Treejumps

I think we should send Felix to Atlanta. Heat up the tar! I've never met the guy, but he seems to constantly piss off jumpers with what can only be called selfish acts in the name of self promotion. Felix is not a base jumper, rather a paid promotional jumper for whom base ehtics clearly don't apply. I personlly think Felix is a punk considering what I've read of him. Teach that punk some manners! Any of this might be OK if he did something even remotely groundbreaking, but he mostly does publically what others have quietly done years before and then proclaims himself SKYGOD! Bad kitty!

Lance, Borrowing stuff? Have you made a base jump? Stick with skydiving. Tree

hI mIKE, Over delay does not mean a low pull, just that the canopy was not extracted in time to inflate and permit a survivable landing. Tom has a great deal of knowledge on thiese things. Stalling out and then pitching late and having a pilot chute delay/hang up etc is cause of overdelay, not symptom. If it wasn't a gear related failure (I believe that somone on site has established this) then it was over delay, nothing more or less. If you think that something else was at play here, please post it. Cya. Tree

Tried to edit. Winds are now predicted to be lower, maybe 5 mph. At 9:00AM it will be 39 degrees. Brrrrrrrrrr! That is mighty cold, especially for a BD. Dress warm. Tree

Cya there.

Hey everybody, The forecast has been going downhill all week. The current foreacst is a high of 50 with 10 mph winds with gusts to 25. If you haven't been before, dress warm as the wait in line can be chilly. If you think you are going to take a water landing, or are not 100% sure you can safely make the LZ, take some extras clothes in a dry bag, or at least a well closed trash bag or zip lock. You will be freezing after taking a swim! Polar-tech fleece is best to get wet in, cotton is the worst. Wool sweaters also perform well wet. The water level will be lower than last year, but it is on the rise (1000 cfs in the last 24 hours with more rain on the way friday). Expect water temps of 50 to 60 degrees. Brrrrrrrrr. It going to be another interesting and entertaining BD. Cya there. Tree

Hi Tom, I agree that the Stavanger BASE Klubb is an ideal model... If we were talking abouit setting up shop in a European country that lacks millions of excess lawyers and litigious citizens bent on blaming someone for something, but were talking about the USA. The Stavanger BASE Klubb has nothing to worry about because their legal system would laugh at the idea of suing someone over a BASE induced death. We have a considerably different situation in that whoever authors the proposed pamphlet, and whoever distributes it, and whoever collects and stores waivers, and the printer who printed them, and the town council that approved it, and the list goes on and on. I understand said parties desire to increase safey, but were talking about people making a consious effort to place their lives at risk. Its nobody's business other than the person making the jump. As a comunity we all agree that safety is important, and helping new jumpers learn is part of that. Thank goodness for the BASE board, FJC's, and mentors who help this cause. At the end of the day, however, it is up to new jumpers to obtain some form of training and education. BASE has been called suicide without the commitment, but without training and a desire to learn, it is just suicide. Tree

" Some could argue that any regulation is bad. That is not currently up for debate" Such arrogance. It is up for debate. What we are talking about here is capitulation, not cooperation. Where will it end? Who will enforce/administer it? Don's boat service?- If Don were to distribute and enforce something of this nature then he WOULD be potentially liable. How about the state administering it? The Idaho Dept. of BASE? Why would the state want to take on the liability for the few hundred jumpers that come each year? They wouldn't! It would be easier to just shut it down which is where this all starts and ends. A pamphlet? Who would actually read it? When's the last time you bothered to actually read a jump waiver? What could it possibly offer that a FJC, or the massive archives on the BASE board, or a half decent mentor couldn't? Answer: It offers liability to whoever would be foolish enough to hand it out, author it, or administer it. With liability comes lawyers, damages, payouts, and ultimately a shutting down of the bridge to jumpers. (Remember, the original goal?) The sheriff stated it clearly; "How/why would I regulate the jumpers? Then I would have to regulate rafters, climbers, and mountain bikers too" The jumping at the Perrine works because only the person leaving the edge carries liability. Changing that fragile balance will end it all, and rest assured it was and is the end game being played. Tree aka Mark Kissner BASE 610

Wow, that really sucks. Was it a new PC or had the system been used prior to this jump? Tree

Any info on experience of jumper? That bridge is an awesome training ground for beginners as well as experienced jumpers attempting new moves such as aerials. The rapid progression of the sport has given new jumpers the unfortunate impression that aerials are neither difficult or an advanced manuever. They are both, and off a 486' object there is not much time should one find themselves in a particularly ugly situation. For the most part, dumping out of just about any situation (axis, rotation) with a big pitch will get you an open canopy. The real challenge is remaining altitude and time aware as to take some action soon enough to make a difference. Without full information its tough to say for sure what happend, but with only 4 seconds of working time the outcome speaks for itself. For all new jumpers considering aerials: Please talk with someone who is experienced and knowledgeable before just going out there and winging it. There is no need to "pioneer" a discipline that has already been developed. Learning new tricks in base without the benefit of what has alreadly been learned is very costly in terms of injury and lives. BSBD Tree BASE610

Or you can come out to CrossKeys all this weekend and jump the chopper, and swoop the pond. Oh yeah, and the skyvan. And there is a big local base scene if you are looking for some help. The large local crew is heading out from NJ as well as DC on thurs and fri. Cya!

Self promotion at its finest! Facts? We don't need no stinkin facts!

Yep.

Hey Freak, That cliff is a bitch, isn't it? Careful of the locals, they don't like when people hit it. Heal fast, jump soon. Tree

Hey Mark, Since you have 2000 jumps and have taken the time to learn, I would guess that you will do well with whatever turns you decide to perform. I had very similar progression, and only went to 270s in the last 700 or 800 jumps. My point was made to the jumpers who are trying to rush the process. Experience (jump numbers) are not the best indicator of skill, but in swooping they sure seem to help. I carve when I have the altitude, turn and dive more quickly when I don't, and if I've really lost the plot I can rip a 270 around in the time it takes to do a 90, get hard on the rears, and still lay down a good swoop with accuracy. These are threee scenarios all swoopers will have to deal with. You will eventually hook it high, just as surely as you will hook it low. The experience you gain from developing skills over lots of jumps progressing from double fronts and up through 180s plus are what enable you to deal with these situations and walk away. Anyone can get it right when everything goes well. Tree aka Mark Cya!

Interesting thread. Here is my 2 cents: If you have to ask how/when/where to do a 270, it is a pretty safe bet that you should not be doing them. 270s look easy because most people who do them have taken the time and jumps required to master 90s and 180's. You will eventually do your 270 too low, and then what? Will your skills and training save you? Not if you have by-passed mastering the skills of 90's and 180's, because you may very well have to stop your turn half way through and bail out for dear life. The more degrees you turn, the easier to become disoriented. Every hook (carve or dive) is different. Sometimes you dive more, sometimes you turn more, and each is on its own continuum relative to the other. Temperature and humidity make a big difference on dives and turns, and recovery. Trying to learn rear riser landings? Don't do it unless you have total mastery with toggles. Canopy skills definitely build on each other. Skipping one skill will impact how well or how quickly you learn another. Racing ahead to 270s or 360s is racing to the grave or a wheel chair. Swooping is not a race, it is an endurance game. Slow down and take the time to build a solid foundation of basic skills (90s, 120s, 150s, 180s etc) that will enable you to progress safely into advanced maneuvers. Tree

What up Doug? Sounds like a bummer of a summer. Thats OK, fall and winter have always been base season around these parts. Come on out for BD and we'll make it right for you. Yuri will be back any day now, and there is plenty of space at my place. I'd really like to see a live performance of your now famous 1-3/4 off a certain shorty span. First pint and then some on us, Tree

No, there is no public listing of BASE numbers and their holder's. Many jumpers prefer to stay anonymous.

Hey Skin, See you at Bridge Day? I never said anything bad about the sorcerer, just that I wouldn't want to carry an extra canopy around. The design was way ahead of its time and you correctly pointed out that brand new skydiving rigs are now equipt with decade old technology referred to as "brand new" and "leading edge". Go figure. I still don't see how RWS gets away without paying for the design. Tree

I only know of one base jumper who jumps a sorcerer. He is quoted as saying " most base jumpers are poor and can't afford a reserve, but I can so I jump with one". I didn't bother responding. I sure don't want to lug a second canopy around if I'm not planning on using it. For sure on some jumps there MAY be time to use a reserve, but on most jumps it just wouldn't be of any use. I guess a false sense of security is better than none at all. Tree

I'm not sure that CR even makes the Mojo anymore. Get an Ace instead. Newer design, ZP composite topskin. An excellent canopy to do demos on, and you can huck yourself off of stuff.

Hey Nick, IF you are talking about landing cross braced canopies at high speed with style and grace...is this not talking about swooping? Maybe you are on to something here. We are not talking about the same thing. One is swooping and the other is....... ??????? I'll let the participants who ....... ??????? describe what it is they are actually doing. But this is the swooping and canopy control forum for now.

Bruno, I don't think that Luigi runs when he lands on the back of moving 4 wheelers, boats, and trucks. You really should just never mention Luigis' name. Any reference that you can somehow trade swopp info with him is just silly. I'll bet any amount of money, any day of the week on ANY competition between you and Luigi, that you will eat your words. You wouldn't have these problems if you didn't run your mouth so much. You land at 4.0. WOW! Nobody is impressed (except TEX), and that bothers you. Talking yourself up isn't making your swooping, or lack of it any better. The more you try to tell everyone how great you are, the worse your position. If it makes you happy to look foolish, keep talking. If you want to get real and earn the respect of fellow swooper and jumpers that you seem to crave, get an appropriate canopy, learn how to really swoop, go compete, win, and then post about how great you are. Jeeez, is it that hard to "get it".

Its so hard to find a guy with a video camera around a big DZ? Wow, that pretty much says it all. If someone lights a firecracker at the DZ there is a camera on it. Basically, if anything worthwhile is going on, it gets videoed immediately. That speaks volumes. How did I miss that Tex was the GF? Should have been so obvious. Surely in 5 months of admiring you could have found a camera. Now I've heard it all. I'll be short: Compete, or shut up and go away. Anyone who jumps at 4.0 to 1 will land, gravity pretty much takes care of that. There is aquite a bit more to being an expert than that, and its obvious to tha masses who is and isn't an expert. cya.

Hey Nick, Prejudiced would indicate that I have never met or witnessed Bruno in action. I have. I speak from observing many of his landings and even trying to steer him on the right path. Those who speak of prejudice usually only need a mirror to find it. Tree