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   Yo !

I remember the time when packing a parachute was fun. Trying to figure out the best way to pack was a challenge, and deploying a new version of a packjob was exciting. Then things get dialed in. It becomes a 10-minute quickie, really not an issue when you make ten jumps a night on autopilot. Later yet packing becomes boring, but that's the price we pay to jump, right ? Well, now it came to a point where i hate packing with a passion, and many jumps are simply not worth a packjob. I have asked, begged, tricked and blackmailed other people to pack for me on multiple occasions. This is ridiculous. One would imagine with all the recent advances in technology and marketing BASE manufacturers could at least supply a packer or two with every rig... but nooo, all you may hope for is a lousy video describing a horrific torture with clamps that would make your nipples bleed!

Thoughts of base competitions judged by a pack job perfomance give me the creeps. Like a quick trashpack wasn't enough pain and suffering! What's next? Carrying a judge to the exit point???

So, how do you handle this? Is packing fun, routine or a pain in the arse for you?

bsbd!

Yuri.

I'm just shy of 100 jumps and I guess I'd put it in the "rotuine" category right now.

I don't mind too much while I'm doing it, but I do have trouble motivating myself to actually get started. And I've lost count of the jumping opportunities I've missed simply because I had sort of an "Ahhhh... I don't wanna pack" attitude.

Usually this occurs during a weeknight when I've gotten home from work and just don't want to go through the 4 hour+ long process of packing, driving, setting up, climbing/riding, jumping, cleaning up and driving home.

Weekends (when the weather cooperates, which has been rare lately) are a different matter.

Dear friends

If you don't want to pack why don't you get Ray L of Bounceproof Rigging (formerly of SoftCock fame) to build you a NOPAK purpose built rig for those swinging monkey and Mary-Poppins jumps.

Worldwide release date: May 29, 04 Mem Day Boogie TF!!

Ever seen a round inversion mal on a base jump? Be the first to witness a roundmcconkeyparabilleject...

Because unpacked (McConkey, TARD etc) exits are by definition not BASE jumps but rather variations of a paragliding launch. Fun nevertheless! ;-)

bsbd!

Yuri.

I do not care, it has to be done so I do it :)

I have seen a Norwegian guy moving around his unpacked canopy on a packing tarp on a boogie for hours hoping that some rookie would mistaken it for their own gear and then panic to not be packed and pack it for him :) what can I say ... nice try ;)

PerFlare

were i am right now(100+ jumps),i really like to pack MY canopy,but no i wont pack yours

Hi Yuri

If I liked packing I would be the first jumper with 1000000 BASE jumps!!!! It sucks.

Add CRW pack jobs, freebie reserve pack jobs for your so called "mates", and I get the shivers whenever I see a messy pile of nylon and strings. That's why I started jumping what I called the "WAD" all those years ago. One minute and your in freefall!!!

But I still do my own pack jobs 99% of the time for BASE. I'm a paranoid person.

;)

>>Ahhh, WAD jumps...I believe that stands for Wild Ass Deployment doesn't it?

I agree with Yuri. If the parachute is not packed, then it is not a BASE jump but rather a paragliding launch, sometimes very unorthodox. Perhaps one would consider a WAD as being packed but just deployed in a very unique way.

If you had a chance to see Huge at Bridge Day last year you might have notice a move I like to call a Utah Drop. Its basically when you exit the object dropping under your unpacked canopy. Usually dropping between the canopy and the object. In the clip I showed at Bridge Day I was in TF dropping between my canopy and the bridge but the first one I ever did was back in 1986 from a cliff in Provo, Utah. Back in those days I was basically a psychotic air-junkie. I had been experimenting with flying my 7-cell ram-air canopy off of slopes. Now this was before the arrival of paragliding. A skydiving buddy Mike Thompson and I were planning on doing some launches off a cliff one day in Utah County, Utah. Due to variable winds my canopy ended up blowing over the edge. I intentionally dropped off going into freefall for a second. Lucky for me I ended up flying away from the cliff since I had not made any BASE jumps yet and would have had to figure out a rapid heading correction by the seat of my pants. Mike ended up hiking down after watching it. The thing about the Utah Drop is that the heading is uncontrollable so you could easily die doing it from a cliff or a building. Also, the risk of a malfunction is probably higher.

Here is some Video of two different Utah Drops found in the Library section of my website. Enjoy!

Wild ass? Nah!

Of all the canopy out of the container deployments I've seen / done, the WAD is probably the most reliable and safest. It is in affect a normal deployment with the p/c inflation + canopy extraction components removed from the deployment sequence. The others have a much higher chance of line overs, line twists, and off headings. Not much fun off a cliff.

 
>>Heh heh just poking a little fun! WAD jumps are actually quite safe if you can keep the pack together till launch and don't throw it...and don't hang on to it for too long. Like you said w/ no pc and no extraction there's less to go wrong. And apparently, hanging out waiting for it to turn into a big beautiful canopy is a kick in the heart ha ha! Kinda surprised it's not used more often on the low stuff.

The UTAH drop looks essentially like I was thinking a "pull-off" would look like. Let some wind grab the canopy, and the forward pull would leave about no option other than to get off the object (unless tied in), and the canopy would stay out in front of you. The only thing I was wondering was what happpens with the heading.
Great pics.......good stuff.


Thomas

On the west coast, that move is generally referred to as an "under". The Tahoe guys have been doing quite a few of them.

I think if you had some kind of seat belt to hold yourself in while you kited the canopy, you could actually get pretty good heading. The problem appears to be that you can't both line the canopy up in a strong tailwind _and_ hold yourself onto the object at the same time.

The Utah Drop is a hardcore move. I did this move long before the Tahoe guys even knew what ram-air parachutes were. The Utah Drop is an under move just like the McConkey Flip is an over move. Only difference is I actually pioneered the unknown whereas Shane repeated what the paraglider pilot had already done. Dont get me wrong…I think Shane is a great guy and a great BASE jumper. In fact we were on a team together at Bridge Day 2000 and took second place. I tend to call rollovers McConkey Flips, and likewise I call this move a Utah Drop.

Tom A., dont talk like you know so much about it when you dont. There are more factors involved that you have not mentioned nor considered.

People, this move is dangerous! Be careful!

One of the major factors involved is rotors and turbulence caused by the object. Proper timing of the exit is very important. Also, you probably should not jump with your parachute in a ball of garbage like the wind tends to blow it into. Common sense has always told me that this would increase the chance of a malfunction or severe line twist.

CrazyThomas, you can time your exit to leave when its pulling you off but just be aware that the chute can suddenly blow back under you in certain wind-shadow (rotor) conditions. Exit timing is critical. I personally like to leave when the canopy is moving outward. Plus I really like falling right past my canopy in the most sickest way. Makes for some gnarly visuals and wacky thoughts. As far as the heading goes, it can be really unpredictable.

A bunch of teenage chicks picked by MD crew have read this post, left us and wish to do Utah immediately. The only adult female member, however, has refused to even consider such a possibility.

bsbd!

MD crew.

ok, so if I take Johnny Utah's course at the Perrine, can I have a move named after me? I'm thinking a floater should not be called the M-drop.

yo dudes,

My friends and I just took our parachutes off of a tower.....I think I'll call it BASE jumping. This is not for the faint of heart!

Yea, BASE jumping rules!!!

Johnny Utah Rules!

Skin JUF#1

PS Give me a holla when the chicks from MD get there...I've got a clean pair of speedos and a root vegetable close at hand.

I have been practice pracking my new Ace 310 a bunch of times and am starting to get the hang of it. I guess the best part of BASE packing is that it makes packing my Stilletto 170 seem like it's a double-digit canopy! Packing still sucks!

Wow, another shameless self promoation, with pics. But sadly once again, you are late to the party. One time at camp, in the 6th grade I jumped off a picnic table with a sheet, and it looks just like the pic of your "rad" move off the bridge. Its actually called the Maryland Duck. Perhaps you can sweet talk Shane, and he will let you call his move a McUtah. Or better yet, how about the Utah Wad? That has a nice ring to it. Or maybe a UTARD? Maybe we can take some other rad terms from other tired late 80's movies and change the name of every established move in BASE.

Seriously dude, if you ever do anything first, (you know, something that others have't been doing for years that you suddenly "discover" and then somehow remember doing it 15 years) you can name it the Winkel-Hop.

Gee Tree, Im just not feeling the love. Why are you always so negative to so many people by putting people down and making false accusations? Fact is, you have said some really ignorant things in the past.
For example:


When I read this post of yours, I was astonished by its degree of ignorance, yet I didnt post a reply and put you down over it like you do to so many others. I hope youre feeling better these days after hooking-it-in and getting all busted up on that recent BASE jump. The ground has a way of teaching respect doesnt it. Even though you are always flaming people, I hate to hear about any fellow BASE jumper getting hurt.

The thing is Mark, your flaming ways are getting tired and old. You are quite the Nancy Negative these days. Get over yourself and let people have fun doing their thing.

Yeah, I like promoting the Utah Drop. Its RAD!!!

BTW- I have done lots of firsts. Spread the love.

Not directed at outrager:

Ok, enough people. If you want to try this thread again, we'll see how it goes the second time.