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So I was at the Perrine in Twin Falls on Saturday and was expecting to see two groups of people. Some friends who live in the area as well as another fellow I know who was supposed to be there with the Vertigo people doing his FJC. Well neither group of people were there and with the exception of one jump I made with an older guy Tom if my memory is correct (not the moderator). But this older fellow left after our jump together (he actually made two jumps before I started jumping) and there I was the only person jumping at this site. The local friends were off in CA jumping at it was my fault for not getting in touch with them before hand (my decision to travel to ID was kind of a last minute thing Friday night). Anyway, conditions were kind of weird on Saturday. The temperature was hot (95?) and there was no wind in the LZ. So my landings were faster than I'm used to. And I found myself questioning my sanity for doing solo BASE jumps with my limited experience, even if they were made in a safer BASE environment than most other jumps and even if they were in day light. Plus DON the boat guy wasn't there as well. So I made some jumps (three in total) and decided that I was done for the day and got back in my car for the long drive home. I don't feel bad for leaving as I did survive the weekend. But part of me thinks that I should have stayed and jumped more as my jumps per time+money costs average wasn't very good. Of course climbing the hill in hot weather didn't help with my physical and mental mindset at the time.

So how many of you jump alone and if so are you not worried about the consequences of something going wrong? Plus has anyone jumped alone and gotten hurt?

I think solo jump is the usual thing for everybody and everythere. I know that fast all off my jumping friends has already done it at least one time. Some of them includes me did it to check their "status" in BASE jumping because we have a lot of jumpers who jumped once or several times to heard "he is cool" about themselves. Solo is a good test to jump in "natural" way, not for public, girlfriends, cameras etc. Good chance to do it for yourself only.
Me and my friends jumped solos often then we had 10 or 20 or 30 jumps.
But now the "friendship problem" related with solos. Sure you can jump without ground crew and even without calls. But it's not smart in cause of accident.
So it's better to place a call before and after the jump. It's normal.
Here solo jump is possible just from the "regular" object which is boring for everyone. The friends make a long-distance ground crew with pleasure. But it's boring.
Then the object is special I can't do it, because it will upset my friends. They will ask me why I didn't invited them for the jump.
It's the really serious problem then the number of the legal object is limited, new objects are "easy-to-burn" and the community is small and friendly.
There is no any non-jumpable friends in general, just the well-known persons whom we can't disturb with the such problem or the peolpe who can't understand what we're going to do.
It can be jumped together or it cannot be made.

Hi Canuck --

Gosh, you should have stuck around. I came out on Sunday and there was 3 of us jumping with the boat until around 2pm (that's when the rain finally moved in for good).

I've done about 20 true solos where nobody is around, and I've probably made somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 jumps where I'm by myself but there are whuffos around. (potato bridge, frozen-pizza cliff, etc.)

It's worked fine for me, but I would certainly never recommend it for anyone -- it's such a personal decision. To me, it sounds like you made a good decision because you followed your instinct. That little voice in our heads tells us a lot...

Cheers,

Bryan

hey bud
pick-up groundcrew is what you need....

just hang around the visitor centre a bit, there's always plenty of vistors with cameras who love to get pics of jumpers and it's really quite easy to talk some into being groundcrew, you might even get some pics and video from them...

it's not even hard to convince them to hang around until you've climbed out, if you climb fast, like I do...

or get there much earlier and do more jumps with those in the know

Hey Bryan what got me was the faster than what I'm used to in the BASE environment landings due to zero winds and a high density altitude (it was hot on Saturday). If I had people there with me, I would have continued to jump. But being alone, with no boat just kind of spooked me if I was going to mess up. But hey as I mentioned to Tom Aiello in a PM, it's better to learn about these fast landings in the BASE environment while I'm at the slightly safer confines of the Perrine Bridge instead of a less forgiving place like let's say Moab, right?

There was tons of whuffo spectators watching me and these young 13ish year olds were all disappointed when I told them that I wasn't experienced enough to be doing aerials (like some of my friends do). So I guess a whuffo might have called for help if I had crashed hard.

But as far as getting there early. I arrived at the bridge at 4:00 am and proceeded to sleep in my car until 7:00 am. But Tom (once again, not the Tom the moderator, a different Tom) didn't know I was a jumper until I approached him once I woke up and he was only planning on doing three jumps (two while I slept) before he was to leave. We did a jump together, he left. Then I did a few more jumps and then I left. And hour east from TFs I started having some regrets about leaving, but I was unpacked and I kept driving.

Where is the option for "I jump alone, and it still scares me"?

Tom's last name is Manship. He's got some insane number of jumps off this bridge--I did his number 1200 with him a week or two ago.

bet he made you get up early!

or did you roll around for his 3rd?

tell him I say 'hi' when you do it again

cheers
sam

good job on getting there early, next time just get out the car at dawn and do the 1st jump with TM

then pack while he does his 2nd and do 3 with him too... (worked for me)

as for the whuffo groundcrew, I just asked them to watch 'till I waved after landing, then they know I'm OK.
I'm not too worried about the climb.

then again, there is definitely TA's jump alone for extra scariness option...

cya

I am right there too, sorry we weren't here Steve but I can't complain, we had a lot of fun. The solo jumps still make me think twice and a lot of the time three times. Given I am still quite new myself, but I am VERY used to this bridge lately and even with some of the visitors center people there it makes me wonder if it's a good idea. A lot of the time I make my solo decision by what I am doing (which isn't a good idea either me thinks). I like to at least make someone with a cell phone understand that it is kind of serious (). Anyway, I will be here for Labor Day, hopefully tearing shit up, so I will see you then if nothing else.
Soft landings

Solo jumps are good to test your pure instincts and your own comfort level:

Things you wouldn't do solo, you probably shound't do within a group neither.

We call this "group dynamics", and this can be dangerous sometimes.

This are dynamics within a group, but it can also cause problems between groups (called "risky shift").

It is boring jumping solo, but I don't always have the choice...

I picked the first one, I can't remember what it said, but yes I jump alone. Sometimes it's either that, or not jump.
Jumping alone is probably not very wise. But it's one of those choices I make, and a chance I take.

Rod

My own experience:

for a year and a half, I've lost an incredibly high number of opportunities to jump coz I could get nobody to go jumping with me, and I couldn't get much WE free ( due to my job ).

Result: 1 year of practice, 25 jumps.

And then, I found a spot, not very far from my place, which I went to alone, one day I just couldn't stop thinking to jump...

...and my life has changed!

But of course, nobody will pick me up if I bounce. That's why I give more attention to wind conditions and so.

None if the answers really fit me. I haven't done it yet, but have to admit that it seeme like the ultimate in base. So there should be a "Not yet, but plan too someday, and will be scared shitless" option...

That being said, if you're going to jump alone, the potatoe bridge is about the safest place to do it. I don;t think doing it there would bother me near as much as being in the middle of nowhere at a an "A" or something, much less off in the middle of the red rock "E's"....

Ganja

Hehehe, that's what I was looking for .

I don't generally jump alone but I have done a couple of times. For me, jumping solo definitely gives me something that jumping with other people doesn't. For want of a better word it gives a feeling of 'oneness', I don't really know how to describe it. A special kind of satisfaction, I suppose it's the independence of it all.

One time in particular I was sat on top of an A waiting for some activity to die down on the ground, it was a warm summer evening and someone started letting off fireworks in the distance. It was awesome, I just sat there chilling out, watching the fireworks, thinking about how lucky I was to be in such an unusual and amazing situation. After about half and hour things had quietened down on the ground and the fireworks had finished so I got up and jumped. It was pretty cool .

Gus

so far i have 100+solo jumps were aprox 30 are true solos(no phonecrew,and people dont know were i were).
At my jump #30 i got injuryed http://www.vertical-visions.com/27xrays.html which i still feel the pain from.

why do i do it?
1. im the only jumper in my region,and i do tend to want to BASE in work days aswell

2.I have always been one of the lone wolfs,i dont really mind,it makes me focus better.

As Tom says weres the vote "i still soo and it scares me",it so does to me.
if you knew how many times i have climbed down in perfect conditions just becours...

Dont take me wrong i really enjoy compagny,but as Lee846,BASE813(not right now as he is in hospital to get a gonegraft op.),Evialivan Sean621 and others know im one person up there compared to at the ground.I can be itchy and like an old grumpy woman.Im concentrated..Im me...

We all know the risk of our sport,doing it solo aint a way to do it in a safer way,but it sure is nice aswellJust make sure to have a cellphone at you as you jump.. 2 hours in a feid whith an open fractur aint fun at all i tell you