base428

Hey Mike! Long time, no see! I should be in TF for Labor Day when the winds are more calm. Hope to cya there. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

For those who are not near an IMAX theater, you can rent it at Netflix. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

-Bring your own food to Norway, unless you like paying $30 for a pizza. -Practice hiking DOWNHILL for your visit to the Swiss Valley. -Don't get your name added to the sign at the Italian terminal wall exit point. Have fun. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Quite strange indeed. Reminds me of a similar incident where my PC flipped back on opening and tangled in my brake lines. Or when Donk landed and found a knot in his bridle, apparently caused by his PC bobbling around after pitching. Now that I think about it, this mal reminds me of Nathan's daisy chained canopy jump in Moab back in 2000. Unfortunately for Nathan, his tailpocket sealed the daisy chain and he rode 1.5 cells into the soft talus at 60 mph+ Nothing is perfect.....glad everything turned out OK for the Russian. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Arcade Electronics sells a 3' long cable if that's short enough for some of you? (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

You were both whining at #7 (me included, from the rain and cold). But neither of you had the sack to go first, heh....heh..... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I'll second that! Cya there Labor Day. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Did you know that it's perfectly legal to jump from the cliffs of Lake Pow***? Tip: Just make sure you don't use a parachute. The attached pics will show you what is LEGAL (an ad from a recent backcountry.com ad) and ILLEGAL (a base jump from a 220' cliff). God Bless America.... Non-powered, non-polluting, non-intrusive, and harmless.......but still illegal? (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

A big thanks to everyone for their kind emails and posts. Baby Mallory is still in the ICU, but we're visiting her every day. I was teary eyed when she was born, and maybe even a bit more when we later realized she was born on 4/28. I'll never forget her birthday now. This birth is another great example that antenna radiation ain't that bad....(heck, I've even been shocked by an AM antenna twice in the past!) Once again, thanks to all of you for your kind responses. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Mark, as mentioned in my original post more than one month ago, my main beef with the list is that it is "made morbidly available to the media". And in the last month, there was yet another reporter who referenced the current death count in his anti-BASE story about the Canadian building incident. The list is definately valuable to jumpers, but it only serves to weaken our image because it is often misused by the media. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

As a West Virginia resident, all I can say is you misspelled the words "official" and "real". And we do have a dropzone.....it's called Bridge Day and I'm trying to make it legal all year long. IMHO, learn the language or go back to where you came from. When I travel overseas, I always attempt to learn the basics of their language. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

The average age for a jumper at Bridge Day was 36 in 2003 and 2004. Both years had about 12% female jumpers. This info should help ya.....cya. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

That's my little secret.....sorry. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Many people have found mentors by posting at this forum. If Rick lived near me, I'd be glad to show him around. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

I found my notes regarding Dave Wall and yes, we discussed the land issue in the past. For your information, over the last 1.5 years the acreage and prices have been changed by the landowners numerous times. Now, the landowners have changed their mind once again. I have also spent my own money on lawyers investigating every aspect of the purchase. There is a LOT of information that you are not aware of, so no need to cast stones. This stuff takes time. Most of the delays have been the fault of the landowners and waiting on lawyers and bids to come back. The land issue should be settled this week and I'll be sure to keep you all informed. Things are changing every day. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

All, Info packet will go out to everyone tonight or tomorrow. If you've emailed me or expressed interest in this thread, you'll get a copy. Thanks. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

And in the next month or so, I'm transfering all of Will Forshay's "Lemmings from Hell" Bridge Day 1992-2000 videos to DVD. I bought the exclusive rights to Will's entire collection from his estate, mainly to preserve a little bit of BASE history. Cya. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Just watched the show. Felix did pretty well, except for the multiple comments about switching license plates on getaway cars. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Rhinocam, May 2000 I haven't had the guts to try it with my S3 yet because my boom is about 36" long. Too much to deal with... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Absolutely. You can send a Letter to the Editor through their website (select the Fayette Tribune as the appropriate newspaper). They have published letters to editor in the past regarding legal jumping. Thanks. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

IDEA FOR EXPANDED BASE JUMPING AT BRIDGE DAY FLOATED By Steve Keenan/FOR THE REGISTER-HERALD, March 25, 2005 FAYETTEVILLE - Instead of table games, why not try air games? Last fall, Vertical Visions owner Jason Bell floated the idea of extending BASE jumping beyond the traditional six-hour window it enjoys annually on Bridge Day. His reasoning was two-fold: Allowing more BASE jumpers to take the leap from the New River Gorge Bridge translates to an additional influx of dollars into local and state coffers; and it gives jumping enthusiasts greater opportunities to explore their horizons, so to speak. Referring to current discussion centered on introducing table games in the state, Bell said, "If the state wants to make money, let them do it by BASE jumping, which doesn't cause moral issues." Although the Vertical Visions proposal has garnered some local support, it hasn't swayed the state Division of Highways. Bell, a Bridgeport resident, submitted a proposal over the winter to Jim Lagos, district engineer for DOH's District 9 office in Lewisburg. In it, Bell - heading into his fourth year as Bridge Day BASE coordinator - detailed the steps he, colleague Bill Bird and others would take to ensure that additional BASE jumping into the New River Gorge would be safe and wouldn't cause headaches for local officials or area travelers. "We've got the experience needed to safely and successfully implement additional jumping days," Bell wrote to Lagos. "In addition, our large staff (50-plus) can manage all aspects of catwalk access and parachuting so that minimal outside resources, if any, are required. "We are willing to work with you in any manner required in order to expand our small jumping window." In the proposal, VV is asking for access to the bridge catwalk - normally used for inspection and repairs - so jumpers can spring from the span's underbelly on the Thursday and Friday preceding Bridge Day, which will be Saturday, Oct. 15, this year. Bell says his firm doesn't want the carnival-like atmosphere that surrounds Bridge Day to extend to those two days. His simple wish is to allow more jumpers the opportunity to take the death-defying leap. On Bridge Day 2004, 390 jumpers made 645 successful jumps. Pointing to the fact that 30 participants didn't get to jump last year due to inclement weather, Bell said that problem would be negated if two additional days were granted. "A three-day window of jumping would permit parachutists from the U.S. and many foreign countries to participate in their valued sport in a safer manner, while guaranteeing that weather would not be a factor," Bell says. Lagos' office rejected the proposal. "Since the bridge is located along a section of U.S. 19 that is a controlled access facility, you would access the walkway from the shoulder of U.S. 19, and as a result, your vehicles parked along the shoulder and the individual parachutists would be visible to the traveling public and could result in motorists also parking along the shoulder to observe your activities, which is a safety concern," Lagos wrote in his response to Bell. "Appropriate traffic control measures would need to be implemented and enforcement officials would need to be present to deter motorists from stopping and to deter pedestrians from gathering near the bridge. "The possibility also exists that traffic could increase on Fayette Station Road as spectators gather, which could hinder the preparatory activities associated with the event." Bell said his organization has access to 85 parking spots on nearby private property, meaning that jumpers would not have to park along the highway. They would be transported via buses or vans from the bottom back to the bridge. Bell has since attempted to enlist support from political leaders, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. He has also written to Highways Commissioner Paul Mattox asking that Lagos' decision be reconsidered. "This is a win-win situation for jumpers, local businesses and the West Virginia tax base," Bell said in his correspondence to Rockefeller. "Why do West Virginia and the local communities simply wave goodbye (to all those tax dollars) after six hours?" "I understand issues the DOH might have and I clearly address all of them," he said Thursday. "We have the money, and we don't need outside resources. "We just need the keys to the catwalk." - E-mail: skeenan@fayettetribune.com (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Yes, I even had a local lawyer look into it for me. Clearing trees and moving rocks is OK. Moving rocks into the river is not. Information packets will be sent very soon to everyone who's expressed interest so far. It's now or never for us.... (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

That's an option, but I'd have to sell my plasma to make ends meet. I've got a fat mortgage and another mouth to feed soon. I just hate to see this land go to waste.....even if another jumper is able to buy the whole thing, I would be happy. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Minimum investment would ideally be $1000, but there are many factors that could change this. I am personally putting in $10-15k of my own money and my other investor will match this figure. But, keep in mind it'll take some additional funds to clear the property and prepare it for landings. I live two hours from the NRGB, so I'll be doing a ton of work on it if we can obtain the property. Please email me if you can assist (jbell@vertical-visions.com). If you've spoken to me in the past about this, I'll send you an email tonight with full details. (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

Getting the pledges can be done, but figuring out how to "protect" everyone is another matter. I would probably have to form a shareholder based LLC and I'd try to keep the number of investors as low as possible to make it simpler. The NPS essentially forced Jon Dragan to sell the current Bridge Day LZ back in the early/mid 1980's, so I'd hate for them to obtain MORE land down there. Before Jon passed away a few months ago, he told me how the NPS contacted city officials and they, in turn, put pressure on Jon to sell the current LZ. As much as I'd like to work with the NPS, I also realize that it'll be less stress to just have our own LZ. It's do or die for us regarding this land. So let's raise the cash and buy it. Any suggestions on the proper way to form a company to protect investors? (c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted.