base428

New this year are advanced, full blown FJC's taught by Johnny Utah and Tom Aiello. These are separate courses. Complete info is here For gear rentals, please read our FAQ (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

You cannot add the jump pass to your cart until 2pm EST, and you'll need to refresh your browser so an ADD TO CART button will appear below the questions. So don't waste time filling out the info until you see the ADD TO CART button appear and an inventory level will show up in red letters at the top (ie. 450 jump slots available for purchase). Good luck. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Yes, and I usually send a congratulatory email to that person each year. But that doesn't mean he/she gets to jump first (he/she would be in the first group of 100+ jumpers). We usually throw someone extra special off the bridge each year for the first jump. Everything regarding BD registration is 100% fair. I take NO early orders. I've even had some folks w/o computers call me this morning - I told them to call tonight and I'd register online for them. Tip: If you create an account on the webstore, then you can order faster since you don't have to enter all the name/address stuff during checkout. Click the MY ACCOUNT or LOGIN/REGISTER link to create an account. Russel, I agree that I should've kept quiet. It's not like I have a problem filling the slots each year. Also, feel free to post questions/problems here or email me. I'll be monitoring this forum and my email for awhile. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I spent $500 yesterday on a second server just to handle BD registrations this year, so all you "refreshers" out there shouldn't be disappointed at 2pm. Click here to register Also, we'll have shuttle buses this year from the Charleston airport to/from Fayetteville for those of you who don't want to rent a car. Shuttles will leave the airport Thurs and Friday and all return on Sunday at various times. There will be a small charge for this, to be determined. Any jumpers interested in picking up and driving these shuttle buses (15-passenger vans) when they arrive at the airport, please contact me (we'll let you use them for free if you drive). We've also got the OK to use the 15-passenger vans to transport jumpers from the LZ. This is in addition to the long buses that are always present. So we'll have a lot more vehicles to get jumpers to the top. Happy registering. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Yes, there were two field packed jumps. One in WV in 1996 with a water landing and the other in 2000 in Moab over hard land. Bill G and Nathan B. Another thread on flying with a rig is here (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I would highly suggest that all BASE jumpers in that area attend the July 8th meeting. If you can't attend the meeting, then email, call, or write the parks and recreation board. Does anyone remember when the NPS slipped the "BASE jumping is not appropriate" nomenclature in their 2001 Management Policies? Well, you shouldn't remember it, because when it went up for public comment, NOBODY responded. Not one jumper. And this 2001 NPS management policy is what is shutting us down right now. I've not jumped these particular cliffs, but if only one cliff gets shut down, it'll start a domino effect and they'll have precedent. More cliffs could get shut down and then eventually our playgrounds are closed. So who's going to the meeting? Anyone? Park Info Here (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Not true. The following is from the CDC Website, although the CDC tries to discredit nearly every one of these studies. Also, the Robert F. Kennedy article on salon.com (listed above) has other autism/vaccine studies that showed a link between the two. 4) Are there studies that suggest there might be a connection between autism and MMR vaccine? The existing studies that suggest a causal relationship between MMR vaccine and autism have generated media attention. However, these studies have significant weaknesses and are far outweighed by the epidemiologic studies described above that have consistently failed to show a causal relationship between MMR vaccine and autism. *The MMR-autism theory is based on the idea that intestinal problems, like Crohn's disease, are the result of viral infection and can contribute to the development of autism. The theory has its origins in research by Wakefield and colleagues (1989; 1990) which suggested that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is linked to persistent viral infection. *In 1993, Wakefield and colleagues reported isolating measles virus in the intestinal tissue of persons with IBD. However, the validity of this finding was later called into question when it could not be reproduced by other researchers (Afzal, 1998; Iizuka et al., 2000). *Thompson and colleagues (1995) suggested in a retrospective cohort study that MMR vaccine might be a risk factor for Crohn's disease. However, the selection and recall biases and the differences in data collection in this study were so substantial as to cast doubt on the validity of the findings. *Two studies out of Sweden linked measles infection in utero to the development of IBD (Ekbom et al., 1994; Ekbom et al., 1996). However, these studies involved a very small number of cases and when researchers identified the persons to be included in the 1996 study, they had prior knowledge that cases of Crohn's disease had occurred in the offspring of two women who were infected with measles during pregnancy. This is called "selection bias" and limits the strength of the study. *The MMR-autism theory came to the forefront when, in 1998, Wakefield and colleagues reviewed reports of children with bowel disease and regressive developmental disorders, mostly autism. The researchers suggested that MMR vaccination led to intestinal abnormalities, resulting in impaired intestinal function and developmental regression within 24 hours to a few weeks of vaccination. This hypothesis was based on 12 children. In 9 of the cases, the child's parents or pediatrician speculated that the MMR vaccine had contributed to the behavioral problems of the children in the study. There are a number of limitations in the Wakefield et al. (1998) study: -The study used too few cases to make any generalizations about the causes of autism; only 12 children were included in the study. Further, the cases were referred to the researchers and may not be a representative sample of cases of autism. -There were no healthy control children for comparison. As a result, it is difficult to determine whether the bowel changes seen in the 12 children included in the study were similar to changes in normal children, or to determine if the rate of vaccination in autistic children was higher than in the general population. -The study did not identify the time period during which the cases were identified. -In at least 4 of the 12 cases, behavioral problems appeared before the onset of symptoms of bowel disease; that is, the effect preceded the proposed cause. It is unlikely, therefore, that bowel disease or the MMR vaccine triggered the autism. In 2004, 10 of the 13 authors of the study retracted the paper's interpretation, stating that the data were insufficient to establish a causal link between MMR vaccine and autism (Murch et al., 2004) *In another study that generated media attention and raised public concern in the UK (Uhlmann et al, 2002), researchers found measles virus fragments in the intestines of children with "new variant" IBD (children with both IBD and developmental disorder). Scientists looked for the presence of measles virus in the intestinal tissue of 91 children with new variant IBD and 70 "controls" (children without this type of IBD). The researchers found measles virus fragments in 75 out of the 91 children with "new variant" IBD, and in only 5 of the 70 controls. While this provides evidence for an association between the presence of measles virus and IBD in children with developmental disorder, it does not mean that the measles component of the MMR vaccine causes IBD or developmental disorder. As a commentary published with the article asserts, the data could just as easily be interpreted as indicating that the IBD or the developmental disorder cause the persistence of measles in the intestines (Morris & Aldulaimi, 2002). In addition, the researchers did not compare the virus found in the intestines of patients with the virus used in the MMR vaccine; nor did they provide information regarding whether or not the children in the study had been previously vaccinated with MMR or had previously contracted measles disease. The limitations of this study are further discussed in a letter written by the Director of CDC's National Immunization Program to the UK's Chief Medical Officer. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

That's a pretty powerful article that every parent should read. As I stated numerous times already, money rules. Nobody wants to admit the autism/vaccine link (can you say "lawsuit"?) and many higher ups in the CDC are getting kickbacks from the drug companies. This is how the whole world works. We've decided to cancel our daughter's immunizations tomorrow until we can investigate this further. PS. I didn't want to mention it until this thread was a few days old, and it didn't affect my decision one way or the other, but I have two very young brothers (12 and 14) who have never been immunized. I am 34 and they were born when I was in college. They are both very healthy and apparently mercury free. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

You're one exception, Kevin. After reading this thread, it reminded me of Nathan back in 2000. Nathan had few base jumps, but decided he should try a triple gainer through the steel on his first jump at our regular bridge. He apparently didn't know the sport very well, let alone his own limits. He pulled off the triple as far as we could see from the ground. But, a few months later, Nathan burned into the talus in Moab at about 60 mph after jumping a daisy chained rig. He was lucky to be alive, as I saw only 1-2 fully inflated cells. You haven't seen shit until you've seen a daisy chained rig open. Sorry about the gender confusion. There are only a few BASE wingsuit chicks out there today. As for progression, I'd personally recommend at least 100 BASE jumps before you try WS BASE. I had 400 before I tried it and it scared the crap out of me on exit. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Let's not sugar coat our replies to this guy. The fact that you even considered using a wingsuit for your first BASE jump shows that you're 10x more likely to be hauled off in a bodybag. Stick to skydiving or try bowling. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I would bet that 99% of the people reading this thread don't have the HepB vaccine because it became standard in the early 90's. I came into this with an open mind. However, as with most everything in life, money talks. Drug companies promote vaccines in order to make billions of dollars. The US Federal Gov't gives millions of dollars to state agencies in order to promote and then require new vaccinations. State agencies force families to get potentially deadly vaccinations in order to go to school, get health insurance, attend college, etc. Sure, vaccines do work......most of the time. I remember reading that the average kid will get 34 shots for 10 different diseases over his lifetime. Geez! Obviously, this is a touchy subject between doctors and vaccine victims. I am thankful that some of you have responded, especially the physicians and docs. Your opinions do help quite a bit. We will vaccinate our daughter later this week, but I'm definately going to make sure thimerosol isn't in the vaccine. I'm also a bit unsure about the HepB at this time. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Not in West Virginia or Mississippi. Apparently, I live in one of two states that don't allow exemptions for religious or philosophical reasons. Nonetheless, thanks for the valuable info. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

It's time for my daughter's first immunizations (she's 2 months old) and I'm wondering if anyone had any bad experiences with any particular shots in the past? It's kinda scary for me to let my daughter get certain shots that carry the risk of death, brain swelling, seizures, etc. For example, HepB is mainly transmitted via IV drug users and through unprotected sex, but it's required. As far as I've read, HepB is also treatable. The HepB shot has caused a lot of problems, and I trust my daughter won't be shooting up anytime soon. Also, thimerosol is another mercury-based preservative in some shots that's recently been removed from new supplies. However, even with potentially deadly side effects, the current stock isn't being replaced ($$$). We're going to give our daughter the necessary shots, but we may skip the HepB and anything with thymerasol. At least I've come to this conclusion from my limited research. I don't trust my pediatrician to give me accurate stats, because he's usually getting kickbacks from the drug reps. Serious replies only, please. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

All, Put your calculators and physics books down and go make a jump..... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Ray, I agree with most of what you wrote, except for: -Bridge Day has rappelling lines dangling from the bridge, so it really needs to be treated like a cliff jump. -I still do riser turns off EVERY object (cliff, bridge, or anything for that matter) in order to be consistent. -Risers are always faster than toggles if you've blown a toggle Otherwise, great information Ray. Cya. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

The whole sport is expensive. FYI: Some jumpers have made 6 jumps in 6 hours. I easily made 3-4 jumps each year before I started organizing. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Server was down for about an hour. Hope so. Server upgrades are in progress. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

450 slots sold in 6 days last year. I believe 300+ went in the first 10 hours. This short article will explain more about BD2005 ----------------------------------------------------------- Bridge Day is the Super Bowl of BASE jumping with one day of legal parachute jumps from the 876' tall New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Over 450 BASE jumpers and up to 200,000 spectators are expected to attend Bridge Day 2005 on Saturday, October 15th. Bridge Day is the largest extreme sports event in the world held on the third Saturday in October every year in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Bridge Day is unique in that it is the only day visitors may walk across the bridge, BASE jumpers can parachute from the railing, and rappellers are allowed to descend and ascend fixed ropes. Vendors line both ends of the bridge selling stained glass, crafts, shirts, photos, and refreshments. Bridge Day is West Virginia's largest one-day festival and is rated one of the top 100 festivals in North America. But adrenaline junkies beware - Bridge Day is only six hours long. Jumping outside the small 9am-3pm window could result in a hefty fine and a year in prison. Many jumpers have recently petitioned the WV Department of Highways, Congressmen, and Senators for increased jumping days from the bridge's catwalk; an idea that has gained many supporters due to the positive financial gain for local businesses. Americas tallest bridge, the 1,053' tall Royal Gorge Bridge, hosts a 3-day BASE jumping event each year. Twin Falls, Idaho welcomes year 'round BASE jumping from their 486' Perrine Bridge and the local community embraces jumpers who bring millions of dollars in business to the area. Jumpers from all over the world will be lined up to take their turn leaping from the world's second longest single arch bridge. Most will fall from the bridge for 3-4 seconds before deploying their parachute. Then they'll spend the next 20-30 seconds floating down to the designated landing zone located on National Park Service property at the edge of the New River. WV Media will again broadcast three hours of live TV coverage of the event to more than one million households in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. BASE is an acronym for the four types of fixed objects that are utilized for these foot-launched skydives: (B)uilding, (A)ntenna, (S)pan, and (E)arth. Jumpers first skydive hundreds of times from aircraft before attempting to BASE jump, which is undoubtedly the world's most extreme sport. Unlike skydiving, BASE jumpers often use only one parachute, as the lower exit altitudes of 200-1200' above the ground do not normally permit deployment of a reserve parachute. After leaping from each of the four different types of fixed objects, jumpers can apply for a BASE number. BASE numbers have been awarded for over 24 years to more than 1000 people worldwide. BASE jumpers have jumped from the New River Gorge Bridge every year since the first Bridge Day on November 8, 1980 (the only exception being the cancellation of Bridge Day 2001 shortly after 9/11). The first Bridge Day saw five skydivers making BASE jumps from the bridge in the early days of the sport of BASE jumping. Over the years, Bridge Day became the place for thousands of skydivers to make their first BASE jump. It is also the largest gathering of BASE jumpers each year, complete with first jump seminars, packing classes, a BASE gear trade show, and a film festival. The average BASE jumper at Bridge Day last year was a college-educated 35 year-old male with more than 1200 skydives and 64 BASE jumps from various objects. For every 89 males that take the plunge at Bridge Day, you'll find 11 females along side them ready to enjoy the ride as well. Last year, over 442 jumpers and staff members made 645 jumps in rainy weather with only a few minor injuries. "If the weather cooperates this year, I'm confident we can break the 1000 jump mark with no injuries in six hours of jumping", reports Bridge Day BASE Jumping Coordinator Jason Bell. "However, if we were able to legally jump from the catwalk beneath the bridge throughout the year, invisible to motorists above, then we wouldn't have to sacrifice safety in order to get everyone off the bridge on Bridge Day". The popular 16' commercial aluminum diving board, first introduced in 2003, will be returning to Bridge Day this year. "In 2003, I got the chance to make a BASE jump by springing myself over the edge like an Olympic diver. I was pretty nervous, much more than a normal BASE jump, but it's a jump I'll always remember", says Jason. BASE jumping aerialists from countries as far away as Australia and Russia will again travel to Fayetteville, WV to amaze the spectators with multiple flips and twists before they deploy their one and only parachute. The Vertical Visions team also plans to have a landing accuracy contest with cash prizes, a BASE jumping video festival, and some special jumps that should make for an exciting Bridge Day 2005 for both jumpers and spectators. All BASE jumping activities at Bridge Day 2005 will again be coordinated by Vertical Visions LLC, owned by West Virginia BASE jumper and skydiver Jason Bell (BASE #428, D-16725). Vertical Visions was awarded the Bridge Day 2005 BASE Jumping Coordinator position by the Bridge Day Commission in December 2003. Jason will be assisted by his wife Jennifer, Charleston native Bill Bird (D-6977), and over 50 staff members. Jumper registration begins on July 1, 2005 at www.bridgeday.info, a website dedicated to Bridge Day BASE jumping and expanding legal BASE jumping at the bridge. All 450 jump slots are expected to be sold within days due to the immense popularity of the New River Gorge Bridge with the BASE jumping community. "With only a handful of quality, legal objects for us to practice our sport, Bridge Day will probably be a popular place for new and old jumpers for many years to come", reports Jason . "I just wish we could do it more than six hours a year". For questions regarding Bridge Day BASE jumping, please contact Jason Bell (click on the "base428" profile to the left for email address) or visit www.bridgeday.info. For further information on Bridge Day 2005, please visit the official Bridge Day website located at www.officialbridgeday.com. --------- Vertical Visions LLC Jason Bell - Owner PO Box 934 Bridgeport, WV 26330 Phone: 304-203-8500 Email: Click on the "base428" profile to the left Bridge Day Website: www.bridgeday.info (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Mike, Life goes on. Thanks for all your hard work as my Bridge Day exit point leader over the years. Family and kids come first. BASE jumping is only temporary, but family is forever. It sounds like you made the right choice. Cya my friend. I'll keep in touch. PS. We'll do a legal 2-way from Half Dome when you return to the sport later in life. PPS. Here's a pic of Mike (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

The attached still mount design may give you some ideas. I jump a Headhunter Jawz helmet and I designed a few custom mounts for it several years back. To rotate the still mount, you have to loosen a few screws and twist it 90 degress. You can mount a quick release on the bottom of the "L" if so desired. I use splined panel nuts on the back of my video camera base plate, which is mounted to my helmet. The second attachment is a custom mount I made that is non-applicable except that it shows how to mount the still camera to the video camera base plate. Good luck. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Anyone remember the guy who sold kill-line PC's at Bridge Day in the mid-90's? The problem with them back then was the possibility of forgetting to cock the PC. I think this problem still applies now. Then again, we used to say pins on BASE rigs are black death. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Basic Research used to deliver their Fox canopies in the mid-90's with a two part brake line. The two looping parts joined at approximately 1.5 to 2 feet from the toggle. If I remember correctly, the reason for this was to save time and money when replacing worn out DBS. The only problem occurred when you tried to flare and the "bump" where the two parts joined passed through the toggle keeper. Very often, the bump would get caught in the toggle keeper and you'd have a stuck toggle. I ended up sending my first Fox back to BR when I experienced this problem on a few test skydives. Slider coming down was not an issue. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

You'll have to ask Executive Director, Gardner Sapp, on that one. Perhaps gear choices could be covered in depth when the official ABP announcement is made. But I don't know why anyone would have any problems with a manufacturer testing new gear or disallowing the use of skydiving gear. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I think you'll find an official welcome announcement from the ABP very, very soon. A short story on the ABP is out in Skydiving Mag this month. The ABP has a very dedicated staff and now is the time to put 110% into expanding our access in National Parks. With that being said, I don't think anyone will be "giving up the ship", especially since we're not even on the ship to begin with. Expanding legal sites will only help our sport. Hardcore bandit jumpers can always do their thing, but the majority enjoys jumping legal sites and we follow the minimal rules that are in place to preserve the site. If an illegal site is made legal with a few rules in place, is that not a good thing? Anyone who is against legal sites/events and their minimal rules should be sure to avoid Kjerag, the Hole, the Swiss Valley, the Italian terminal wall, Malaysian building jumps, Mexican canyons, Bridge Day, the Go Fast Games, the Potato Bridge, and the list goes on. All these locations have a few rules in place. I can't understand why anyone would object to "not jumping from the rail" or "not jumping a Stiletto 120". The few rules we have are in place so that we can continue to jump responsibly for many years to come. Keep in mind that I'm a BASE jumper as well. For the record, I don't like rules any more than the next guy. Actually, I probably hate rules more than most of you (I don't even give out my zip code to Radio Shack!). (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Bruce Kramer is stuck in the Charlotte area for the weekend and he just called me to see if anyone in the area could hook him up with a jump. He doesn't have email yet, so give him a call at 317-513-9244. He's currently driving to Skydive Carolina in Chester and should be there by 2pm. Bruce loves to climb towers and I think he said he'd carry all your gear to the 1500' level just to show his gratitude (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.