DexterBase

Don't drink at the visitor center. Don't jump from the rail. Don't shoot the steel. Don't forget to call the sheriff. Don't die. Do be nice to the spectators. Do answer questions they have, politely. Do tell them where there's a good spot to watch you jump. They often stand on the wrong side. Do have a good time jumping a great object. Do contact Tom Aiello for more information.

When someone in our community is taken from us, it's very different than for most groups of people. We play a serious game, where the cost to ante up is your life. To even step into the arena we know, you have to lay your life on the table, quite literally. But once you've tasted the thrill, and experienced life on the other side, your life becomes something worth risking. BASE jumping doesn't make your life easier to risk, it shows you new area in your imagination and spirit where before there were only boundaries or dark shadows. Because BASE gives us so much and contributes so many positive things to our lives, we go back. Once you become a BASE jumper, not someone who BASE jumps, but a pure and true BASE jumper, everything is different. Life is more precious and fulfilling. We become better poeple and we share in a sacred bond. This is why it hurts so much more when one of our brothers or sisters makes their final exit. We can tell stories and laugh about something that person did to make us smile, we can share in our grief together. In the end, we go on. It's what we would want our friends to do if the tables were turned. But for now, we can cry....

Fuck..... I can't express my level of concern right now. I have no idea what to type.

I don't care who you are, how many sponsors you have, what color your helmet is, how many magazine pages you appear on, how many giant camera lenses are pointed your direction, or that you wind up on RealTV once in a while. Any BASE jumper who would jeopardize access to one of the most popular sites in the world, in order to improve their image to a bunch of gazers who know nothing of our sport, is an unethical and selfish person. Everyday the list of jumpers I want to visit and spend time with grows. Unfortunately I've started a list of jumpers who I never want to share a site or exit point with. Some people who are BASE jumping now, some who are more experienced than myself, aren't doing anything productive for our sport. I love BASE jumping. If I had to choose one activity do do for the rest of my life, BASE would be my choice without hesitation. It's really sad to see that there are people in our sport whose self image is more important to them than our community. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

I'm not sure, but Marta recommends it as well.

I didn't vote because I'm in the middle on this one. I think as long as you have a positive launch, the lines will stay tensioned making a lineover really unlikely. I usually use a tailgate because it keeps the canopy in a neat bundle while you're setting up to do the jump. It makes it easy and convenient, but I do most of my McConkeys on spans where an offheading doesn't mean much. I do think that the tailgate may slightly increase your odds of having an offheading opening. See this post On a serious jump where an offheading could result in an object strike, I would prefer to spend more time preparing the canopy so that I don't need the tailgate.

Nope, it pops the pins, starts pulling the canopy to linestretch, while you keep falling. It won't change your body position because virtually no force is transferred to you until the lines are fully extended.

And before taking any techniques to a low object, practice doing simulated, "low jumps" from an object with a good margin for error. Practice setting up for a low jump and bang out a bunch of jumps as if you were exiting low. (If you have a buddy that can laser the top skin of the canopy as it inflates you will get a better picture) Don't experiment with any new technique on a jump where a tiny variance can put you in the dirt. Once you're confident that your method is yielding the consistancy required for the margin of error you have to work with, then you can work the exit altitude down gradually. Oh yeah, rubber bands have no business anywhere near a pilotchute. The only place I could see using one is to loosely s-fold the excess bridle when doing techy static line jumps. I'm not even sure if that's common practice anymore. Bottom line: consistency is the key, and keep those damn rubber bands away from your PC! edit:typo

Hey, you might want to PM Kmonster, she's a really cute girl I know. I hear she has some inside info on washing windows.

So by that logic, you'd never take your Flik terminal with a mesh slider? Terminal is terminal, be it on a BASE jump or a skydive. If you rig and pack appropriately for a terminal jump, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to take the canopy terminal on a skydive. I'm not arguing with you, perhaps you have a reason for avoiding a terminal deployment that I don't know about. Cheers!

At this years Turkey Boogie I'd be glad to give a first aid/patient assessment seminar during an evening there. Maybe we could do it at the Vertigo shop. I'm pretty well trained in first aid and I'm an EMT and PHTLS (Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support) instructor. While all my certifications are military, so I can't actually certify anybody, the knowledge is far more valuable than a certificate. If there's an interest in this I'd be more than happy to do it. Until then, you can check out this article. Be safe!

PM sent.

Hey! I want to take a second to thank everyone who's been and continues to be supportive of me over here. You really can't imagine how much that means to me! I'm taking things one day at a time and trying to keep my head down so I can return and get back to what's really important in life... jumping! When I get home you'll be able to find me at the exit point in my badass new rig from ASYLUM DESIGNS! I figure I can treat myself to a new rig or two with my hard earned cash. Um... I'm going to be embarking on a BASE rampage when I get back so stay tuned for that. I'm going absolutely crazy not being able to jump. If you get a chance, PLEASE email me some BASE stories, they keep me pumped up to jump and make time go by much faster over here. To all of you, hope you're having fun at the bridge today! Wish I could be there but hopefully you'll drink some beers for me. Take it easy and please continue to be safe! I love you all, but definitely not in that Eric Estrada way! Oh yeah, Brice, Shoot me an email!

Here's part of an email I got from Dwain. It's referring to larger PC's but if you read the whole thing it really sheds some light on pilot chute sizes for low altitudes/ airspeeds. Check it out. Thanks again Dwain!

Thanks Tom, once again you're a badass. C-ya soon!

Anybody know if/where I can get a red ProTrack? I gave mine to my girlfriend because I got deployed to Iraq, but I want a red one. That would be way rad! ThanX!

Pretty sure, nope positive actually, she's happily married. To Johnny as a matter of fact. Hey, Johnny, tell Marcia and Trevor I said Hello

Hello everyone, I have almost daily access to a computer over here, which came as a total surprise to me, so I thought I'd let you all know how I am doing in case anyone was interested. Of course, you're probably all busy enjoying the objects that I've been missing so much. I'm in Iraq, can't really say where, and things are pretty interesting here. Interesting... I wonder if I should use a different word there. Well, things are pretty intense and tend to keep me on my toes. I was in my first real firefight last month and I was surprised to find there is actually something that scares me more than BASE jumping! It was also very interesting to see how closely the decision making processes in both situations parallel each other. If you make a wrong decision you're dead (well, you may die regardless of what decision you make) and you need to be very quick about making that decision. I think that BASE actually better prepared me for the reality of the no-sh*t life or death situations I've found myself in here. I think having practice in high pressure environments trains the mind to react quickly and appropriately to danger. Anyhow, just thought I'd let you all know I was still kicking and I miss you all. Hopefully I won't be over here too much longer and we can all share a brew and an exit point (not in that particular order). Until then, C-ya!

Hehe...

Well my friends, it seems my services are again required in the Middle East. It really seems like I just got back I want to thank everyone I had the chance to meet and jump with this past year. Also, I thank everyone who helped inspire me to get out there and JUMP! I'll be over there six months this time, so I should be home for the end of the summer. At that time I will be commencing a wild-assed BASE jumping rampage, so you guys had better be ready! Please, please try to stay as safe as possible while I'm gone. Pay attention and look out for eachother. When I get back, first pint's on me!!!

I've sworn off of BASE jumping twice in the past after two particularly close calls... yet here I am, with a packed rig that I'm going to jump tomorrow.

umm... hehe... I think it's Aiello... While I generally agree with the versatility of pins and only jump pins myself, I think this is somewhat over-simplified in terms of the beginner BASE jumper. I'll elaborate if you wish.

Thanks to everyone who contributed pictures, I really appreciate it. I have everything I need except an offheading opening (preferably close to something solid) and a tension knot. The article will be made available as soon as it's completed.

Dude! You still owe Katie and me some shirts!!! Hehe... Take care dude. I hope we're still gonna do some jumps this spring. It was nice sharing beer and jumps with you... and more beer... in Twin Falls. Hope to share another exit point with you soon.

I'm game... edit:Typo. How do you have a typo with a post as short as this one?