TVPB

I give you Beta versus VHS. Then PAL versus NTSC. Why didn't most people adopt PAL Beta. Marketing!!!!! $$$$$$$ r.e. the woomera or pull out reserves, it is NOT a rig for inexperienced people. Hence the market size is limited quite a bit. It's old design is NOT freefly friendly and due to the limited market it has not been modified/updated (there is a spring loaded ripcord woomera but the old pull out design remains). There you have it, MARKET, money. That is why you don't see many!!! Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Why Shocked???? Most people use a pull out or throw out on their mains all the time. Why is it acceptable on the main and not the reserve? Don't be shocked, try to understand the logic first, if you don't, ask some questions. The pullout reserve is actually a great concept. So much so, that I used that type of gear on many jumps. Systems that use a pullout reserve include the Australia built Woomera container system, and the BASE specific Sorceror (Vertigo). click here to see picture Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

As far as I know, that stands at 3!!!!!!!!!! Any takers for an equal/higher figure? Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

My point is that some people want to decide who can come in the future. Yet they came there in the past AFTER someone else. This is the reverse of the point that you bring up. It is also the same idiotic logic that comes from people who buy houses near airports and power stations, and then they want to shut them down. Who draws the line for the past and where? Who draws the line for the future, and where. Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

That Gary Cunningham bloke climbed 133 steps a few days ago!!!!!!! The lazy bugger used an elevator for the rest of the altitude! Yes, I am jealous!!! Yet he travelled about 130000 feet up, and another 130000 feet down in one day!!! That is impressive and must be some record in itself!!! Miles wound have done 25 to 30000 feet off the Potato - apparently all climbed and jumped. A bit more leg work than Gary (65 feet). Woooohhoooooooo! I guess those two are the benchmark. What about E's. There must be a lot of altitude gained by some people in other ways. I've done a few in the range of 5500 to 5700 feet exit to landing. I've also jumped around 75000 in about 10 days (Norway) but probably only climbed about 10 to 15000 of that. r.e. skydiving. The guy who holds the most jumps record did 500 or so. I assume be bailed out around 2000 feet. That means he spend One Million feet in freefall / under canopy in one day!!!! Wow!! p.s. if my math's is wrong, shoot me!!!! Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

About 36 times!!!!! 4 or so times being an idiot - human error stuff (wraps, line twists, bow tie, etc). All the other times I just had to use it!! p.s. remember that BASE jumpers use single parachute systems most of the time. THe figure for reserve rides ranges from about 1 jump in 300 up to about 1 jump in 1000 in various countries around the world. My country is about 1 in 550/600 from memory. Given that hundreds of thousands of jumps are made every year, that is a lot of reserve rides absolute and stuff all percentage wise. Every jump, allow for the fact that you will need to use the reserve. Pratice your EP's always. Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Congratulations and happy new year! How many do I have to beat??? Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Point One - unless you are 100% aboriginal, either you or your ancestors have been "welcomed from other countries and cultures into Australia with open arms". So what gives you the right to demand / determine who comes after? Since you are exercising your personal beliefs (no matter how discriminatory), why does the newcomer not have similar rights to enter the country with their own beliefs? These are the same people whose forefathers came out to this country in the first place and shot and enslaved aboriginals who were hanging out at places close to Cronulla beach. These so called "Australians" are the same people who supported the war in Iraq, believed in the boat overboard affair, have been suckered and scared into believing that the world is out to get them, think that all people should not protest in this country and should leave their problems back at home, think Australia did a wonderful job freeing the East Timorese, have their heads firmly planted up their backsides, and have zero empathy for the issues facing other people around the world, etc . . . . . and then they voted the Liberal Howard government back into power. Same as the voters in mid USA. Same as the Blair supporters in the UK. They are as narrow minded as the God fearing, Patriotic Americans who voted the Bush / Republican agenda back into power. Now, if I was of Arab or Muslim descent, I'd have the shits big time with Western/White/Anglo countries account of all the bombs (real, physical, verbal, cultural, financial) that they are constantly throwing at me. We have government officials saying that all Arabs and Muslims should be suspected of being a terrorist. Some are even legislating their right to freedom away from them. And they are also consequently taking away my personal rights to freedom and democracy. Look at the infamous "Patriot Act" in the USA, "Anti Terrorism" acts in Australia, and many other similar policies around the planet. There is a lot of anti - Lebanese sentiment around at the moment. Whilst I am not condoning the behaviour I am hearing about (especially the gang related stuff), think about where some of this behaviour and angst comes from!!! Remember Lebanon? Think about who is doing what to whom over there. Think of what money is supporting what oppression and violence. A lot of this is coming back to haunt the world now. This is the price society pays for greed and power - this greed and power is in the hands of white/anglo/christian nations at the moment. Other are being oppressed, and there are signs that this oppression is becoming more and more Orwellian as time goes by. The end result: If you keep putting someone down, eventually they will pull a gun out and kill you, or themselves. Me thinks the person was just making a point that the life guards are doing a community service which in theory would place them on higher moral ground than other people who are getting paid for doing the same role. Hence, the bashings are even a more despicable act. He probably mentioned USA because that is the only other place he could think of that has paid life guards - you know, lots of TV crap from the USA - Bayperv, etc. Ironically, Australia has a mixture of paid and volunteer life guards depending on the location. I would bet that Cronulla has paid life guards, but I could be wrong. Just like lawyers are meant to be just!!! The reality is that most media outlets are publically listed, and hence they are accountable to their boards and shareholders for profits. What drives profits? Consumption! Who consumes? The general public for most media related activity. Hence, you can't really blame the media for the crap that they present to the public. The public is demanding it. There are other influences including government policies that affect what is in the media. Its for the money honey. Greed is what drives a lot of the issues on the planet. Australia is really no different to any other country in the world. There is obvious racism in this country. Anglo's to Aborignals and Europeans, Euro's to Asians and Blacks, and now everyone to Muslims. Most cultures give preferential treatment to their own. Japanese, American, European, Asian, etc. I see it everywhere. I find that most people are welcoming if you are friendly and there is no chance of you becoming a permanent fixture in their society. But if there is a hint of permanency, their is a different attitude. I think Australia welcomes people from different cultures out of necessity overall. But I have to also say that most people I meet are friendly enough. I have been to other places in the world where it is much worse. And you also have to remember that most "Australians" are of foreign descent anyway. So if this country is unwelcoming, there is more than one culture responsible. - - - - - - - - - - Someone made a comment about decreased Policing in Australia. Check the recruitment programs and intake volumes. The Police force is upsizing. Only problem is that 3/4 are on road patrol chasing revenue from traffic infringements. ------------------ Someone mentioned targeting a race r.e. violence. Gangs by definition are a group of people who have something in common. Quite often the commonality is race, culture, or religion. When you have a culture that is suffering some oppresion as well, it becomes more likely that a minority will become more violent. Unfortunately, narrow minded media and uncultured inwardly focused people brand a whole culture based on what they see a minority of that culture doing. There are many examples of this: Croats were thought of as fascists for many years a/c their WW2 involvement. There were violent Croats in Australia over the last few decades, they are pretty rare now following Independance. The oppression has "ceased". The reason fro violence has diminished. I am not saying it is a valid reason, it just may be a root cause. Intolerance and policies of greed and power maintain oppressive situations. Hence if you can cure the root cause of the cancer, the affects are much less likely to occur. Unfortunately, $$$$$ talks. p.s. I think any person who condones, incites, or is involved in violence against others should be punished in civil ways. This includes government officials who are branding entire cultures and races as violent. p.s.s there is a good chance none of this will make sense. Happy New Year. Next glass of wine please. Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Sounds like it is a "drawing" contest rl. 20 paces my dear. Fingers at the ready. . . . . . Type. ps. this is all practice for me. If anyone takes me seriously???? Then that will make one of us - cause I certainly don't.. But if you want to delve more deeply, maybe I have some deeper underlying . . . . . . . . . (fill in the blanks here) . . . . . . Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Jaap sounds like an old timer. As you do more jumps and meet more people and do real time in the sport, you get to see more and more accidents. Many of these are totally preventable and are a direct result of human error - and I mean fundamental stuff, not freaky out of your control stuff. This is frustrating!!!!! Jaap has a basic underlying desire to help his fellow jumpers to enjoy the sport for a long time. He does not want to see his friends/aquaintances/colleagues injured/dead/scared from the sport. Not all people understand this for some obscure reason. Just my 0.02. p.s. to survive and enjoy, I beleive you need a balance of seriousness and fun. After all this sport IS SERIOUS, and it should be fun too. p.s.s how is our Aussie/Danish princess going?? Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Not quite correct. I'll start talking after we land. Jaap being the absolute fitter person of the two of us will find out very quickly that he can get at least two jumps in for each of my one. He'll end up doing at least 8 for the day whilst I am dragging my sorry fat arse (that IS the proper spelling for my learned American friends) up for my four. That means that our paths will only intersect a few times during the day. And I will be sssssoooooo much out of breath, that I won't even have enough oxygen going to my brain to sustain any meaningful talk. left foot, right foot, breath in, breath out. Jaap will recognise this VERY early on, and will then avoid me as much as possible during the day. And then. . . . . . . . But after the jumping is finished. . . . . . . . . and we are a having a few ales. . . . . . then I will come out of my quiet/instrospective/shy shell. . . . . Anyway, who are you telling Jaap that I am talkative??????? xoxoxoxoxo Tom Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Thank goodness (or fukc) for that. You will go a long way in the sport, and you are welcome downunder anytime!!!! All the very best of luck with it all. Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Here's my application Jaap: CRW - done a few. http://ozcrw.tripod.com/ Accuracy - working on it. BASE Gear - got my own and have done a couple of jumps on it. Mentor - that might be a struggle. Nobody likes me!!! And the experienced guys in my area ARE crusty old demons!! That's discrimination against "otherers". Howabout we go halves from downunder? Where do I go for the interview? You've hit that nail somewhere near the cranium!!!!! There are those that complain, and those that just get on with the business. e.g. I might look like the 20th terrorist from Sept 11th, but I still visit the good old paranoid USA despite the harrassment I get at the airports. I've got a choice, don't go and complain, OR, go and put up with a little shit for a LOT of fun!!!!! I know which is the better choice!!! Dare say that to the two second attention span, I don't give a shit, me, me, me, I have no time, I don't want to stop to smell the roses, you can stick the roses where they fit, where's my next kick, what box do I tick next, I have no respect for anything else in the universe, it's not my fault as my parents brought me up this way, Nike, Pepsi Max, etc person, and they just look at you funny or ignore you. People these days don't seem to understand about privilege, they only believe in personal rights and they blame everybody else when things don't go their way. That is what society is creating. I think so too. People are trying "stuntier jumps" but with much less skill, preparation, practice, understanding, or real applied knowledge. They are pulling it off and having a chuckle when the bridle gets caught on their feet momentarily with the ensuing two second canopy ride. Yay, cool dude, did you see the vid, man, that was tooooo cooooollllll, what a close call, yeah dude!!!!! Yet they do NOT realise that they were only 0.2 seconds away from death. Ah, but it is the nature of the sport apparently, they accepted that BASE was dangerous when they started, so dying is acceptable to them - but it IS NOT fucking acceptable to the family and friends that are left being wondering!!!!! This becomes very tiring after a while. You lose friends and aquaintances because you change from being nice and indirect to blunt after seeing one too many bounces. And it is worse when people come to you and lie about their motives, experience, etc. This is blatantly using an experienced person's time/hospitality/skills/etc for personal gain without considering the fact that you may be undermining their ethics/guilt/conscience/etc. And when people refuse to listen and pursue their own path because they think it is better or more fun, what can you do? I personally could not be stuffed wasting a second of my time on an adult who will not listen and is convinced that they are right (without any facts/background/experience/logic behind their thoughts). I will only help those that want help (if I can help). Why? My time is precious. Your (I mean the potential student here) life is only precious to me if it is precious to YOU. If you do not give a shit about your life, THAT IS YOUR DECISION. I can live with your decision.... You can live or die by it!!!!. This is why many experienced jumpers don't want to mentor. There are many other reasons: - time to move on - family, wife, children - business &/or careers - other interests etc. I think you better check that out with a Doctor Nick. One too many antenna jumps???? Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Oh?? Why Not???? I think Gary is a lazy slob. Have you seen how he packs? He can't even take the time to do a proper pack job. Now he gets other people to pack for him too. Elevators should be banned in the record attempt fine print. Oh come on, any fat bald bastard could throw themselves off an overhung building if they had access to an elevator Miles is way better at WWWHHHOOOOOO wwwwhhhhhhoooooooiiiiiiiinnnnnngggggggg too. I don't hear Gary whoo whhhoiinng! And where's the Green Cow super drink sponsor huh? It can't be a real record attempt without a drinks sponsor!!!! To the packers, remember that I've got $1000 on a lineover. Oh, by the way, I hope you guys remembered the straws, especially that one that is vertically challenged!!!! Now, with the formalities out of the way, I would like to wish Gary all the best of luck with this attempt. I hope he achieves his target and I hope that all his packers are well trained and well behaved. Maintain your focus buddy - set an example for all to follow. After all, he has to leave something challenging for me to beat!!!! To Miles, your record was a noble one too. It's all good. p.s. to those that do not understand Aussie humour, you can't be helped!!!!!! Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

If you add complexity you increase risk. Especially where all the decision making is still left to the human involved in the event in question. Your wingsuit question is like asking how long is a piece of string? Risk is a relative term and is dependant on a myriad of factors which may be radically different for different people, objects, and gear configurations. i.e. An inexperienced person jumping an underhung object with a wingsuit and no common sense is at much greater risk than an experienced conservative person jumping an overhung object without one. Then there are all the shades in between. If you take the second person and put him off an object where the slope is equal to the absolute best glide ratio of wing suit flight, and compare that with the first person who just skydives with the wingsuit, guess who is more likely to bite the dust? Once you are further away from a wall, you have reduced the risk associated with several aspects of your jump (object strikes in particular), but you have to get there first. IF you don't know how to fly a wingsuit properly EVERY time, then many BASE jumps actually become more dangerous. Best bet is to learn each of the skills separately. Learn the BASE jumping fundamentals first, learn how to fly wingsuits from an airplane, and when you have developed consistancy and skill in both, go try a BASE wingsuit flight whilst still under the tuition of an expert. I would strongly suggest a subterminal exit or two with the wingsuit before venturing into BASE... Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Sam What can I say - an excellent reply all round. With that sort of attitude I see nothing but a long and successful future in the sport for you. The fact that you took the time to consider my post and answer in an intelligent / logical/ thoughtful way shows your maturity. You were also diplomatic with my theories on high incident rates. I have lost my sense of diplomacy over the years (as you could tell - it's a great way to make friends in the sport ) and regardless of whether my response was correct, wrong, conclusion jumping, you still made an effort to answer without any personal twists or prejudice. I wish you all the best with BASE jumping and life itself. I hope to see you on the edge someday.

It's funny - I actually had all your prerequisites at or around the time I started BASE. But that is a rarity. I agree that if you had all of them you would be in a better position than not having them. But do I think they are necessary? Lets look at the PRO rating / stadium example. I have jumped into stadiums that are over 150m by 150m. Now, as a potential BASE jumper, it is better to have the skill and experience to do that than not. But are there better ways and measures for the skills that are required to do that jump? Yes. Accuracy training and skill progression is more important than getting the rating. You can get the rating based on politics and luck, but the actual skills require progression and application. There are also MANY landing areas in BASE that are much smaller and more difficult than many stadiums. Hence I would not bother pursuing the pro rating / demo jumps as compulsory but instead, pursue accuracy training. Recommeding the ratings is a great idea as there are many transferable skills. I would prefer someone who has placed well in an accuracy tournament. Mataphorically speaking, I think hands should be replaced with minds!!!! It is the decisions that you make that determine how risky an activity is, not the activity itself. i.e. "driving a car can be dangerous" -> "driving a car at excessive speed, in poor conditions, whilst under the influenceof fatigue and alcohol can be dangerous". Just because there is a remote possibility that you could die doing something, does not mean it is dangerous. Danger and risk are relative. In the examples of driving above, the second example would be considered dangerous. But the first example is a laymans way of saying - "there is a remote possibility that an accident may occur, but it is not really dangerous". Similarly, each BASE jump carries a certain level of risk. In many cases, this risk is very acceptable. Lets face it, there are not many of us who do it due to the possibility of death. We may accept that death is a possible outcome, but we do not do it because we want to die. Sometimes we can confuse that acceptance as an inevitability. Then jumpers add complexity to their jumps and bypass standard operating procedures. This is where BASE jumping becomes dangerous. I think the two scenario's are two different areas of the sport and that many jumpes believe only the second option exists. Hence the "danger" tag. A further note, in the big push for recognition and so called "legalisation" of the sport of BASE jumping, it's participants continually shoot themselves in the foot by constantly admitting to the general public, that the sport "IS" dangerous. You've made 996 jumps. If you thought that the rigger rating was that important, you did have the time and money. What you probably mean is that it is in fact, a very low priority to you. If you had the time to pack your reserve three times, you could have done it with an instructor, and it would have been a part of your training. When psuh comes to shove, we all have 24 hours in each day. We all decide how we spend that time. Most people also waste a lot of time on insignificant things. What we do each day is a reflection of our conscious priorities or our subconscious basic human needs. If you don't do something, it is not that important!!!!!!! BTW - I believe this because I am guilty of what I mention above - it is human nature. Think about the mechanical actions involved in correcting heading. It is not that complicated. Experience is one factor that gives a person awareness skills (backing your point). There are people who have life experience outside of BASE jumping where their ability to assimilate information and utilise it is well above the average person. There are also people whose life experience outside the sport has developed their awareness well beyond the average BASE jumper. These skills ARE transferable. One person in particular who showed this potential was a young Pete W from Aus. There are many others. I agree with Jaap's statement 100%. There are skydivers, and then there are skydivers. Jump numbers as a prerequisite are a filter and NOT a scientifically calculated measure of prior experience and potential futue skill. BUT, I temper this with the fact that if you do not know the experience and psychology of the potential BASE student, then you must use the jump number filter as a MINIMUM. That tells me a hell of a lot about your suitability as an instructor / tutor and your motivations. I will be sure to steer the people I know and love clear of you. You shoud at least make an effort to inform a person of risks, training, etc. This is your obligation as both a human being and a BASE jumper. IF the million jump wonder chooses to ignore you, by all means, kick mud on them and take their gear when they go in. But you MUST make an effort first. Can I suggest reading up on BASE ethics somewhere. A number of people have written versions thereof. Now, did you actually determine the root cause of the incidents????? I refer to my comments above about real and perceived risk and people's ability to measure it. For example, you stated "in my short time in this sport" this tells me that you have been in the sport for a short time (), and you are doing multi ways off cliffs???? I'd like to temper your experience with mine. In my long time in the sport, I have seen a number of accidents and fatalitites as well as many near misses, and I can categorically give you a reason for each one of those. And the most common factor is that people do dumb things. I have done them, my jumping mates have done them. Over the last 5 years in particular, the number of participants has been increasing exponentially, the amount of training and skill and experience is being heavily diluted (with x suitable instructors and an increasing number of students, how will the skill be adequately shared?). The culture of the sport is changing from adventurers the thrill seekers. This in turn attracts a different mentality to the sport. adventurers are usually good risk managers. Thrill seekers believe they don't have the time and just want the experience. The elite are pushing the limits way faster than before. There are some that feel that they need to lift the ante to stay on top of the sport, this puts them above their own risk / skill limits. If you look at your own group and your own experience and compare it to other groups, I would suggest that the incident rate is high. Sounds like people are being pushed way beyond their experience and skill level way too quickly. Compare it to other groups. On average, does yours have higher incident rates? This should tell you something about your risk tolerance, training and skill levels, and most importantly, your group dynamics and culture. If your group has not sat down and discussed this at all and looked within yourselves to see what the problem is, then you will never overcome these incidents. That does not make the sport dangerous, it means that potentially you / your group may be dangerous. You may think I am an arsehole, and I may have jumped incorrectly to conclusions (sorry if I have), but the fact remains, the incident rate of your group IS high. You are asking to back this up with real data. This is almost soundling like someone is fending off an allegation that they do not want to hear. The first step to overcoming a problem is to recognise that it exists in the first place. Several cliff strikes IS A PROBLEM, and it IS ABOVE AVERAGE. As for data, I have done many jumps and jumped with jumpers with many jumps. I know people who have frequent incidents, I know people who never have incidents, and I know that both the scenario's are based on culture and personal ability to manage risk. Accidents happen for a reason (people will argue that it is just bad luck but this is incorrect 99% of the time). If accidents are frequent, then there is something fundamentally wrong going on. You either accept this, find out what it is, and fix it. Or you just go on the way things are going with the same results. Your choice!!!! Shit, I agree with Jaap again to some extent. Time to change my thinking. The activity is actually based on physical principles and psychology amongst other things. One of them is a pure science, the other is the root cause of most problems in the sport. You can choose to either accept it or not. Sadly, that comment came from down under. I would like to temper my comments with the following: - I truly believe that BASE for the average person at the average site is relatively simple in terms of mechanics. Psychology is what makes it difficult. - most issues that occur in BASE jumping occur when people introduce complexity and unknowingly and unecessarily add risk. This complexity can start from jump number one or jump number one thousand. I believe that there are a number of fundamentals that people must learn at each STEP (yes, there are singular steps) of the learning curve. Modern BASE jumpers tend to alter, circumvent, ignore, miss steps from the learning curve. This may be deliberate, as a result of poor instruction, or for many other reasons. - BASE jumpers tend to look for other world meanings to their accidents and incidents. The absolute majority of stuff ups ARE BECAUSE OF POOR DECISION MAKING. I have made them. I have studied many incidents / accidents and this comes up as a common theme. BASE jumpers don't like to accept that they may have stuffed up. Some want to believe that what they are doing is so far out there and so risky, that they had no control over what was going on. This is a sub conscious desire for relevance, significance, and a need to feel important. - nobody should take the sport of BASE jumping for granted. This even includes static lines into water all the way up to extremely complex wingsuit flights from underhung mountains. - those that learn in a logical / step by step manner and are honest with themselves and prepared to say no, will have the greatest chance of success. - it does take a special person to BASE jump. I beleive that the physical is only a small part of the "special". To me the sport is more about managing the psychological than the physical. Not withstanding people who are totally uncoordinated or incapacitated, mots people could do it IF AND ONLY IF THEY HAD THE RIGHT PSYCHOLOGICAL MAKEUP. This is what makes excellent BASE jumpers excellent. The BASE Gods are those that have a combination of the physical and the psychological. - Longevity in the sport is in direct proportion to your decision making ability. Dumb decisions = short time. Smart decisions = long time. No matter how much of an athlete you are, if you are an idiot, then you are an idiot and the chances of you stuffing up are higher. - etc, lots of other reasons. If they choose not to avoid them after knowing that they are there, then that is a choice. By definition, a choice is a choice that each person can choose to make. If you knew the risk and then decided to proceed, well, you have pulled the trigger and accepted the outcome. Remember that one step of the hierarchy of hazard control is to say NO. Once you know that a risk exists, you can also choose to manage it in ways that may alter the risk level. i.e. If you have decided that you MUST do a 100 ft jump and you have the options of a hard earth or water jump, well, there is risk and there is managing risk. I know which one is a smarter / lower risk choice. What if you decided that you had to do a 100ft slider up jump? I don't think this is dangerous at all. I would just jump straight to the fact that this is stupid. We already know that the likelihood of success for this is virtually non-existant. Yet people still make these types of decisions and then correlate the activity with the word dangerous. ME. Sorry Tom, as you know I enjoy having intellectual debates with intelligent people. So I had to put that one in.. But in general, as time progresses you point becomes more and more valid. So too is the number of cliff strikes & general incidents (per capita and gross), to me there is a correlation between accident rates and parallel participation in both sydiving and BASE jumping. Basically, those that make an effort and are realistic and use their brains have a higher chance of success compared to those that just "Nike It" (Just Do It). If you don't have the time for your own safety and hence, your life, well, that is a decision that you have made and you have to live with the consequences. But don't blame danger on the outcome!!!!! Anyway, gotta go. CYA Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Who said employers didn't like BASE jumpers? Funny you should mention that, I had an interview on Monday and one of the interviewers said quite smugly "so, you're a BASE jumper". My response was something along the lines of, "so, my reputation preceeds me. Now, let me tell you about risk management, safety systems, standard operating procedures, and the correlation between all these and improving safety performance. . . . .". An interactive discussion followed. The questioner changed their opinion. I guess it is all about perceptions!!!!!! In my current business, I have done a number of "guest safety presentations" from shop floor level to upper management. If you sound systematic, progressive, and intelligent, your business will like it. If you sound like a yahoo or your business is full of backwards people, then they won't like it. But in the end. Who cares what they think. I jump, therefore I am!!!!!!!!! Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

I spent years trying to convince people of what I think is the right way of getting into the sport, some just would not listen. With more information and better access to equipment as well as more jumps sites, it has become harder and harder to police the sport and control new people getting into it. Hence, if a person wants to spin an elaborate lie like your scenario, I stay clear. If the scenario is genuine, it shows me that their priorities are not highly geared towards BASE anyway, hence I still stay clear. They will eventually find someone who will say yes, but there is not much I can do about that. No jumper has any obligation to teach another person how to BASE jump. The obligation is with the person who wants to jump to make an effort. Final words: I also believe in natural selection. If an adult is hell bent on being an irresponsible dickhead, wants to circumvent a logical training regimen, doesn't care about undertaking BASE in the "proper" way, then I personally don't care one bit if (s)he goes in. That is a decision they have made. I do however care for their loved ones, and higher than that, the sport itself. Hence my responsibility as a potential instructor of BASE students if to give them as much assitance, information, and feedback as possible. But my responsibility to the sport is to teach the students properly (And if I can't teach well to get someone else to do it), or to turn them away if they are not appropriate. If they try to find a back door into the sport, then mother nature has every right to take care of them in her own way!!!!!!! Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Yep - the joys of travel, time, being focused on BASE for a number of years, competing with friends on who can conquer the most virgins, being bored with regular objects on occasion, being in other places at certain times a/c other commitments, because they are there, it's not that hard when you start looking, and I love virgins. Just did a new bridge the other day too. Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Of course - I was backing your point for the general masses to absorb. I wasn't directing at you because you ARE saying the same thing. Cheerio Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

I've actually got a set of 6 Dutch microlined Tri's at the moment. Everyone is too scared to jump them. Flacid appendages!!!!!! I agree that micro lines make the canopies fly more efficiently. BUT. . . . . . . There is no point shaving your chest hair if your swimming stroke is up to shit!!!!!!!!!!!! And in case you did not understand that metaphor, I also think that until your technique puts you in the top couple of teams in the world, don't worry too much about micro physics and equipment. Work on your technique. There is no real point in trying to save 1/100 of a second with microline (guesstimate based on nothing) if you are averaging average scores. Case in point, we left for a training camp in the USA in 2003 unable to get past 14's in rots. Three days into the camp, we were lucky to get double figures. Then we suddenly challenged people's comfort zones (team bitch session). Two days later, the majority of our jumps were 15's. Since then, we have had scratch teams with no training getting 16's. This has all been achieved via technique (great coaching from Jim/Fio) and team/individual psychology. This was all done on clapped out Lightnings in the 143/126 range. Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

What, you can't chew it yourself????? You need someone to mash/break it up for you first???? Seriously though, I have been there - early 1999 for jumping. There are some very interesting sites. You know all the popular ones of course. It would be rude of me to mention them here. I also did a bunch that are not regulars. And some plain dumb ones too. There were corroded ladders up chimneys, howling winds in narrow gorges, generous publicans in London Central, antennas to the east, bridges to the west, cliffs to the west and south, suicide signs at exit points, the list goes on. I had a fun time with some of the locals one day. I was waiting at a very popular site to the east of the city. Saw two people coming with stash bags. So I pretended to be a security guard / land owner for a little while. The reaction I got when they finally found out I was one of them and a convict. . . priceless. We did some nice jumps in inter winds. I think their names were Pierre and Simon (sorry - I have an ever diminishing memory). The great thing about London - a vibrant metropolis only a few hours flying away from the wonders of Europe. p.s. to Sabre210 - it was inconspicuous, something like 5 to 6am on a Sunday morning, no one around (except us jumpers). At a time when the jumping population was minimal. The weather was crap (it is London of course ), and everyone was still asleep indoors. p.s.s. old timers??? Watch it buddy. Although I am getting softer in my "old age". Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

The English gentry rate their objects difficult and challenging and themselves as "hard"?????? Perhaps they should travel to distant shores and see how their convict peasants down under compare. The challenge is on old chaps. You're all welcome anytime. Is that how big you guys make your student landing areas??? So what is the landing area size for experienced jumpers? We tend to use postage stamps. Unless we have an off day, then it's and A4 notebook. But it has to be covered in big sharp rocks too. Jump Numbers Versus Object Numbers Its all good people's. As long as you are jumping, nothing is bad. Every extra jump builds your skill and experience level. Jumping the same object many times allows a person to improve and perfect a particular subset of skills. For example, a person who only jumps at the Perrine is more likely to develop better aerobatic competency than a person jumping 100 buildings around the world. You can also experiment more on jump sites you are familiar with. This allows the opportunity to develop a greater/broader subset of skills. A person who jumps a wide variety of objects develops a different set of skills altogether. Some include: - abilty to analyse, interpret, and plan a jump. This incorporates a range of skills including potential problem and risk analysis, gear configuration and execution as well as the logic behind each scenario, survival skills in terms of having to think of a greater range of risks and methods to resolve them, etc. - gear configuration - varyring deployment techniques, exit positions, freefall positions, etc. - accuracy skills - I think that each person should focus on what the aims/ambitions/goals are in BASE jumping. Once you've done this, you will be able to work out whether lots of jumps off a few sites or a few jumps off many sites is important to you. Each to their own... Overall, a person with a wider variety of objects, a higher number of jumps, and a broader range of types of experiences and skills would be considered of higher experience. An experienced person is one who has consistantly shown that they are able to successfully complete a maneouvre or task on multiple occasions. They are considered even more experienced in a broader sense, if the range of skills are many and varied. All the best. Love your work. See you on the edge. Preferable not half way down. xoxoxoxo Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.

Sorry - had to pick you up on this one. There is a lot more variation than 2 pack jobs. Configuration of the deployment system is an INTEGRAL part of the pack job (the most important part in my books). There is basically a lot more than two pack jobs....... Imagine if someone said rope jumping is basically three setups???? I agree with you, there is certainly more variation in rope jumps. Stay Safe - Have Fun - Good Luck The above could be crap, thought provoking, useful, or . . But not personal. You decide.