rfarris

Nice Zennie(851)....

In the beginning, one time after landing and getting ready to haul some ass, It suddenly dawned on me I had tracked mud everywhere. The fence, the barbed wire, the concrete pad, up the tower about 10' or so. I had no choice but to back track and clean it off. To include going back up the tower a little and cleaning off the mud. The things we do... Rod edit: which echoes what Tom A. said "1) Always leave a site exactly as you found it."

PM'd you Faber with the perfect tattoo for you dude. Congrats on your number by the way. Rod

Please forgive me Mr. Stout... But he didn't have to jump. That's the problem with today's society is nobody wants to take responsibility for their OWN actions. You don't like my response?? Sue me. I'm sorry that BASE jumpers die. But..... Attention: BASE jumping is very Dangerous!!! Doing so may hurt you or kill you. The sate of Idaho is a contibuting factor in the promotion of BASE jumping.

Nice....

I think every jumper has their own ideas about what it takes or means to be a safe jumper. I'm a newbie in the sport, and can only share my views on the safety aspect as it relates to me and the jumps I make, and have made to this date. I'm sure the "safety" factor is a whole different ball game when it comes to the more advanced jumps that the experienced guys are making. But to answer this question you ask, in my realm of the sport right now..Consistency is what I feel makes me a "safe" jumper. I believe if I consistently do the things I know to be good, safe practices, I am being a "safe" jumper. I also understand bad things may happen no matter how consistent I am. Rod [email protected]

Hi Faber.... Just a follow up on my "I'll get it tomorrow evening" Tomorrow evening has come and gone. I drive out to this tower tonight, as planned. Just a slither of a moon. Some call it God's fingernail. I call it dark as hell outside. I'm doing 30mph across farmer McNasty's field, with my headlights off, bumpity.. bumpity.. bumpity. My CD player is blasting, "Cowboys from Hell"--Pantera, another reason why Texas rules. My post jump Coors Light longnecks are clanking around in my cooler. You being from Denmark, might not appreciate a good Coors Light. Let's just say BEER. I park at my predetermined spot that I picked out just as I got there, I gear up, head out to the blinking red lights. I make it to the fence that is around the tower, and I notice it has that razor wire shit on top of the normal barbed wire. My first encounter with the razor wire. I go to one of the back corners where I usually like to climb over, and BLAM.. I set off a security light. Cool. Now I can see. I begin to scale the fence. After a couple attempts to throw a leg over the razor wire, and a few deep lacerations, I say fuck it, this ain't working out. I back off the fence about 10 yards, sit down, lick my wounds, and contemplate on what to do next. About seven minutes later, the security lights turn off. I'm sitting there on the ground looking at the red lights, and I remember. A certain other jumper who I had the pleasure of jumping with last weekend, who just got his B and completed the BASE word, shared a little secret about a certain lock combination sequence. So, I walk over to the front gate, the security lights don't come on there. Bulbs must be bad. I pulls out my red lensed flashlight, finger in the lucky combination number, and CACHINK...I'm in. This Bud's for you Mr. combination lock code knowing man who just got his B and completed the word. Long story short Faber: I get to the half way point, the wind is down the wire big time. But I still climb to the top to check out the 360 degree crow's nest platform for future jumps. Climb back down, drink post jump beer. I'm working on a good drunk right about now. Not trying to be a "paper hero", just sharing a story.

No excuse Faber..... I'll get it tomorrow evening Rod

umm.. you jumped the tower, then went home and screwed like two horny gorillas? edit: spelling sucks.

a. 550' b. what's life insurance?

This morning over our morning coffee, my wife out of the blue says, "I didn't get much sleep last night." As the attentative husband I try to be, I says, "well why not?" She says, "All I could think about last night was this tower I pass by every day on my way to work, and how I want to see you jump off it." "It's a really cool tower" she says, "and I really think you could pull it off." "I WANT YOU TO DO IT" I'm like, "Okay", "Just get off my ass already about this BASE jumping stuff, okay." "I'll do it, just give me time". I'm confused. Rod Edit: Congrats again Ted!!

Way to go Ted, fellow Texas BASE bro. PM me and share the details. I bet it was the one we talked about the other night. Jealous, Rod

Jello

Still stoked from this weekend

Aggie Dave, Has there been any naked asses running down the runway yet? If not, it ain't a post jump party.

Maybe this person that told you this was comparing learning how to BASE at BD as opposed to learning at an actual First Jump Course? In which case, I could see their meaning. My personal experience with BD was this: It was an Introduction into BASE jumping. Nothing more. I didn't go there to learn how to BASE jump. They will help you, don't get me wrong. But you won't leave there a BASE jumper. You'll have some cool t-shirts and all....but. I had a very experienced BASE jumper tell me the same thing before I went to BD last year. And I took it to mean if I was just wanting to become a BASE jumper, and was on a tight budget, spend my money on a FJC instead. I went to BD and loved every second of it.

You've got mail.

Yeah Tom, and I think I see you standing amongst the croud in the photo. The troll must of come out from under the bridge for some sunshine. Now, come home and let's climb something, you wuss!!

Thanks Smokeman It's much clearer now.

True that.

Okay guys.... This is interesting stuff here. I thought about doing this to a pair of ripstop nylon rain pants I have, but instead of holes, cutting out small sections and having a rigger sew in large hole mesh. Only problem, I just don't know where to make the modification at. Also, would pants like these benefit a jumper from let's say, freefalls only in the 4-7sec range from "A's"? cya Rod

1. You know where you are going. 2. Now develop a plan to get there. Dropping a "few" grand on any parachuting gear, skydiving or BASE gear is not a question of should I, but WHEN will I. I would say unless you have the luxury of getting(financially) what ever gear you want, skydive or BASE, in which case get both and now. Otherwise, plan for what ever it is you are ultimately shooting for. Knowing what I know now, which ain't much, If I could start fresh again as a new skydiver with aspirations of one day defecting to BASE, I would not have sank several grand into brand new skydive gear that I'm still trying to pay off. If all you are planning on doing is skydiving occassionaly, buying used gear might be the best way to go. But even still, used gear can sometimes be just as expensive. Get you a good used fairly large container from a friend who recently downsized from a parachute to a table cloth. If you can afford it, buy a new large seven cell f111 canopy for your wing load that will fit in that container with reserve. A good example main would be a Raven. I bet you could put this example rig together(with the help of a rigger of course), with a new f111 canopy for 2grand. Jump this rig on every skydive, in the mean time start saving up for the new BASE gear and the FJC. If you're gonna compromise on gear, do it with the skydive gear. Get good gear, but be reasonable. Buy the best, the newest, and most expensive BASE gear you can. And have fun. Rod

I dabble a little with freefall photography when I do skydive... Less than 100 camera jumps. I'll take a shot at it. I see person with yellow helmet taking grip on what appears to be the leg strap of the jumper closest to you. Awful close to the PC, which could result in an unwanted deployment, which could ruin your day if you were too close, or on top. Rod

No Prob Zennie. Wound up in Galveston, watched the tropical storm, ate some good seafood, came home. However, did find US a good mutual meeting place. I'll PM you with pics later. Rod

I had to share this..and don't mean to offend anyone. Be sure to download the track, it's a must. BaseJumpers edit: never mind. You'll figure it out.