motherhucker

Generally I agree, and for a legal site this holds true, but something about a Vans footprint on the top of a tower seems just a tad bit suspicious to me...I say don't even leave footprints that will be seen if you can help it...

Occurred to me during another post--Taken some [un]artistic license with the Kenny Roger's tune...feel free to add or subtract if you wish... The Gambler On a warm summer's evenin' on a cliff ripe for jumpin', I met up with the Gambler; we were both too wired to sleep. So we took turns a starin' over the edge at the darkness 'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak. He said, "dude, I've made a life out of jumpin' steep cliff faces, And trackin' o'er their talus with a whole shitload of style. So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of courage. For a taste of your ganja bro, I'll give you some advice." So I handed him my glass pipe and he smoked down my last green one. Then he rolled a pinner joint and he asked me for a light. And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression. Said, "If you're gonna play the game, brah, ya gotta learn to play it right. You got to know when to huck 'em, know when to fuck 'em, Know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your delay when you're flickin' an antenna. There'll be time enough for countin' when the jump is done. Now the Gambler knows that the secret to survivin' Is knowin' when to throw it out when you take it pretty deep. 'Cause ev'ry jump's a winner and ev'ry jump's a loser, And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep." So when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the darkness, checked upon his pilot chute, stepped off and took it deep. And somewhere in the valley, the Gambler, he broke even. But in his final words I found an nug that I could keep. You got to know when to huck 'em, know when to fuck 'em, Know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your delay when you're flickin' an antenna. There'll be time enough for countin' when the jump is done. You got to know when to huck 'em, know when to fuck 'em, Know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your delay when you're flickin' an antenna. There'll be time enough for countin' when the jump is done.

interesting reading at http://www.leavenotrace.org/. It seems that there are still more than a few people who either don't believe in or choose to ignore these guidelines. In my mind, this stuff is common sense; It's about trash, it's about locals, it's about respect. In a very large way, it about the image of BASE jumping as a sport...and its participants. Aside from the obvious things you will find on the website above, some other simple rules for BASE are: Avoid being seen:. This will help you to not get busted. It includes not jumping high profile/illegal sites during the day, among other things. Legal or not, it's always best if no one ever knew you were there. respect/call the locals: This has been discussed before--look it up. Think about YOUR local objects and how YOU would feel if some out-of-towner burned them. Be a respectful local: The flipside of the "call the local" rule, when you get the call from the out-of-towner, be a gracious host if you can. Don't bring the media to illegal jumps: They're whores. They're the antiBASE. It only takes one or two fucked up newscasts or ignorantly written articles to show BASE jumpers in a poor light. They lie right to your face to write what they want. There's a better path to the glory you seek. be safe: what difference does it make how stealthy you are if you go in? Break your leg? Your back? Your Neck? be smart/know your limits: BASE is evolving quickly. There are fewer and fewer black and white situations and more and more grey areas. One must make a multitude of choices, many of them weighing life or death options. Gear, prevailing conditions, people you train and/or jump with, knowing when to say NO (a Kenny Rogers song comes to mind here: maybe that's another reason they called Frank "The Gambler"!) be polite: What is so hard about this? I don't get it. I've actually tried it--people respond pretty well! It's understandable if you get busted and the cop is a dick to mouth off a bit...But at legal sites, whether you like it or not you, the person with a BASE rig on...are an ambassador of the sport--this is true if you are hiking up a trail to make your first jump or just landed your 6000th. Antisocial? a smile will usually suffice. Of course, if you happen to be jumping in NYC, if you're too nice they might suspect something, so just blend in Anyone care to add anything? mh

try him at Vertigo Base Outfitters in Moab. contact info at http://www.vertigobase.com mh

I'd like to be the second person (I'm sure Robin already congratulated himself) to congratulate Robin Heid as the winner of the accuracy compettition at RG two weeks ago. There will be an award ceremony held at Robin's home where Robin (the organiser) will present himself with an award. way to go Robin!

Petaluma jumper sentenced in thefts Man gets 7-year term, blames series of burglaries on drug addiction October 16, 2003 By A. Reporter THE News Paper Petaluma's Joe Blow is a world-class base jumper, a daredevil skydiver who leaps off skyscrapers, bridges and other tall objects. But Blow, 41, crashed to earth in Superior Court on Wednesday when he was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for a theft spree that spanned eight months. Blow told Judge Raima Ballinger he was addicted to drugs when he committed a series of burglaries at Petaluma's airport and used stolen personal information to loot victims' credit card accounts. Blow also was accused of using a hidden video camera to spy on women in the airport's restroom. Blow was free on bail in those cases when he broke into a Petaluma home last May and stole more than $10,000 in cash, jewelry and other valuables, police said. Blow was arrested five days later in Arizona after he tried to sell a car stolen from the Petaluma home. In August, Blow pleaded no contest to charges of burglary, identity theft and receiving stolen property. Blow 's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Karen Silver, said her client was a professional skydiver and business owner at Petaluma's airport before drug addiction led him to crime. His most famous stunt was a 2000 jump off the world's tallest building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He also competed in base jumping contests in the United States. Base stands for building, antennae, span and Earth, and refers to skydiving off fixed objects, such as skyscrapers, bridges, cliffs and communications towers. Silver urged the judge to place Blow on probation, saying he has no prior felony record and he needs treatment for his drug problem. But Deputy District Attorney Maria Leftwich said Blow should go to prison because he victimized many people. Alden Hennings, a Petaluma man whose Lombardi Avenue home was looted by Blow , said his family still is feeling the effects. He said Blow took keepsakes that haven't been recovered. "He has stolen things that can't be replaced," Hennings said. Blow apologized for the thefts, pointing to his drug problem. "It took over my life," he said. "I hurt a lot of people." Ballinger said Blow deserves to go to prison because he was charged with 19 different offenses and the break-ins occurred over a period of many months. "There's so much here that I can't ignore it," she said. The judge sentenced Blow to the maximum term of seven years and four months in prison. Ballinger said she agrees that Blow needs help for his drug problem "but the court feels it's more important to protect society."

Where do you live in KL? If you're close enough I'll just stay with you if/when I come and we'll call it good. mh

how much for the spoon slot?

lighten up brah. Trust me, you have not seen one ounce of criticism from this thread. Props for not trying to go about it yourself without proper instruction. Even if you are the world's most heads up newbie, that doesn't insure that all the other un-knowledgeable people reading gear setup instructions won't try and kill themselves. I suspect that if you can't find a BASE jumper in FL that you're not looking hard enough... butI happen to know of a man moving from my area to yours in the next week who would be a good mentor. PM me and I'll ask him if it's ok to give you his number.

as a follow-up: play out your current scenario in your head...it could end up like this: taken from: http://juliabell.home.att.net/ #71 Bill Frogge, January 27, 2003 Cliff Jump Echo Canyon, Moab, USA Total Malfunction Impact "Bill is doing a two way and is hand holding his BASE pilot chute. After a normal freefall Bill threw out the pilot chute. The pilot chute inflated, went to the end of its bridle and peeled the shrivel flap from the rig. However, the shrivel flap is not connected to the canopy. Speculation is Bill is distracted while putting his rig together and may have passed the Type-12 bridle through the attachment ring on the top of canopy but didn't complete the lark's head knot that would have secured it in place. The bridle had a bar tack on it that could catch in the ring and give the appearance the bridle is correctly attached to the canopy. Parachute Riggers have known for a long time that when you start any job you finish it. If you are distracted, and need to leave the work, you start the procedure over on your return. Not having a pilot chute connected to the canopy on a single canopy system has always been a nightmare scenario for BASE jumpers, however, this is the first time it has actually happened." again... FIND A MENTOR.

dude. seriously. you need to find a mentor and have him SHOW you. you do not want to learn to close a BASE rig on the internet. SERIOUSLY.

point taken. But ask yourself this: When that fifteen jump old-timer goes in at Bridge Day, who's that incident going to reflect on? Who's going to pay the price for that person's lack of good judgement/skill/good gear? It's not really going to be the 15 jump old timers, it'll be me, and you, and all the folks out there going hard all year every year. I say fuck tradition--do what's right for the sport. If the 15 jump old timers were BASE jumpers, they would have evolved with the sport. Jumping shitty gear does not make a BASE jump more fun.

I for one think it's high time to once and for all get rid of non-BASE specific gear at bridge Day or in the sport in general. BASE is not a sport where skydivers with no BASE experience should be able to come out and huck themselves off of a bridge a couple times one day a year. When someone takes the time and money to buy gear, learn how to pack it, find a mentor, and generally show that they're taking the necessary steps to LEARN how to BASE jump, they're doing it right. Who would YOU rather have representing our sport? Some skydiver who has an appropriate level of skydiving experience who has taken the steps above, owns their own BASE specific gear, etc? Or some 400 jump wonder who borrowed an old Vector or Racer or Wonderhog with a ragged out Fury in it to come out to BD and throw their first gainer off of a trampoline? [or an FX89 for that matter?] Let's get real. BASE specific gear is safer, period. Let's be responsible enough to be choosy about who is allowed to jump what at BD and other legal BASE events. All the slots will still sell out. People can still do their first jumps at BD--they should just have to do it right. mh

Congrats to JC for the SUPER badass swoop at the Royal Gorge last saturday in a *much* less than optimal Xwind. Super props to Luigi for staying in the plane in those conditions. I'm sure video will be up soon...

I'll assume you're talking about the Dwain Incident, Because typically, as I'm sure you're aware, a BASE jump usually has a solid object behind you... As for Dwain specifically, I have an answer that I'll post at another, less controversial time.

Can you make it so that when you have an email, the word "email" on the menubar will light up red like a PM? Also, can you make the text box [that I'm typing in right now] larger so you can read more of what you write on a longer post?

good post tom. Beautiful Flight bro...keep up the good work. mh

I'll tell you the url as soon as you show me where the website for all NPS ranger's names and social security numbers is. I smell BACON!!!!!

Oh. Just looked at your profile. If you really live in KL, and you can't figure it out yourself, Ummmm, I'd stick to legal jumps. [disbelief ON] are you REALLY confused about this? I'm starting to think this is just a really good troll. [/disbelief]

I heard there will be a seminar at Bridge day addressing exactly this question. It will cover bypassing retinal scanners, Overpowring security guards with stun guns, and a special bonus section on how to know when it's appropriate to use a silencer instead of a blade. Follow up seminars will give you hard-earned duplicates of keys, combinations, and passcodes, as well as diagrams of buildings. Another will give you a list of exactly how to pack your parachute for every building in existence on this planet. But get this; for a grand finale, they will offer a *FREE* hand-holding seminar where someone who has put a lot of effort, time, sweat, money, and maybe even has sucked off a security guard or two will take you to a building and give you, the uninitiated, a first hand building jump where you don't have to worry about all that pesky logistical stuff like "how do I do it?" Really worth the price of admission. In case you can't make it to Bridge Day, My best advice is to walk into a building at about 4am, Walk up to the security guard, and tell him: "Hi, I'm a BASE jumper and I'm going to jump off of the roof of this building. If you think you're man enough to stop me, then by all means try your best--Otherwise, sit your rent-a cop ass back in your chair and go back to sleep you jelly donut eatin' pussy." Works every time.

it depends how tall you are.

Not really. It REALLY breaks down like this: You want to BASE jump, but you need to get the proper experience first. The proper experience is skydiving as a start. You must have gear to skydive. Therefore you must acquire gear so that you can skydive, which will in turn give you the basic, rudimentary skills you will need to learn to BASE jump. Buy skydive gear today, buy BASE gear tomorrow. BASE gear is relatively cheap in comparison. You have a good start in "doing it right," don't start making the wrong choices by getting ahead of yourself. Enjoy skydiving for awhile--it's actually pretty fun!

I believe that "hang over" is the term used to describe the unpleasant physical effects felt following the heavy use of alcohol. OTOH, it's also defined as: "A letdown, as after a period of excitement"--so I guess that would be accurate here. Personally, I like the "Mc Over" and I think that "The Tard" is wholly appropriate.

"Jonathan Livingston Seagull," said the Elder, "Stand to Centre for shame in the sight of your fellow gulls!" It felt like being hit with a board. His knees went weak, his feathers sagged, there was a roaring in his ears. Centred for shame? Impossible! The Breakthrough! They can't understand! They're wrong, they're wrong! "...for his reckless irresponsibly," the solemn voice intoned, "violating the dignity and tradition of the Gull Family..." To be centred for shame meant that he would be cast out of gull society, banished to the solitary life on the Far Cliffs. Luckily for Jimmy (and the rest of us BASE slobs), he and Marta have already banished themselves to the Far Cliffs known as Moab, Utah (and it's not such a bad place ) Good on ya Jimmy for sticking up for the young gulls. As for your jumping from the rail--well, It's good to know even the jumpers whom I respect most make mistakes occasionally. Makes me feel a bit better about my own. mh edited to add: if you haven't ever read this story, I highly recommend it-- you can find it at http://www.42.dropbear.id.au/jls.html, but I'd go buy yourself a copy.

If you made HUUUGE freefly tubes, and possibly even capped the the top sim. to a vented PC, That in itself might slow one down enough...I figure you'd want to be doing about 50-60 vert to make it work?? anyone?