lifewithoutanet

I saw a video once that caused me to doubletake. The jumper went hand-held/go and throw, but seemed to have the bridle short and taught, such that when he jumped, he extended his arm to the point of pulling the pin(s). On close inspection, this proved not to be the case, but it made me think. First and foremost, the risk I saw was bridle entanglement with/around a canopy that might be falling out of the opened container, rather than one being pulled out, up and away from the container if the timing wasn't "just right". I thought the same thing about this "pull-out" method with BASE, but it caused me to wonder. Has anyone ever used this technique(/stunt) or something like it? Aside from the entanglement possibility with a canopy falling out of the container, rather than being extracted, what are some other risks? -C.

Love my LaSportiva's. Man, these are all great stories, vintage or not. Thanks everyone for sharing. You're keeping me alive today as I catch up on this thread. Work sucks. -C.

As one saying goes... "A good friend will bail you out of jail. A great friend will be sitting next to you saying, 'That was fcuking AWESOME!'" -C.

Neither. I'd say you're close to walking on water with that one, Nick. -C.

From what I remember when I heard about it, the LZ and hike out are a level dicier than the upstream legal S. Is that correct? -C.

Talk about NEVER GIVE UP! Congrats and welcome back, John! -C.

Yes, I agree, you are correct. Forgive my mis-use of the term. Still, I'm curious about the overall strength of the construction of the canopy itself. If, for example, a break-cord didn't break and the bridle attachment point is stronger than seams connecting each cell, what are the consequences? Obviously the force is distributed through all of the lines, but I'm still curious about the cell strength. -C.

And while we're at it, I've heard that bridle attachment points are rated at upwards of 400 lbs. Given that, what is the approximate force required to actually strip the center cell, assuming we're only taking into consideration the strength of the seams along each cell and not the dynamics that would require it be held firmly in place? Off topic, but can anyone hazard a guess? -C.

So that's why you sent Abbie off first on the first jump of your trip! Good thinking, Jaap! -C.

Good point, and I resist the urge to make a smart ass comment about having other things to worry about if your PC hasn't inflated due to the good discussion on inflation speeds of vented vs. non-vented here. Seems that the majority believes the difference is largely negligible, but one is still slower than the other. -C.

Have you removed and reinstalled the multi for any reason? From BR's owner's manual under 4.2 Assembly of the Multi: "-1c Configure the Multi lines to the link in the following order, remove any twists from the Multi lines before installing on link. White outside line (#3 or 5), then white center cell line (#4), then red center cell line, finally the last outside line (#5 or 3). Drawing 4.6-2" I'm thinking that maybe the order in which you reattached the lines (if you removed them) could have something to do with it. -C.

Taken from a PM conversation I had with Martin of Asylum this morning (with his permission to post publicly): Regarding wingsuit BASE: Like much gear in BASE, it comes down to delay, object, conditions and preference. -C.

These are the words I've been searching for all day to sum up how I feel, specifically what you're doing with these jumps. With my limited experience in BASE (40 jumps from 5 objects...BAS and 'O'), I have a greater control of what I'm doing on the object (flat and stable for me) and therefore a greater fear of the object itself. Add aerials to the mix and suddenly I'm not just afraid of the object, but what I'm doing off said object. This accounts for my slow pace...correction, zero pace...moving toward aerials. As my jumps get more complex (invariably they will over time and experience), so--I believe--will my fear. It took me a while to completely appreciate when I first entered BASE, why some of my more experienced friends described being more afraid than before with each successive jump. I understood what they were saying, but appreciated it much more as I added other objects to my logbook. As for me, I can't quantify it in a 50/50 chance with each jump, and I'm not sure how to put into words the feelings I have at an exit. One thing's for sure, though, it always comes back to the two bucket theory. I know how much I have in one of them and I know that can increase, but I'm not allowed to look in the other. In that sense, I'd prefer to think of the luck bucket as empty, for I have no control over that one, and focus on the preparation and skills that will keep me alive. -C.

I'm adding my comments based on my understanding and see if I can get confirmation on when vented PCs are appropriate. This may not be correct, or may be only partially correct. As it's been explained to me, a vented PC is more appropriate on longer delays as you approach and get into terminal deployments. The concept is that with terminal delays, a vented PC will oscillate less than a non-vented PC. As such, once you get into the 46" and greater range, vents are largely unnecessary because you're obviously taking a much shorter delay. Regarding wingsuit BASE, what are the effects of a vented PC? How much does it rely on the forward speed? If a very experienced wingsuit pilot can maintain a slower forward speed, should they go with an unvented PC? Or would it be based solely on the delay, in which case they would certainly go vented? Hope this question is clear enough. -C.

Congrats, Jaap. It's been a pleasure to be along for some of the ride and I'm looking forward to sharing an exit point with you again soon. -C.

But it might make Steve smell better than your average Canuck. -C.

Congrats to you, Steve. For what it's worth, I still think your devil jump was the coolest I've seen from you. That just looked like a shitload of fun. -C.

I've always had a hard time actually comparing climging to BASE (or skydiving). Here's why... When I'm climbing, I'm putting myself at risk for a typically much longer, extended period of time. However, time that typically affords me the ability to think through and plan each move. Sure, there's preparation on the ground, but when climging, I can normally stop and figure out a problem when 'something's not right'. BASE on the other hand... I'm throwing myself into a few seconds of an extremely high-risk activity. If 'something's not right', I have to react to correct it immediately and instinctively. There's no pause to figure out what's wrong with my gear or how I'm going to get around something. Just my $.02. -C.

Fuckin' go nutz, Jaap. That kicks ass. See ya tonight. -C.

Congrats indeed. "Karaoke", which few people know is actually Mandarin for "impossible situp". -C.

I just recently picked up a vented, full ZP topskin canopy, but I've yet to jump it on account of timing of the delivery, good judgement and reconstructive knee surgery. Needless to say, it's to be a sub-terminal canopy. Otherwise, thirty-two jumps on an unvented Fox 245 with full ZP topskin. The longest delays I've taken were 5-6, slider up, and the openings were fine. A handful have been .5 to 1 and the majority have been in the 2-3 range, slider down. Only one opening has ever spanked me. That was slider down and was a result of body position. -C.

I was thinking more along the lines of 6464... -C.

Make sure your PIN is a 4-digit PIN. Yeah, I know most are, but some are 5 or 6, depending on your bank and most European ATMs will not accept anything over 4 digits. Also, move your money over to your checking account. Found myself stuck when I wanted to take some cash out of savings and only had the option for checking. Not sure if this is still true, but it was last time I was in Europe, two summers ago. -C.

I keep a few extra carabiners and daisy-chains (sewn, like this) with my gear and have taken them up towers to clip in for a rest or safety if climbing with a cable-ascender. As for nuts, they're good passive devices for protection and a pretty damn simple concept, even for someone who's never used one. As you can see here (this is for a set, to show the range in sizes), they come in a variety of sizes and therein could lie a problem. When climbing, even a route with good beta, we'll often carry a full set of these. I don't see the necessity in really carrying a few of them along. If you do, and what you have doesn't fit you can always stack them, but now we've added complexity and might be going overboard (just like this post). Thing is, stoppers (nuts) are designed to hold a significant amount of impact force. Even the Black Diamond Micro Stoppers (smallest of which is about the size of a pinky fingernail) is designed to hold 2-8 kN when properly placed. Impact force isn't what we'd be looking for, so you might be well off enough improvising an anchor with a knotted sling, daisy chain accessory cord or, hell...dacron line...slotted into whatever cracks you can find and secured to your container. Sure it's a stretch, but stuck in that situation, I'll try anything. And I have used a system of knots at a belay station before...just not to sustain impact force. -C.

Clicky -C.