TomAiello

Hard openings, essentially. The control lines repeatedly yank the white loops into the pins, bending them over time. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I have not heard a recommendation from Apex on the slider down v. off issue with WLO's. Apex does not recommend using WLO's for slider down (or off) jumps, because of bent pin issues. Since the WLO's are really only useful on slider up jumps anyway, it shouldn't be too hard to change them out when you pull the slider down. If you get clarification from Apex on this, please post it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

All, Remember that TowerTopper is a professional in the tower construction field. When he says "call me" he may not mean "call your average BASE jumper." It's more likely he is speaking from a professional standpoint, and pointing out that tower professionals are experienced and practiced at these kind of situations. Seen in that light, it's pretty reasonable to say "the fire department probably should have called in some tower professionals who had experience at these kinds of situations." -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I went hand held on my first jump. In my opinion, it's a bad idea. If you blow your first exit, and end up head low (or head down), there is some potential for serious problems. I disagree. Some of it depends on the object. I don't think very much of it is dependent on the student. On a first jump, you really don't know what's going to happen. I've had students I thought would be great, who totally froze up and blew the first jump. I've also had students I was concerned about who did very well. Just because one person gets lucky doesn't mean it's a good decision. This is the kind of attitude that gets people killed. It's exactly the same kind of attitude as "if I flew all the way to Norway, I'm going to jump no matter what, even if conditions are terrible!" Compared with being able to walk for a couple months, or compared with having the rest of your life, what are those 20 minutes worth? Heck, you'll spend more time than that packing for the jump. Patience is a virtue in BASE even more than in most other things. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

That's maybe not the wisest kind of advice to give out. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

You hope in vain. What is it with this thing getting reposted lately? Has it been in the news again or something? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I can say for certain that the little chihuaha did well when duct taped to the chest strap of a jumper performing aerials. And the dog thing is so 90's. It's all about live cats now--that's about the only thing left, isn't it? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

However, in my experience, more often than not; A person's attitudes and approach to a virtual community like DZ.com can be fairly indicative of their attitudes and approach to a real life community (like the BASE community). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I've used a pro-track to log data off big cliffs. I never tried to use it as an audible, though. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Seconded. Actually, I think it's kind of better if the story of Eric Ryde is passed on by word of mouth, in person. His legend is great, and his deeds (and misdeeds) legion. I think he used to post on BLiNC, but I haven't seen him here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I read many of the other forums here. I'll just say that I'm taking everything you say with a grain of salt, based on your record. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't think Jeff reads this board. I'll try to dig out his phone number and PM you. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I know an experienced jumper who (relatively recently--within the last 2 years) actually destroyed another jumpers gear after a "failure to find locals" type incident. Those things are still happening. You just don't generally read all about them on the internet (or, really, anywhere else). -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Details are still sketchy, but it sounds as if he was climbing, didn't reach the top, and exited from somewhere lower. Wind was apparently not a factor (light to non-existent), and he had an offheading, resulting in wire strike. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

I don't think we have any information about John's delay. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

In general, I agree. I've posted some thoughts on how this could have happened in the other thread. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

To add to Yuri's post in the other thread about this jumper: It ought to be pretty much impossible to strike a terminal tower. Not only do you have plenty of time to track away, but you also ought to have any available wind blowing you away from object strike. However, I know that this tower is sometimes jumped into the upwind sectors. I have no idea why, as there is clear landing in all 3 quadrants. But I have seen, on multiple occasions, jumpers exiting into the upwind quadrant when the wind shifts. Apparently, they haven't realized that you can walk around and jump the downwind side, no matter which direction the wind is blowing. I have had a couple of mystifying (to me) conversations with jumpers at this tower who told me that they were jumping the upwind side because "that's the side we jump". You can read my (rather angry) account of one such incident here. Although I do not know what happened specifically in this case, the weather history for Walnut Grove shows the wind from a non-standard direction. From these facts, I would guess that the jumper exited into an upwind quadrant and was blown back into the guy wires. Safety note to all: Always jump towers into the downwind quadrants. Change the direction of exit to maintain a downwind exit, so that the wind helps move you away from the tower, rather than blowing you toward it. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Threads in BASE forum here and here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

News report here. Bonfire thread here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

More discussion here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Generally it's misdemeanor, unless they start trying to tack other stuff on, say, if you were running from the Rangers or something. You might try to contact some of the folks who have been busted there and ask about specifics in private. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

The charge is Illegal Aerial Delivery. More info here. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

Can you confirm that this is the same guy who was injured in Colorado 2 weeks ago? It seems rather soon for him to be out jumping again, doesn't it? -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com

About 600 BASE jumps. About 100 wingsuit flights from planes. My first 15 or so BASE flights were all in a 3 day period, off the same object. It wasn't particularly high (about 1650) but it had the advantage that I got to practice exits repeatedly in a short period of time. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com