CanuckInUSA

Learn rigging. Not as in you need to become a skydiving rigger (it couldn't help of course), but be comfortable with attaching your lines to your risers and taking off and/or adding your slider. That sort of thing. Plus if possible, get your hands on a BASE rig to practice packing. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Didn't he drop the ball on Hurricane Dennis in 2005? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hey Ben I'd be happy to talk about swooping to guys like you any day. I've actually been rather impressed with the junior jumpers at Mile-Hi. Very few egos and lot's of people not doing any dumb shit (except when they rear riser stall their canopies during CPC meets). I think some of this has to do with the altitude you're at. Things just happen so much faster up there and for some (good) reason the junior jumpers rarely if ever get in over their heads as they know the margin for error is slim (I hope I didn't just jinx the joint). So with the exception of that Spizzarko dude ... there are no punks at Mile-Hi. You know I'm just shitting with you ... right Grant.

Balloon exits are good if you just drop off as they will give you an idea of what a BASE jump is like. But I don't think those crazy balloon pilots like it when you push off and on virtually every BASE object, it's a good idea to push off to put some horizontal distance between you and the object. Have you read Tom's getting into BASE articles? If not I'd start there. There's no harm in you wanting to become a BASE jumper. Just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons and make sure you've done your homework. Now where did I put that "BASE for Dummies" book. Oh that's right ... Jaap has it. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You're not a stupid cunt. Any one of us is susceptable to having a bad exit resulting in a off heading opening (especially on the type of jump you made). The important thing is that you survived and didn't die. Remember if/when you decide to make another jump, I have a spare rig you can borrow. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

From every post I've ever seen Dave make, it's the experienced jumper. But who knows if he's trying to mess with us here. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Well Grant has already pointed out that he instructs his AFF students on flying their rears and yes everyone regardless of whether or not they wish to swoop should know how to fly and land with their rears. But flying ones rears is not the topic of this thread just as it wasn't the topic in the "How to hold your toggles" thread (before myself and a few others hijacked it). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

First off I don't know why you're quoting me as saying something I didn't say. I've been to the GLC and yes I actually was flying my rears there before I started flying my rears during my swoops. But I did tons of high pulls building muscle memory before I went to my rears in a swoop. There is a difference between going to your rears at the GLC than there is in the middle of a hook. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Some egos have been known to be bruised. But there is a different between skill and experience and I do feel that experience trumps skill because experience has a way of keeping you out of trouble (not always of course) while too much skill too fast has been known to get people into trouble. I'm living proof of this last statement not having the proper experience to recognize the difference between airspeed and ground speed during a downwind speed carving swoop in competition. I had the skill to be on my rears, but I lacked the experience to recognize the trouble I put myself in and I paid the price. Fortunately it was a lesson that I was allowed to walk away from (I'm still not 100%). There is a reason why the experienced people say what they say. There know more about some of this stuff. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

For the most part I listened to people and while I have hurt myself swooping (most recently at last year's CPC Championships), I have ... knock-on-wood ... no titanium in my body. But I'm sure I progressed faster than the average canopy nazi would recommend. I have received some form of canopy control coaching on four different occasions, but it wasn't until I spent last summer jumping virtually everyday (obviously multiply times a day) that I started to see real results in my swooping progression. But now that I'm not nearly as current as I was last summer, I know I'm not flying at the same level I was flying at back in September. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm in today agreement with your stance on this subject. Virtually all canopies will load up regardless of their size/design and there is so much more to getting that canopy diving than just pulling down on the front risers. Ultimately it comes down to how well the pilot knows their canopy in the different weather and altitude environments we jump in. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Since someone has claimed that another thread was hijacked, I thought I'd start this one up. So do you feel that the more experienced swoopers try to hold back the lesser experienced jumpers? Back when I was getting into swooping I might have voted that some (not all) experienced people do hold the lesser experienced people back. But now that I've got a few more jumps under my belt, I think they don't (in most cases). We're all different and do progress at different rates. But in most cases I think the lesser experienced person just doesn't understand the message the more experienced jumper is trying to get across. Of course this topic can be broken down in many sub-topics when it comes to canopy selection and swooping techniques. Plus it's also possible that my 1000 jump threshold still isn't considered experienced by people with way more experience than this figure. But we need to start somewhere. I've got no problems with newer jumpers wanting to become swoopers. But I often think that these newer jumpers are confusing advice to not rush into things with "holding them back". So do more experienced swoopers hold lesser experienced jumpers back? I think the results of this poll will be easy to predict. But if the newer jumpers disagree with how advise is being given, then how can we open up better communication channels. Also, it's possible that part of the problem lies in the different experience and talent levels across the world. Obviously a bigger DZ which operates year round will have better more experienced swoopers at it and the smaller part time DZs just don't have the proper people around to mentor newer jumpers wanting to get into swooping. But that still shouldn't change the overall message that the more experienced jumpers are trying to send. Swooping rocks ... but it is not safe ... and personally I think there are no short cuts. Coaching rocks, but it still requires hundreds and hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands) of jumps before the swooper actually becomes the swooper they want to be today. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm sure someone with 1200+ jumps can recognize this sling shot effect you reference. But planing out on ones rears is an advanced maneuver. Not something that should be done by someone trying to emulate the big dogs before they've put their time into the sport. But this thread is about how to hold your toggles right? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Asking how to hold your toggles is a valid question for anyone. But asking if I'm holding my toggles correctly after I plane out on rears and transferring to toggles is completely different than asking questions on how to land with your rears. Plus how can anyone possibly give a good explanation on the net in terms of landing on ones rears. This is more of a one-on-one coaching thing. I've got no issues with a newer jumper wanting to be a swooper. Shit it wasn't long ago that I too was one of these newbies (and I'm sure I still am a newbie in many respects). But there are no short cuts to learning how to safely swoop (if there is such a thing as a safe swoop) and sadly this message doesn't seem to sink in on some people. Coaching is awesome because it arms the jumper with knowledge that may not have been there before. But the prospective swooper still needs to do the jumps and swooping takes hundreds and hundreds and hundreds (if not thousands) of jumps. There are no short cuts to becoming a swooper. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Personally I think you are holding your toggles wrong. But that's not the only thing I think you may be doing wrong. As someone who's flying a Crossfire, you should be using the canopy's natural recovery arc to plane out and not your rears. What's your setup? If you don't know how to answer this question, then should you really be toying with an advanced landing maneuver such as transferring to toggles after the plane out? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not the one who just hurled a very offending insult at one of your biggest and most important trading partners in the world. In case you hadn't noticed, some of us Ice-backs are trying to improve relations between our two countries. I saw in another thread where you criticized a Norweigen fellow stating that he's obviously needs to grow up and might I suggest you do the same despite the fact that I know (based on another thread) that you're no kid. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Iran needs to be watched, there is no question about that. But don't you think it's time the western world distances itself from these unstable Islamic regimes instead of trying to convert them into good Americans which is obviously never going to happen. There is enough oil in Alberta to power the entire world for about 50 years. The issue with Alberta is that the oil is mixed with sand and was never cheap to extract. But now that price of a barrell of oil is high and technology has made extracting this oil easier, the option of using this oil resource becomes viable (it won't be a cheap source of oil, but it is a source of oil). I believe the western governments have planned to use Alberta's oil in reserve and planned on sucking the middle east's oil dry first. But since GWB has already stated that it's time that alternative energy source be developed. Wouldn't this be a good time reduce the western world's dependency on the volatile middle east? We'd be on a finite time line, but you've got to think that 50 years is enough time to come up with alternative energy plans. I say the US needs to pull out of Iraq very very soon. They've got enough naval power to still have a military presence in the region if Iran was to do something stupid. But this Iraq war has been a huge mistake from the onset and it's only getting worse. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I don't know about the so called "Urban Myth" from the originator of this thread since he has ties to the UK. But the death camping which has occurred in the past has been at a span in Idaho (a bridge) which is legal to jump from 24 hours a day 365 days a year and at least initially the student was instructed to make water landings. Remember BASE is an acronym and it stands for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges) and Earth (cliffs). It's a controversial topic to say the least, but it has been done. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Controversial that's for sure. But there has been some Death Camping going on at the Perrine. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

In my best Mr Rogers voice ... "Can you say Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay? I knew you could". Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What would you do if a hostile military forced showed up in your country? Would you do nothing? No you would fight them. I would fight a hostile military force in my country. Why is Iraq different? Why do some people not understand why Iraqis are not happy that a hostile foreign military is occupying their country? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Saddam was no angel and who knows what his long term plans were. GWB's actions have ensured that we will never need to worry about Saddam again. But what about all the others? GWB has created more terrorists than he's killed or captured. Also, of course Saddam would shoot at an invading armed forces. What would you do if a hostile military showed up in your country? Would you just sit back and do nothing? Not likely ... GWB should do everyone a favor and get out now. Too many lives have been destroyed and too much money has been spent on something that most of the world didn't think was a good idea to begin with. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

What are the qualifications in order to be allowed to compete in this event? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

We're all allowed our own opinions. But Superterminal didn't do very much for me. Sure there is some gnarly footage in it, but I thought it was short and the editing just seemed to be pieced together without much thought of a story or matching the music. But what do I know. There is some gnarly footage in it. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over