K763

Hi, I'm out of my element here...but a friend of mine is interested in details about the dates of the 4 way and 8 way competitions over the next 8 days at Eloy. We looked at the fai website and every event is listed for 21-29 Oct; all he really wants to know is what days the 4 way and 8 way will be going off. Any details will be appreciated! Thanks and Peace K

redirect your energy to something you wish to achieve, not avoid. focus on your goals and motivations, not your fears. some people spend entire lives avoiding death, but still never live. That's a nugget! Thanks for that one, I really needed it. Peace, K

Tom is correct, it was Aerial Egress (Todd and Anne from BR and Gary from Free Flight) that made the H.O.P.E. System. Even though Aerial Egress has taken down the shingle, interested parties can contact us at Apex BASE to discuss getting a H.O.P.E. System. As eporter mentioned, this system does not guarantee the saving of life; it is only after every other method of escape or rescue has failed that the H.O.P.E. System would be utilized in a final attempt to escape sure death by fire, smoke inhalation, or by just jumping to avoid the above. Even though we are confident that the H.O.P.E. System will function properly if used properly, this does not mean you won't die anyway if the parachute catches fire on the way down, if crazy drafts blow you into a building, if you get snagged on something else, or if you get hit by an emergency vehicle as you get close to the ground. Seeing the footage of the Twin Towers catastrophe and watching several people leap to their deaths to avoid burning is what spurred the people of Aerial Egress to complete the design of the H.O.P.E. System and get it on the market. It was not an attempt to capitalize on a desperate populace as some seemed to think; it was a humane response to the impact deaths that may have been averted by the use of a simple parachute. I was personally overwhelmed by the amount of phone calls I received at the BR office on Sept. 12th. Literally dozens of people called wanting to buy our BASE parachutes right off the shelf. I hadn't watched any of the footage at that point since I didn't have TV, but later at a friend's house I did watch. When I saw the man dropping head down with briefcase in hand after leaping out the window, I completely understood why so many people had called wanting a parachute. That man would have been better off having a H.O.P.E. System than his briefcase. Here's hoping that if eporter does decide to buy an emergency escape parachute he will never have to use it. Regards, Karen Thomas Apex BASE (formerly Basic Research)

I've seen Dave's commercial at LEAST 30 times now on my favorite cable channels. I hope he's getting a royalty for every time it airs! They are playing the crap outta that commercial and every time I crack a huge grin. It has got to be the best commercial I've ever seen! Ok, so I'm partial and biased...but DAVE ROCKS!!!! Peace, K

I don't know how much you weigh so I don't know what size canopy you'll need, but there is a Raven 282 with a Neo 2-pin rig on eBay for $1000 starting bid. The guy told me he bought it from dropzone.com and needs to resell it to get his money pronto! If that canopy is a decent size for you, it could be a good deal.... I already called the builder of the Neo to tell him it was there...strange to see base gear on eBay. Peace and good luck! Karen

I seriously doubt a rig could be removed from a body without leaving forensic traces of tampering, and you'd probably even leave evidence of your person as well.....ok, maybe I've been watching too much cable CSI... But as also mentioned, even though protecting BASE is a high priority for most of us, taking the rig off a dead jumper is probably not the way to do so. Tampering with a crime scene, grand larceny, obstructing a death investigation...these are not light charges. And the insurance aspect is valid; I don't know of any life insurance policies that cover suicide, and each carrier has it's own rules about parachuting activities. The loved ones left behind don't need to be further traumatized by a supposed "suicide" or a messy media circus because a friend tried to cover up the BASE jump. Personally, since I have no criminal record, no priors, am not on probation, don't work for any government agency, or have any other reason to hide from the truth, I'd stay with the fallen jumper. I would hold his/her hand and see if I could sense anything of what might be occurring on a spiritual level and face the authorities with as much peace and calm as possible. How we handle these types of situations is an excellent opportunity to show the authorities and public our true selves and begin to redefine how our activity is viewed and accepted. Why are the authorities afraid of letting us jump in the National Parks? Perhaps many of them are afraid that if our friend died in the meadow we'd just split, leaving the destroyed body lying there for some family to discover on their early morning hike. Now that BASE has come out from underground (sorry Nick!) it's time for us to consider how our actions augment that trend. Do we want to look like careless bandits just out for a good time? Or do we want to look like a brotherhood of people that find freedom in jumping and are caring and responsible adults with integrity and ethics? I'm grateful to have learned from the original BASE generation, and I'm also glad to be on the wave of where BASE is heading in the days and years to come. The discrimination we suffer is not just based on non-jumper's natural fear of falling, we have also given them fuel for the fire with some of our past responses to these situations. It's up to us to give "them" a different view of who and what we are. In for a penny, in for a pound. Peace, K

Do a Google search on his name to answer your own question. Peace, K

I'm not a small girl, and even I noticed on my Prism that the yoke was a bit wide. At first I wondered it my shoulders would slip out, but after a few jumps I stopped worrying about it because I didn't see or feel anything to support my worries. As far as BR/Apex rigs go, the Vertex 2 and Prism 2 were designed with narrower yokes to address this issue, and the new Apex DP also incorporates this into the pattern. Marta is quite tiny so I'm sure she took this into consideration when making the Vertigo rigs. As Crimpfiend said, tighten up your chest strap first, then your legstraps. Also, when you're done packing are you shaping the rig to fit your body nicely? This can be accomplished by putting the rig on your back, doing up the chest strap, grabbing the legstraps or hiprings in both hands, then laying down on your rig and rolling around on it. I laughed the first time I saw Rob Tompkins do that, but stopped laughing when I saw the results. Molding the rig like this will allow you to get a better fit when you don the rig for jumping. Make sure you have your mentor or coach take a good look at how your rig fits, or better yet, don the rig and send some pics to Todd at Apex. He is fully qualified to let you know if the fit is abnormal or unsafe to jump. Peace, K

Let's see, what do I have in my pockets or on my person right this minute? 1) Dollar bill...roll lengthwise and fold in half. 2) OB plug...rip out string. 3) Pony tail holder...remove from hair, cut once. 4) Necklace...remove pendant, use chain 5) Keys on long lanyard...remove keys. Then it's just a matter of deciding which item I don't care about sacrificing. Oh, and #2 came from my pocket not somewhere else. Peace, K

I totally agree with you Nick! I've been seeing the commercial repeatedly on the Sci Fi channel. I'm way happy for Dave that he got the stunt slot AND the principle slot! It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Good on you Dave! Love to Karleen... Peace, K

Hi Jason- Good work, man! You are definitely fighting the good fight here. I remember about a year ago discussion about buying some acreage beneath the NRGB...what is the status of that? I'd love to be able to jump the bridge any time and land on property OWNED BY US, NOT THE NPS. But wait, we are citizens of the United States, and since that land is National Park, I guess by definition we already own it???? Yeah, in a perfect world the children would have enough food and education, welfare mothers would lose 50% of their benefits with each baby they popped out, and our leaders would be helping prepare for disasters at home instead of creating disasters abroad... (oops sorry wrong forum...) What the Bleep do I know? Oh, I can't help but dream. Peace, K

Welcome, and good luck! The women I know in BASE are those that have chosen to NOT have children. I can't think of a single BASE jumping female that has kids. That being said, my question is where are you? There are women in the sport that are ready, willing and able to mentor you....you just need to be geographically close to make it feasible. Have fun, be safe, and soft landings... K

Yeah, I've pretty much been on a break since I broke my leg. The head-trip I suffer before jumping is incredible...less intense than the anxiety before my first jump but more insidious... Now that I know what it means on a physical level when it all goes pear-shaped I've become way more selective on jumps, and turn down "perfectly good" jumps for no other reason that I just don't feel like it. I've even thought of retiring and selling my gear, but then I imagine life without jumping and I see myself either a fat couch potato or a miserable addict... So, I'm facing my hurdles and looking forward to going to TF to knock several out, break the crust off and start again... Peace, and thanks for this thread... K

"Beyone Extreme" by Tom Begic has some of the best footage of Dwain I've seen. Tons of it, in fact! PM me if you can't find where to get one and I'll tell ya. :) Karen

You GO Russel! You are amazing. Glad you're having so much fun! x o Karen

Hooray for Marty & Asylum Designs! Watching the destruction and then the chaos brought by Katrina has been apalling. When the tsunami hit Thailand the world pulled together to send aid immediately. I've been hoping to see something similar happen for Louisana and Alabama. It's sad to say that this is one of the only efforts I've heard of so far. Blessings on the people affected by the storm, on those that help even when they get shot at in the streets, and on Marty and others like him that are willing to give of themselves to try to make a difference. Peace, Karen

Hi All- We need to contact the family of Kevin Cogar; is there anyone looking at this forum that could help us locate his next of kin? Kevin was in the military and was killed last week in some form of accident. We have no details, but our sincere condolances go out to his family and friends. Please have any of Kevin's family contact us at (951) 940-1324. Thanks. Karen

Hi DO! I bought the Bonehead RatHat before my trip to Norway last year. It is a very sleek full face helmet that is great for any type of jump. The thing I liked least is that the camera mounts on the left side. Anne advised against side mount cameras for BASE because there is the chance of a riser strike or even entanglement during deployment. I did about 20 camera jumps at Kjerag with no riser strikes or entanglements, and maybe 10 skydives as well. I'm very happy with the helmet but here are the detriments I've noticed with the side mount camera: 1) the left side of my neck is in worse shape now than before. 2) I have lots of annoying video of my left 3-ring and riser while in flight. 3) no options for rear-facing camera angles. 4) Taking the camera box off for no-camera jumps is a pain in the arse. When I jumped at Bridge Day last year I didn't jump the camera in case I went in the water, so I stuffed my pink Apex beanie in the box to prevent it from becoming a wind-catcher. After reading the other posts in this thread I'm more glad I got the side mount. My neck really took the hit when first jumping the camera (who would have thought 1 lb. could make so much difference???) but thinking about the top mount and the added fulcrum effect makes me cringe. Us old farts have to take extra care with our bodies! Even though I haven't (knock on wood) experienced an entanglement I did see video from the WFFC of one of our mates that had his lines get entangled with his side mount camera. He chose to unlock his camera helmet as that was the least expensive option...and miraculously the camera helmet stayed attached to his lines and the camera sighted perfectly on his face as he came in for his landing. It could have been disatrous but he ended up losing nothing and getting some of the best skydiving footage I've ever seen! Lucky guy! I have friends that have bought the Bonehead Optik, which seems awesome, and my friends that jump the Cookie Composite say it's the most comfortable camera helmet they've ever tried. I have a PC9. Looking forward to your newest vid! Peace, KT

Wow, holy cow is right! It's ironic...just today I was talking to a new gear buyer about Velcro rigs, telling him how they need more maintenance, are not as secure when say climbing antennas or doing aerial maneuvers, blah blah blah.... And here a tried and true experience jumper has just that story to report. I'm glad it all ended well, and GREAT CALL on the safety attachments! I'm also glad to see my sales pitch for pin rigs is more than just a sales pitch... Peace, K

Congrats KBASE1024! from KBASE763 CHICKS ROCK! and are even hotter when they BASE.... xo Karen

I am glad that full stop (US=period) was not a comma............. still confused at the typo 1) did you mean to put in the full stop 2) did you mean "some people are children" 3) OR did you actually mean what the comma would have achieved? How can you use an ellipsis (x4) and not know what it's for? Ellipsis defined rl What I meant was: "Some people's children...(are very sick, have very bad manners, can't be left unattended...) I hope this clears that up. And for the record, I would never make a joke about any type of molestation issues, since it's not a joking matter. Peace, K

Just want to clarify your wording, I understand what you said as: "He got to pull height, did the standard left arm out front, right hand deploy, started spinning whilst in this position and PRIOR to actually releasing the pilot chute, tried to regain stability, initiated the deployment sequence when he realised he had altitude issues, impacted prior to completion of the canopy opening sequence". Yes Tom, I confirm that you have this stated correctly. He reached to pull, got unstable, regained stability, then pulled his p/c. Thanks for the excellent post. Peace, K

I've heard of this practice before...it's called "chubbing" and I guess some guys get a kick out of rubbing their chubbies on other folk's gear. Some people's children...I guess they just don't get enough real sex.... K

Hi All- I'm back from Norway, having attended Darcy's memorial service and other functions to remember Darcy, sharing the pain of his loss and the joy of his life with his brother Tony and his closest friends. I spoke with many people that were there that day, and I believe a summation of what went wrong with the jump could be helpful to other jumpers getting into the "super-tracker" style of jumping. Darcy had about 550 BASE jumps and many tracking jumps from Kerag. He was wearing the PF Pants and Jacket, and did have his best track ever. I think he had between 10 and 15 jumps on this new flight suit. After a sweet, long track toward the landing area, Darcy deployed as usual in a skydive, with left arm overhead and right hand to pilot chute. This caused him to rotate in a flat spin, and apparently Darcy tried to regain stability before deployment. Unfortunately, the loss of altitude in that brief span of time was his undoing; the canopy was inflating as he disappeared behind a large rock and fatally impacted. Many very good jumpers have said that when jumping smoke pants or other tracking pants they initiate the pilot chute pull like a wingsuit flyer: both hands to hips with arms aligned with the torso and elbows bent to allow better stability and body symmetry at the start of deployment. And of course, MOST IMPORTANTLY: DO NOT SACRIFICE ALTITUDE FOR STABILITY. Opening in an unstable position can cause line twists or other problems, but not pulling in time to achieve full canopy inflation will cause serious injury or death. People are tracking farther and going lower than ever before, and as we push this envelope to the limits we need to remember the bottom line basics that we learned in AFF: 1) Pull on time. 2) Pull stable. Leave yourself time to deal with problems. I sincerely hope that all jumpers learn from Darcy's experience. One of the best of us is gone, but we can take this lesson with us into our future jumps, and pass this on to other jumpers. Lysebotn just isn't the same without Darcy's smiling face, infectious laugh, generous nature, and passion for jumping, but you will find pieces of his spirit present and alive in those that knew and loved him. Fly free, Darcy! You will be forever remembered and missed. Karen

I was talking to JC in Olso and he suggested we call women jumpers "BABE jumpers", for building, antenna, bridge, and earth; but I guess that would then make the calender "The Babes of BABE".