jumps. The point of these postings is to give jumpers as many opinions as to what happened from as many vantage points as possible. This information may change over time as different details of the incident come to light. As we (all jumpers) view these details hopefully we can come up with a group consensus as to what led to this fatality and learn from it. Jamie

To elaborate on TB's post. The situation at the Outback was uglier then what TB described. When the owner is being ridiculed/threatened and has to get "dishwasher boy" to double as a Bouncer, you knew it's not a good thing (kudos to the one jumper, not from that crew, that realized later on how bad the situation was and apologized to the owner). I spoke with these guys that night before all of this went down and they appeared to be pretty good dudes. Unfortunately, they let their emotions get the best of them after having to pull their dead friend's body from the Snake River. It's important that as BASE Jumpers we show the surrounding community (anywhere) that we understand that this is an unfortunate part of the sport and that we can handle it appropriately. Since we have a theme going here, the Outback had another incident a couple of weeks ago where a jumper's girlfriend spewed copious amounts of chunks all over the bar. Now at the time I found this to be funny as shit and thoroughly enjoyed it in my drunken stupor. However, I know the owner was upset and the bartenders received a write up for serving this chick too much alcohol. The one bartender was a trooper and cleaned it up immediately w/out gloves or anything! I know when visiting Twin Falls to jump we are going to experience a lot of good times along with some bad ones. Just make sure when these occasions occur that you're able to keep yourself in check when visiting the local restaurants. Jamie

To follow up with Tom's post. I did speak with numerous jumpers who witnessed the jump from below. They state that he front floated (facing bridge) the exit and pulled after he passed the steel. They're convinced that the PC did inflate immediately and wrapped around his ankle (leg). They state that he tried to "kick" off the PC until they lost sight of him behind the trees. When they got to the deceased jumper they noticed his sock and pant leg was severly torn and that the shoe was missing. RIP Jamie

I remember when I first moved here about three years ago and Don "the boat guy" said , during the course of our discussion, that there were some notable jumpers (about 7 years ago) who wanted to have competitions at the bridge and charge money for the event. Don's stance on the whole thing was absolutely not because once you start adding money to the mix then the state people start wondering why money is being made off their bridge and that invites people asking a lot of questions. (Remember, this bridge is not legal or illegal, it's tolerated.) Over the years I have started to see this phenomenon develop. IDOT has always asked that BASE Jumpers not distract traffic flow or be under the bridge or tie anything off to the bridge. IDOT actually follows this same rule for themselves. Whenever they come to work on the bridge they bring a huge boom that wraps all the way under the bridge so they can do the repairs. They never step foot on the bridge. This is also why we have a general rule about not standing on the rail, not because it's "one of the 7 deadly sins", but rather because the jumper is much more visible to on coming traffic. If someone was to get seriously hurt or killed in a traffic accident on that bridge and someone from that car uttered the words " We saw the guy on the railing and ..." Obviously, this scenario wouldn't live up to IDOT's primary objective of having uninterrepted traffic flow across the bridge. Furthermore, you now have on your consience an accident in which you have helped cause. As BASE Jumpers we have to continually show to everyone else (city,idot,state,etc.) that we take our own precautions in trying to do this safely for ourselves and for the community at large. Because if we cannot regulate ourselves someone else will do it for us! This is just how things work in the real world. Unfortnately, there's plenty of people who do not understand this basic premise. The event of a couple weeks ago I thought was done very well and they crossed all t's and dotted all I's in getting this event organized. Unfortunately, even though they're intentions were good the old adage " the road to hell was paved with good intentions" applies to this situation. That's why myself and some other jumpers keep low profiles when jumping the bridge. It's unfortunate but when you make yourself (BASE Jumping) much more visible to the public ( by festivals and other big events) there's always someone who wants a slice of the pie or is going to have a beef with what you're doing. However, it should be noted that the majority of Twin Falls and IDOT are supportive of our endeavors from this bridge. But keep in mind it's our job as BASE Jumpers to self regulate ourselves before someone else does it for us. And if the time comes when JOE BAGADOUGHNUTS starts regulating we'll have wished we would've done things differently. Jamie Boutwell PS: It should be noted that local jumpers have raised over $20,000 for local organizations in this cummunity. However, there's no mention of that in the article!

Well, the deed was just done, and no it doesn't consist of waxing a hairy Jews back (Abbie). However, it does consist of having a "Happy Gilmore" check created in the amount of $2,150.00 and given to the Magic Valley Paramedics Program for a photo op this afternoon. I do want to thank everyone who showed support for this fundraiser by buying t-shirts, participating in the 50/50 raffle, or just paying cover to get into Woody's to hear my rendition of Pantera on the PA system. I would like to make a special thanks to Apex BASE and Asylum for their donations and to Abbie for helping foot the bill for some of those t-shirts. The Paramedic Program is a good cause and unfortunately their service was reflective over Memorial Day Weekend. Now that there has been a foundation established for the Paramedic Program it will be much easier to donate money in the future. We just have to follow a few simple procedures. If anyone needs to know what these procedures are you can PM and I'll send you the info. Jamie Boutwell P.S. Tom will be attaching a pic of the photo op just to assure everybody that the money didn't go to my drinking habit :) edit to attach photo ~TA

After much thought I decided to share the following information. I did receive some digital pictures from a co-worker of mine who happened to be on the bridge when Shannon made her last jump.I can tell you with certainty a few points about her jump. This is not video, so even though I may have my own beliefs on what happened, I'm going to only share what is fact and evident by the pictures. There's 4 main photos taken of her jump. The first photo is her almost leaving the plank. Her gear appears to be configured correctly and a non-issue. The second photo is her in freefall after she has appeared to have just pitched the PC. In this picture I can see no bridle but the PC is fully out and is partly inflated on her back in the bottom middle of her container. It should be noted that Shannon has near perfect body position at the time of her pitch. The third photo appears to be Shannon reaching straight back over her shoulders for her PC. At this time it is evident that the bridle is wrapped around her right arm/shoulder w/PC approximately in the same position as it was in the second photo. The fourth photo is Shannon getting close to impact and is on her back/side with nothing out. Her PC is not visible in this photo. With all of the talk of what has happened I felt it was important to share this information and debunk some of the rumors I have heard. R.I.P. Shannon Jamie Boutwell

Hey everybody, I thought I would post an update before I take off for the next 5 days. For Memorial weekend the local jumpers are having a fund raiser for the Magic Valley Paramedics. I spoke with the president of the " Hospital Foundation" yesterday and confirmed the fund raiser. The way we are raising money is by selling BASE Memorial Day t-shirts, 50% of the cover at woody's on Saturday night, 50% of the 50/50 raffle which we'll have at Woody's on Saturday night, and individual donations, etc. This fund raiser is intended to be an acknowledgement of the great service that the Magic Valley Paramedics have given us over the years. These guys have saved a lot of BUTTS! Currently Abbie and I have foot the bill for the shirts, so we'll be selling them. So come out and support the community that has supported us! Jamie Boutwell

It's official: The two bands that will be playing at Woody's Saturday night over Memorial Day Weekend are Heads Like This and PISS PUMP. At www.headslikethis.com and www.PISSPUMP.net you can check out these two bands. Also, thanks to everybody who offered bands for this get together, however, I felt it was important to support the local community so I kept the bands local. These two bands have been great. They've tweaked their schedule so they can play over the Memorial Day Weekend and are super jacked about being part of a BASE jumper/community event. Jamie Boutwell

This upcoming Memorial Day Weekend there will be a party at Woody's which will be a tribute to all the BASE Jumpers that have died while living THE DREAM and to those who are still living theirs. The party will also be a charity event to raise money for some local entities within Twin Falls County that have unconditionally supported BASE jumpers over the years. These charities will be announced at a later time. Where: Woody's Sports Bar & Grill - located in Old Town, Twin Falls. When: Saturday, May 27th 9:00pm-1:00am (Memorial Day Weekend) How: The party will be for BASE Jumpers and the Twin Falls community (we're pushing heavy on the community). There will be a five dollar cover charge at the door. After paying the band, 50% of the earnings will go to Woody's and the other 50% will go to our charity. There will be two bands playing w/PA system set up. One band that will be playing is PISS PUMP. These cats are crazy! The drink specials for the night will be 1/2 off all liquors and dollar drafts ( 9 good selections - no urine samples!). Also, dollar Pabst bottles. There will be two big video screens for continuous play of your favorite BASE videos. Including, of course, any memorial BASE videos. As part of the charity event we will be selling pricey Memorial Weekend t-shirts (just got done w/ design and order) with all proceeds going to the local charity of choice. At the end of the night there will be a transportation system (bus,taxi,etc.) set up to take any of those ROCK STARS who have partied too much back to their hotel rooms. Also, Tom A. will inform everyone of other ideas that we currently have on the burner for the weekend once we iron out the details. It should be a stellar weekend! Jamie Boutwell

Tom was a BASE jumper that I respected and enjoyed jumping with over the past few years. His passion for the sport of BASE and his knowledge of it never ceased to amaze me. Tom's positive outlook on life and his approach to the sport was something I found commendable. He will be sorely missed! R.I.P. Jamie Boutwell