Basejumper.com - archive

>I believe we are TOO EASY on the newbie punks that infiltrate our small sport.<

Too Carl Boenish, Jimmy Tyler is a newbie punk.

Too Jimmy Tyler, Phil Smith is a newbie punk.

Too Phil Smith, Mark Hewitt is a newbie punk.

Too Mark Hewitt, Moe Viletto is a newbie punk.

Too <Insert Name>, <Your Name> is a newbie punk.

This sport is bigger and more important than anyone of us, it’s bigger and more important than any particular object, BASE jumping cannot be rented, owned, or sold, and no one has the right to refer to it, even temporarily as, “ours.”

BASE jumping is nothing more than humankind’s practical manifestation of its burning desire to fly, to be free, to be more than we are now.

And the only thing any of us are local to is planet Earth . . .

Nick D
BASE 194

Keen & humbling perspective as usual Nick. Thanx.

We're all freaks just trying to find our way, hopefully learning as we go.

I wish I had an old issue of the Fixed Object Journal to read more on history like this.....the only problem is that everyone paid for their subscription, but didn't receive anything. Hmmm.....

If you jump a high profile object in a National Park at 11am at the start of rafting season, you deserve to be ridiculed. Fortunately, newbie punks often turn into great jumpers because they learn from the mistakes they've made.

BASE jumping will always be "my" sport and I'll always refer to it as such. It's OUR sport and we can control 99% of those who participate through our own unwritten rules. That's the benefit of no formal regulation....

I am a newbie to the BASE world and I'm sure I am a punk in some other people's eyes (even though I'm not really young). But I don't really think of myself as a "Newbie Punk".

I had an interesting adhoc conversation with an experienced BASE jumper today at lunch talking of the recent burning events at a popular local object (and I unfortunately know most if not all of the people involved and would like to consider the people on both sides of this fence as friends) and it's unfortunate that things have worked out the way they have. These so called other newbie punks are good people and very enthusiastic towards BASE. But sometime enthusiasism isn't the emotions we need to be showing. Sometimes stepping back and listening to the more experienced people is the way to go. We all want to become experienced jumpers and jumping is a way to gain some experience. But listening to people is also the smart thing to do. I know this newbie punk has so much to learn.

Maybe I should call myself "Sponge Steve".

Your dead wrong about controlling any one. That my friend will never happen

http://www.crmojo.com/adobepdf/ethics.pdf

Good set of rules to try and follow. I particularly like the ending where it said "BASE jumping is not about cheating the reaper. BASE jumping is the science of low altitude parachute deployments and the art of self jump mastering". I wonder how many people out there BASE jump because they get a rush from cheating death?

beautiful... i think i might put this in my sig line

>We're all freaks just trying to find our way, hopefully learning as we go.<

Yes, Karin, that's right. We are only hampered by those who don't realize the future is just history in reverse . . .

Nick D
BASE 194

nicely put

>> I believe we are TOO EASY on the newbie punks that infiltrate our small sport.< <

>> <Insert Name>, <Your Name> is a newbie punk. <<

Yes, that heiarchy has always been with us and will continue. What galls me is the same people who screwed up jumping from airplanes are now showing up in BASE. When so called "skydiving" first came into my life, it was a similar (if not the same) feeling as you expressed below:

>> BASE jumping is nothing more than humankind’s practical manifestation of its burning desire to fly, to be free, to be more than we are now. <<

Then came the yuppies, the big $$$ DSOs, and the U$PA to support them, along with Big Business Tandems and on and on and on..... Thus, screwing up the feeling that skydiving used to have and then became available only in BASE. Now, the "skydiving Bowlers" want to bring that to BASE and flood it with life killing crap. I sure don't mind new people with good understanding of what BASE means (But it means more than just a definition) coming into BASE. But are some providing "BASE Mills" similar to The Tandem Mills for the $$$ ? Thats not a good thing. BASE does NOT need a bunch of new Generation Z goobers who view BASE as an extension of Airplane Jumping, to be done every third week or when the ceiling is too low to get a plane up. Skydiving is good --- good to learn enought to get into BASE. If that ain't the way you feel it, stick to SkyBowling.

In case it wasn't clear, this post was nothing against Nick D., it just used his post as a jumping of point.

BASE is continually evolving. I sure as hell don't know where it's evolving to, and I doubt anyone else does either.

I do think it's evolving in lots of different directions, though. It'll be neat to see where they all go...

i will always be newbie to this sport,the day i cant learn more i probaly die or drop out..

How can someone else's actions change the "feeling" skydiving gives you? Nothing has changed about the physical act...

mony can change anything...

Not your own feelings, if you refuse to let it.

I'll have to get the sound bite, but I think Carl summed it up pretty succinctly...

"BASE is the celebration of life."

When Ritchie made his 300th BASE jump (back in the day) I asked him what it felt like and he said, "I’m not sure I know, except, this is my 300th and I'm scared . . . so all I know for sure is when you make your 300th BASE jump you'll still be scared."

Nick
BASE 194

Let them come. I bet I can still impress just about all of them with the way my knees knock at the exit point.

jon