Ammon

I like the tale MakeItHappen, thanks for sharing. Classic! I love Lodi. Oh yeah! What's up Pete? Merry X to you all!!! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Too funny! You guys are as bad as rock climbers, haa ha. I was just sharing a really fun flight I had. I know it was nothing spectacular or impressive, just super fun... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEvruaWj4Yg "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Today I got a chance to wingsuit in Cairo, Illinois. Great people there, btw. Anyway, the pilot dropped us off at 12.5k just on the other side of the Illinois River in Kentucky and I was able to fly through Illinois and into Missouri on the other side of the Missouri River, before I pulled. The visiuals of the rivers were great because you can see when you leave one state and enter the next because the rivers are the borders. I know there's other places like this in the states but don't think people do it much. Has anybody done this before? If you get a chance to wingsuit in Cairo, I highly recommend it. Make sure you have a ground person to pick you up in Missouri, haa haa. Cheers, Ammon "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

A couple of my climbing buddies were on the cables just a few hours before this accident. They reported the rock being so slippery to the point of being "dicey". This is from guys that have been on the cables many, many times and climb at the top of the game. Sad news, another one just went down, as well: "YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - Yosemite National Park has suffered its second fatality in recent days. Rangers say the body of 23-year-old Christopher Hale of Gainesville, Fla., was found by officials on Monday, two days after a San Ramon, Calif., man died in the park. Hale had been missing since Sunday morning, and rangers said he appeared to have fallen from a cliff above Mirror Lake in the eastern portion of Yosemite Valley. Hale was training with the park's concessionaire, DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite Inc., and was scheduled to start work later this summer. His exact cause of death is under investigation." "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Nice pic! You got my vote. (don't tell my climbing buddies, lol) "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Just got back from a climbing trip to Zion... Nice, that is great day to be climbing and jumping in the same day, haa haa. I haven't jumped SD yet. I don't have AAD, don't they require one? Thanks for the suggestions skymama and siddacious. I will keep an eye out. ;) Oh skybytch, I miss you guys too. I just live too far away to be a regular... BUT, I'll be back. Nice one Joshua, hope your AFF went well. Maybe I'll see you around the DZ one of these days. Anyone going to Elsinore tomorrow? "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Hello everyone, I usually jump in Lodi or Davis and have lots of friends there that I jump with, but I live down in San Clemente, now. I've jumped both at Perris and Elsinore and really like both dz's. The problem is the few people I've met that were cool, were usually working (at the dz) and haven't found many people to jump with, in my area. I like to go rock climbing on the weekends and have been jumping locally on the weekdays, but most of the time I do one jump and leave because solo jumps kinda bore me. Anyway, hit me up if anyone wants to fall through the sky together. I also BASE and will be willing to ground crew for a while, to better understand the objects. Cheers, Ammon [email protected] "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Just for the record, I have nothing against Tom or this ESPN project. My knee jerk response was because I assumed he would post about how wrong it was and that it was only going to be a bad thing for this sport. I have tons of respect for all you guys/gals that have been doing it for years and can only learn and form opinions from what you teach me/us/newjumpers (and by example). So, I didn’t mean to be harsh, just caught off guard because I saw a major contradiction in what I’m learning. It’s all good! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Haa, funny. I once bought the URL rocknspeed.com one night after a bunch of beer. I told my son about it the next morning and he just looked at me like I was a complete knucklehead. He said, "Nice one dad, you're going to have SO many hits. They're all going to be crack heads looking for a REAL hit". Congrats on the front cover Hank. Did you ever go back and do it all in one long pitch? Oh, funny about the "r" word on the taco post, huh? Thought I'd put my .5 cent in, haa haa. Cheers! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Not even close! You’re all over the board with your arguments; I’m not talking about effort or abilities, but one specific thing. Tom gave me a handful of reasons why “we” should NEVER post video about our sport. I’m just questioning his recent actions, which seems like a HUGE contradiction to our correspondence last year. I guess you would have had to read his messages to see where I’m coming from, but I would never disclose private info, sorry. Tom, I have nothing against you personally. Just wondering why/how your views changed since last year. C Ya! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

I’m not trying to run with the big dogs. I’ve made it very clear that I am, and will be, a noob for many years. My video is a bit cheesy and very low quality, not even close to being in the same league as most videographer’s at the dz’s, much less ESPN. You have missed my point, which is… Tom’s hypocrisy! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Tom A’s FJC on national tv… unbelievable. Last year I took Miles D’s FJC and was very excited (as a noob) to share some of the footage I got from the course. So, I edited a little video, uploaded it on youtube (I know, I’m lame) and posted a link in an appropriate thread about Miles. I felt, at the time, there was nothing wrong with doing this and there could be no possible negative affects with sharing my experience. Tom A. sent me several private messages questioning my motives in publishing this material and gave me his strong opinion why this wasn’t good for the sport. I thought long and hard about his reasons and after several weeks decided to leave the link and the video, stand as is. I did agree with him on a lot of his points and realize if every student posted “their” video, it wouldn’t be a good thing. BUT, I also felt like there was a lot of hypocrisy on his part for obvious reasons. Tom, you should give this some serious thought and then answer this question. Not for me, or anyone else, because I already know the answer. Dig deep and be honest with yourself when answering… Would you have made a big deal about my video if it was YOUR FJC? "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

I did my first hybrid, a three-way, yesterday at Chicagoland. It went amazingly smooth since I’m pretty new to the sport (51 jumps). I was one of the belly flyers and the hanger (thanks Ben) did an awesome job, the visuals of when he let go and dropped beneath us was incredible. Is there a specific name for this hybrid formation? "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Thanks for the update Melissa. This is horrible news.... so sad. My condolences to his friends, family and everyone involved. "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

I took Miles’ course a few months ago. I was impressed with his instructing abilities, his awareness, decision making and high energy level. Even though I was highly recommended by a mutual friend, Miles asked me a lot of questions about my skydiving experience, technical questions, etc., before he considered taking me on. I didn’t know all of the answers, his way to find out exactly where you’re at. He and his wife welcomed me into their home with open arms. I instantly felt comfortable with him and his family. It was like we were old time friends. We went home without jumping several times after packing our rigs because of the wind conditions. On one occasion I thought I could most likely pull it off. He told me, "It’s just not worth it, yeah, we will probably be fine, but why take the extra risk. The bridge will be here tomorrow". It was a good judgment call. He recommended me taping a radio to the top of my helmet, even though I had jumped the bridge before and it felt a little silly. Again, a smart plan and it was nice to have the ability to have instant instructions if something went wrong. We tried several days in a row to go up in the balloon, but alas, the winds would not cooperate and did not get a chance to jump it, maybe next time. I’m not saying Miles FJC is any better or worse than any others. I’m sure they are ALL good. I just feel the need to give an account of my limited experience with his course. He’s a great instructor and a great man!! Can’t wait to hang out again, Cheers, matey! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

I know this thread is a few years old but it has some really good information. Any updates from Sebastion? Wendy, or anyone else, do you know if there is a certified rigger for a reserve repack on Thursday in Sebastion or Miami area? Do they still do the $15 to 15k on fridays? Thanks for your help and see you soon! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Thanks Brian, here's another one: http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/ElCapPirate/?action=view¤t=Adventures.flv I'm clearly "trying not to die" in this one, haa haa! Cheers!! Edit- to make clicky - whoops... "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

YES, I know only too well that it's no joke.... I've had MANY friends die in the climbing community. Not a fun subject..... Edit- Hmph, I've been reading the list for the last five years.... some of my friends are on it. Let's celebrate LIFE!! "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Nope, just sharing the fun and excitement of something new in my life. Ha ha, you're funny.... "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

I got my AFF at Skydance in Davis and this is only the third DZ I have been to. But, I have to say from my limited experience that this place is great. The first time I went I wasn't really planning on jumping but just wanted to poke my head in.... I was jumping at 11k a half hour later. Brad is super nice but doesn't hold any punches if he sees something that needs to be corrected (which I agree with). The LZ seemed very small my first time but after coming back with a little more experience it didn't seem that bad. This DZ is great and can't wait to get a chance to jump there again.

Nicely done Miles D!! Thanks for everything! Here's a tribute to your BASE camp. Cya..... OOOOOooOOAAAHHHH!! http://youtube.com/watch?v=RRjHqEjcmOA "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe

Good for you!! Way to stick to your dreams and passion after such a traumatic experience. I'm pretty much a newbie (20 jumps) although, I watched my dad for years skydiving while I was a kid. I have a friend who is paraplegic. We climbed El Cap last year and he wants to climb it again this year, but in a day this time. I suggested he did a tandem jump to celebrate after the climb. Any tandem instructors with any more info on techniques, let's hear it please. I'm thinking a big cushion on his arse.... haa haa. Cheers, Ammon "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." - Goethe