TomAiello

Ray, BASE needs you. Seriously. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Yes. Jimmy and I already decided to do that. I've got several little signs printed out, but right now we've got winds gusting 30-50, so I'll wait until they die down a little before I try to make a sign stay up there. Plus, I think it's extremely unlikely anyone is going to try to make a jump in this. I've called the local jumpers, and I think I've talked to everyone in from out of town, plus a couple others who are arriving tonight. If anyone knows of anyone else who's going to be here tomorrow, I'd appreciate if you could spread the word. It was pretty much just a random bad landing. I wasn't there, so I can't really say more than that. It wasn't my student (it wasn't an Apex student either, if anyone is wondering), and I didn't see the incident. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You can minimize damage to the PC by using the bridle to extract the canopy, rather than the PC itself. BASE 428 wrote a good post on this topic here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The Twin Falls County Sheriff has asked BASE jumpers not to jump from the Perrine Bridge tomorrow, Wednesday 6/14/06. The road to Centennial Park (the boat dock) is closed for road construction (it is being widened, so explosives are in use). Today, we had a very minor accident (a first jump student with a broken ankle) that had to be helicoptered out of the canyon because it is impossible to get a car to the bottom, or a boat to the landing area (even for the Sheriff's office). As a result, the Sheriff's office has asked that jumping stop until the road is reopened, which is expected to happen late tomorrow. I will verify when the road is re-opened, and post that info here. Thanks for helping us to stay on good terms with the Sheriff by respecting this request. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've split the "when to get out of BASE" discussion off this thread, into it's own thread. It started with Ray Losli's post, which is still on topic for this discussion. Because I moved Ray's post, I am reproducing it here: -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've got a ZP PC that feels pretty porous. When you hold it over your mouth you can breath through it. You couldn't do that when it was new, in 1999. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Last I knew (a couple years ago), both Atle and Douggs had laptops that could do that. I'd bet you'll have no problem finding one. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Ironically, that company provides insurance coverage for me teaching BASE (off a bridge, over water--no wingsuits yet, though, I may have to give them a call). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Land Owner ≠ Tower Owner -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

What's your level of BASE experience? Be sure to read the Site Guidelines (attached to this post as .pdf file, with a little clean up for English grammar--the original is in this thread as well as clearly posted in several places near the wall. You may want to talk to some locals or near-locals (there are several who post here) so hopefully they'll chime in. The easiest plan from the US is to fly into Malpensa (Milan area's biggest airport) and rent a car there, then drive out to the site. This will also give you a car for shuttling to the trailhead. BASE283 posted a nice diagram of wind conditions there (can somebody find it and post the link?), if you look through the forum. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I agree with your reasoning, but fold the PC differently than what you are describing. In my opinion, holding a mushroom in your hand yields very similar hesitation rates to holding the mushroom in your BOC. If your going to hold the PC in your hand, there are other ways to fold it that can yield noticeably lower rates of hesitation. You can also, for very short delays (like 0-0 seconds), hold the PC at the very bottom (the bridle attachment), which, when done properly, can pretty much eliminate any chance of a hesitation. There has been a fatality apparently resulting from holding the PC with too much flapping out the top, for too long a delay (see #19). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The pilot chute size issues on BASE jumps don't apply on skydives, and vice versa. On a skydive, an oversized PC will tend to strip the line stows off your bag, giving you line dump (and hence usually a fairly hard opening). On a BASE jump (where there is no bag) an oversized PC will distort the pack job as it moves to line stretch (because it's ripping the bridle attachment and center cell out of the pack job), which can actually lead to slower openings (and worse heading, increased chances for a line over or tension knot, etc). The PC size issues don't translate between skydiving and BASE very well because of the differences in the deployment systems (primarily the absence or presence of the deployment bag). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

It depends on many other factors. I usually go stowed. I don't think so. What wind conditions are you considering, though? There are good reasons for each. For example, you might want to go stowed because you have to wiggle onto the exit point through the structure, and it's hard to do that while hand held. Some thoughts on each option: Stowed: Con: 1) The chance for a hesitation is greater. This is much more noticeable with a larger PC and a shorter delay. At 2 seconds with a 42, I think there is a difference in hesitation rate, but a relatively small difference. 2) You must pull higher to achieve the same opening altitude, which typically exposes you to greater wind effects during the opening sequence. 3) A strong tailwind can blow the PC under your arm, potentially entangling your bridle with your hand/wrist/arm. 4) Strong (jumper's) right-to-left crosswinds can push the PC back into the jumper when it is thrown. Pro: 1) It's far easier to get onto tricky exit points, because both hands are totally free. 2) If you are doing any rotations in freefall, you keep the bridle contained and out of the way. 3) It is possible to use your hands slightly more effectively in launch to create greater object separation. 4) Many jumpers are far more current stowed, so they are less likely to throw their body position off with the pitch. 5) All your friends will think you are cool. Hand Held: Con: 1) It's harder to maneuver onto the exit. 2) It takes some time to fold the PC and route the bridle. It might be hard to come by that time in some high pressure exit situations, where you must make a very short window. 3) It's possible for freefall wind to blow the bridle around and do weird things with it (like flipping it under your elbow). Pro: 1) Lower hesitation rate (with the 42 at 2 seconds, not a huge deal--but as the delays get shorter and the PC's larger, it matters more). 2) You can pull lower regularly, which may keep you out of higher winds at greater altitude, and might also make your friends think you are cool. 3) You can more precisely time your opening, which could be important if you must clear an obstacle in freefall, but then need to open as quickly as possible once it has been avoided. 4) It's much more difficult to miss the PC, or fumble the pitch. 5) All your friends will think you are old school. There are many more points both pro and con, but those are some that I thought up off the top of my head this morning. There is a time and place for each, I think, but I also think that most people (including myself) default to "stowed" and that's not necessarily the smartest thing to do. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

...The latter group is the monster we have created over the past few years, and it's the group we really need to be afraid of. I disagree. The people who actually read all that information on the internet are far less worrisome than the people who have no idea that it even exists. The guys I worry about are these: "I don't think BASE is for me...but my buddy says it's all good, and he's cool. I don't see any information anywhere that says he's wrong. I guess it really is so easy a bag of dog food could do it. Woohoo! Here we go! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I'd heard that Jimmy Freeman also jumped with them? And, um, what's the definition of "highest" in this context? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If you put the pile portion of the velcro on the bridle, it shouldn't create any problem. The hook portion (the more likely to snag) is on the rig, and not hitting the PC mesh. Vertigo used this velcro configuration for many years, and in my opinion it's the best way to go for routing and controlling the bridle when handheld, and has no real entanglement potential when stowed. To repeat: The key is to put the pile (soft) side of the velcro on the bridle, and the hook (sharp) side of the velcro on the shoulder. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

If you run a forum search for "Loic" or "Soul Flyers" you can see a bunch more stuff. Let's keep that to the original threads, though. Thanks! -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Dianese (and other companies) sell the pads for their armor systems separately, so that you can replace just a pad or two. You could easily buy the entire set and sew them into some other suit. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Thanks to everyone who donated. And especially thanks to Jamie for organizing this. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

These guys are the real deal. The chances you're going to see them selling soda pop is pretty close to zero. In the next edition of the BASE dictionary, I'm pretty sure if you look up "being a true bad-ass without selling out even his pinky finger" you'll find a picture of Andreas. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That's my job. Let's try to calm down here. Bryan, this is the one and only time I've ever seen you get angry on one of the forums. Let's leave it there, ok? Jerry, and the other Bryan, I recommend you pay some attention to what bps is saying here. He's got a point. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I worked about 70 hours in the week before Memorial Day. And somehow, I didn't get paid for it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Hmmm. Perhaps this explains the 3 injuries in Moab in the past week? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I was at the top watching. Someone on the ground would probably have a better angle to say, but in my opinion, he wouldn't have been able to even get the toggles off before he got the ground. I'm doubtful that the slider would have made it all the way to the links before impact. 7 or 8 slider down would lose you the rest of your altitude. Taking that kind of delay with no slider would probably result in an opening hard enough to injure you and damage your gear. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Something like the spine protector on a Dianese Jacket--articulated pieces of hard plastic, with a honeycombed crush pad underneath, and foam padding between that and the jumpers back. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com