dmcoco84

Well Jaap.....YES. I'd still jump. Most would think that is crazy but for myself I don’t. I honestly don’t think I could live the next 50-70 years of my life and never jump again. I wouldn’t be happy. It would be like that character in Greek mythology that had to push a boulder up a hill for eternity only to have it roll back down every time he got close. It would be torture! I’d rather have one more jump than to spend years dreaming about it and wishing I could jump. Yes there are other thinks in life other than BASE that are fun but for me they are secondary. I recently got into a local fire department and found out through a friend with contacts that if I were to get arrested and charged with trespassing I would get kicked out no questions asked while still in the academy (after I graduate that changes but I’d still be in some shit). But there is no way I could stop jumping for even a year to prevent loosing my job if I were to get busted. Even my parents laughed and were like there is no way in hell your gonna stop jumping. I’d rather risk it, keep jumping and be happy than to play it safe and be miserable. (But, I am only doing low bust risk jumps until I finish with TRFA.) I think you’d really need to know more about why skydiving and BASE are so important to me and what it does for me to understand where I’m coming from but I’m not really gonna get into that. Now for the hypothetical, if this guy says my next jump will be my last, I’d first tell him he is full of shit. Then I’m going pay Todd and Jimmy to inspect and rig me up a sorcerer and a belly mount reserve, jump it off a very “safe” object like NRGB, static line the first canopy from the catwalk, have about 3 boats in the river along with paramedics on the shore. If I still die well then, shit! I guess it was still meant to be. Coco Do you realize what you're saying? So the guy comes up to you and says: "You're going to die on your next jump." You're still going to jump...

I wouldn't quit.... Ever. Its already possible I could die on one of my next N jumps. That’s why you make every jump count and never take for granted the fact that we are able to take part in such an incredible sport. Coco

Sounds good. Thanks guys! Coco

Totally agree. And I have an 1100 footer A that I will use to get very proficient at Sub-T tracking before I go. Coco Edit to add: In addition to doing a lot of tracking dives.

So my buddies and I are planning our first trip to the Swiss Valley the summer after next and I’m interested in buying a track suit but I’m not sure what I should get. Most of the people I’ve seen doing some hardcore things while tracking (like Douggs) are jumping the PF Track Suit. But I was watching the Superterminal BASE video the other day and noticed they seamed to be wearing some different suits and they were achieving some incredible distances! Since I already have a PF Phantom and am very impressed with it I’m leaning towards PF. So what are the best track suits? What make them better than others? Any other input? Coco

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=62627&hvarTarget=search&cmCat=SearchResults

I’ve got a few monopoles I’m looking at jumping and I am curious as to two things: A)What are the white rectangular looking things you typically see on them? (Camera Phone picture attached) B) What type of heat (radiation) range do they have? I would assume compared to a TV tower they are pretty low. Coco

No Pot?!?! WTF! \ He's right, you owe a bag of cocaine, a hand full of mushrooms and a fifth of whisky. ~J

First off, as I saw another jumper say in a post, "You don't owe beer. That’s skydiving shit." What were the weather conditions? Wind speed? Direction in reference to the guy wires. Coco

UPDATE: Did some low tech testing and did not notice any change in pin tension. Decided to go ahead and give it a try and jumped with the CB on my back under my rig earlier this evening. Took all the air and water out of the punch and geared up. With all my warm cloths on it was pretty bulky and slightly uncomfortable. Despite that once I stepped off I didn't even realize it was there. So...It worked fine but I probably will just stick with a platypus in a stomach pouch. Thanks for all the info everyone! Coco

Nice, 2 hours is definitely doable for proper training. After May when EMT-I is over I'll be on 10 day a month schedule so I can have the whole day(s) to travel and train. Coco

He's been working hard at Apex too. Every time I sent an email to them about my dad's order he was always the one that answered. Coco

Thanks! I'll have to drop them an email. I don't think they have Platform though. Looks like the regularly dive at GMU facility and they only have springboard. The picture of the platform's is a national, and who knows where the f**k that is! Coco

I’ve been looking on the Internet for some resources on finding facilities that offer platform high diving. I haven’t had a whole lot of luck. There are none in my area but I was hoping someone might know of one in a state boarding Virginia. I’d be willing to travel on a regular basis. I do gymnastics at the moment but would feel diving would be much more beneficial for aerial training. Anyone got any info or resources that could help me find where they offer platform diving. Thanks Coco

I was so thinking that the other day..."Jeez haven't seen anything from Nick in a while." Coco

Well a few on the forum have said they have had no problems, a few in pm’s and I also talked about it with a friend of mine at the drop zone this weekend and he mentioned a very experienced jumper jumps with one also and never had a problem. The way I see it from everyone’s input: As long as there is very little to no water in the CB and it does not create a significant gap between your back and the rig, pin tension should not be affected because it will not cause a curvature in the rig around the CB. With an empty CB I see no other issues other than the fact that you can’t wear a spin protector as Chad stated. I have tried wearing it on the front with my rig on and it isn’t very comfortable and will get in the way while doing aerials. I am planning on doing some tests before I jump a CB with a buddy to make sure this thought is correct. Check it at 0 water all the way up to about ¼. Anything more than ¼ of 70 oz is a no brainier that it will be too thick. But if pin tension in not an issue my plan is to chug a red bull, then take about 25-35 oz’s up the tower with me and at the top, dump out whatever I don’t use. Take a piss and jump. Then if I’m doing multiple jumps I can refill no the ground. The main purpose of my desire to wear a CB is so I have less stops. Then I can climb even faster. L8er Coco

Yea I made sure I got one with a shutoff valve so that won't happen. I put on the CB without any water in it and it’s pretty thin. It fit very comfortably with my rig on so I’m gonna have a buddy check my pin tensions with it on sometime to see if it affects it but I doubt it would when its empty. Keep water on the ground, re fill it each climb or hike and then empty it before I jump. I bought a platypus water bottle but it would be nice to not have to stop to take it out for water. The CB would allow me to just keep climbing. That is 5 people now I've heard that have jumped with one without any problems so........... We'll see. Coco

So I’m curious to see what other jumpers who are doing aerials are using for handles on their PC’s. Both of the handles on my 38 and 42 are soft hats and are vented. What do you use? Think one is better than the other? (Soft Hat or Plastic Handle) L8er Coco

Well cancel my last posting. I'm not gonna have time to reply fully as I would like to. But I will say this. I never said I had a death wish or that most jumpers do. I think you need to re-read my posting. I just stated my mindset before jumping and about BASE as a whole. To very briefly sum it up: I have accepted that in this life I'm going to die. It could be today, tomorrow or in 30 years and could happen from anything. “Shit happens.” Regardless of when that day will be I'm not going to live in fear and not do things because they are dangerous. I’m going to do what makes me happy and what gives meaning to my life even if it means it could kill me. “Just because our dreams and who we are is different than other people. Doesn’t make it wrong or bad or a waste. It’s who we are, its what we are. Its what we love and there’s nothing wrong with that. And if you die doing something that you love, its not throwing your life away.” Jeb Skin, if you think that about what I said, it’s all good. We each have different ideas and ways of looking at things and we are obviously on opposite sides of the spectrum with this one. When you post in this forum you should know that you open yourself up to criticism so be my guest. Even if someone thinks and tells me I’m full of shit for something I feel or believe, I won’t it against them. Differences make us all unique. I’ll still share an exit point with you and call you my brother! L8er Coco

Ahhhhh so thats what they are! Now that is pretty sweet! And they sell them at the same store I got my CB at. I could keep water on the ground and just re fill it. I could refill a regular water bottle too but they are bulky, which was the purpose for the CB. Very Nice! Coco

Yea I climb pretty fast! Its fun though, I look at each climb as a workout so I put a lot into it. And I'm a fitness nut so any workout is a good workout! My last climb to 900 was in 32 minutes and I stopped at 350 and 600 to throw a streamer, check wind speed, and have a little water. Was at least 3 minutes per stop. But by the time I get to 1100 I’m pretty tired. If I were doing a 2k tower, I’d probably pace myself a little differently. Also if I do multiple jumps in a night I don’t put all my energy into 1 climb or else the rest that night my climbs will be much slower. Yea yea...Preserving your strength my ass! Hey, what about if I get one of those beer helmet? Strap two water bottles in that puppy and I’d be set. I don’t think it would offer much Head impact protection though. Coco

Well when you climb 1100 feet in ~30-40 mintues you get a little thirsty. I need more than a sip. Coco

Now I'm thinking I might need to find an even smaller one if I'm gonna put it on my chest. The one I have seams like it will get in the way if I'm doing an aerial. I might just have to suck it up and continue taking a waterbottle and put it in my belly pouch. Coco

Yea I thought about that but then I won't have anywhere to put all my other stuff I need to take with me on jumps (wind meter, gloves, streamers, laser distance finder). I'm gonna try what Chad said. Climb with it on my back under my stash bag and put it on my stomach when I jump. Got a good PM also about the fact that I wouldn't be able to wear it on my back if I were wearing a spin protector and also having it on my back with any water in it could also distort Pin tension. Thanks for the PM!! Coco

Here is the CB I have (Black not the ugly green ) http://www.brmsstore.com/php-bin/ecomm4/brmsProducts.php?category_id=&product_id=1967&prev_id=1341&next_id=816 Coco Edit to add. The holder is actually a little more compact but its very close.