Basejumper.com - archive

A friend of mine and I are both interested in doing atleast one BASE..he says <edit, site naming ~TA>, I say Twin Falls....(perhaps both Babycakes..I'll compromise) But I'm curious if the incidents are much higher or equal to that of skydiving incidents. But just like a potato chip..ya just can't eat one, can you?

 
All BASE jumps are dangerous so either, if prepared for correctly . . .

NicK
BASE 194
http://www.basefatalities.info/

base is a much higher risk than regular skydiving. read the fatality list from nick and think it over. do not go into something like that, without very proper training.
still too much jumpers die in both sports. see the number of skydive jumps done in the world and count the fatalities. estimate the base jumps and do the same with that. the incidents are higher.

Bridge day in West Virgina is a good place to exprience a first jump. Many experience ther first jumps here. Approximatly 876' to impact.

BASE jumping varies from more dangerous to much more dangerous.

The danger relates to what happens if you have a bad exit (unstable exits off cliffs lead to wall-strikes and fatalities, while it's impossible to hit many bridges in freefall), where you are compared to the object on opening (not dealing with a 180 opening after a short delay from a cliff or even a 90 on the wrong cliff will cause a wall strike and perhaps fatality, while bridges and long delays put you farther from other obstacles), and what the landing area is like (size, obstacles, outs. You may have a 30x90' landing area surrounded by a boulder field, railroad tracks with a cliff on one side and drop-off on the other, a reasonable landing area surrounded by trees with no outs, or acres of golf-course). Very low objects make slow openings more dangerous and decrease the time you have to deal with things (I won't freefall cliffs below 300' or static line ones under 200' for that reason).

The legal bridge in Idaho is an ideal place for a first jump because you can have a bad exit, can't hit it on opening, have a long time to deal with line twists that would fly you into the bridge or a rock pile, can land in the water if you have problems, and have a large putting green-smooth landing area. While probably the safest jump you can make, it's still more dangerous than the average skydive because you don't have a reserve and can still hurt yourself if you land on the rock pile.

Jumping a 3000' cliff would be more dangerous (people die in norway after unstable exits), especially with a tight landing area in the jungle.

If you don't want to take a water landing, the bridge day landing area looks tight. While 876' is higher than 490', I don't think altitude beyond 400' makes a jump safer unless it's giving you more tracking time or helping to fly to a better landing area (neither of which is applicable here).

This all relates to the recommended experience for BASE jumping. While you can safely jump the bridge without a lot of experience, you'll probably want to jump other objects where 200 or even 500 parachute flights are not a bad idea. It'll be easier to resist temptation if you don't start early, and more experience with skydiving equipment will make gear problems less likely.

I'd like to put a spin on what's been said so far here. Instead of asking which is more dangerous? Which we already know, the original question was "if the incidents are much higher or equal to that of skydiving incidents". Isn't there more people per capita being injured/killed in skydiving than there is in BASE? If yes then ... I'd say that this is because skydivers are making poor decisions and/or have poor canopy control skills. Staying ahead of the curve flying modern high performance parachutes has gotten the better of the skill and knowledge levels out there and general gear knowledge is inferior in the skydiving community. BASE jumpers can also show poor judgement, but I'd be willing to bet that most regular BASE jumpers have good gear knowledge, have decent canopy control skills and have decent experience levels. Can the same be said of the general skydiving community? Both discplines are dangerous, but which one creates more incidents on a per capita basis?

I think the fundamental misunderstanding is that skydiving and BASE are closely related... And it is not the natural, standard "it's whats next" progression once you think you've figured out skydiving. You don't know how to BASE jump just because you skydived out of a balloon. Yada yada yada.

I just don't understand what the initial post is asking? Jump at TF with a manufacturers FJC, or <edit, site naming ~TA> with some guy that might potentially want to get in your pants. Yes, it is much more scenic, and longer freefall in South America!

You can hurt yourself anywhere, but <edit, site naming ~TA> isn't the place to go to do your first "yea, I did a BASE jump" object...

Just getting annoyed with the people at the dropzone who ask me about BASE, since they want to get into it. However, they don't know what a PCA is, don't know how many people get hurt or killed every year, don't know that a BASE canopy is a 7-cell and usually really big. And after 40 jumps, some of them lost the rush from skydiving and need something more. And it's free!!!

There are so many things to read, people to talk to, websites to visit, before you should get into BASE. I don't understand how someone would be willing to endanger their own life so recklessly, just because it looks fun and their friend has an extra rig...

Look at the fatality reports over the last 3 years.

Getting into BASE is a bad idea.
mh

I would suggest going to the BASE forum and clicking on the article Tom Aiello wrote: Getting Into BASE.

Make it easy, Click this==>Getting Into BASE

I recently re-read Tom's article on getting into BASE ,and by the way
JohnnyUtah offers a FJC, Which I will be attending in a few weeks. I'll give my honest opinion when I get back June 1st.
I checked out the rest and I chose Johnny's.
Just my 2¢
~J