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Just curious. . . . . .

what do the more experienced BASE jumpers out there think about taking an FJC in Norway? Is the Potato bridge a better choice?

Cheers,

Bigwall

If you want to learn big wall jumping, you go for Kjerag! If you want to learn slider down and sub terminal jumping, you go for the "potato" bridge!

Kjerag have a excellent big wall jumping course, but you do not learn so much about slider down/sub terminal jumping!

Thank you!

Just the type of answer I was looking for.

Cheers,

J.P.

People have back-slid into terminal walls (fatally), failed to track sufficiently far from them and then had a wall-strike under canopy (fatally), etc.

You might find the fatality list enlightening.


Yes. Off-heading openings don't matter, you can open immediately if you have a bad exit (your first jump will be a pilot chute assist) without worrying about a wall strike, it's very difficult to hit anything immovable (people have landed in the rocks near the canyon wall and broken bones after flying into the few trees)...

In addition to what 434 said:

I don't really view the two as competing, so much as complementing each other. If you can, I'd recommend going to Idaho, and learning there so that you have exits and such nailed solid, then going to Norway to work on the tracking and other high airspeed skills you won't develop here.

A cliff (any cliff) is far more dangerous than the potato bridge. Statistics bear this out, even for first jump students who receive excellent instruction.

I totally agree!

Potato bridge is a much better place to start out, learn exits, canopy controll etc... If you want to learn big wall jumping, you need to know you have done your homework before you attend a fjc in Norway!


Some of the rules in Kjerag

To jump with Stavanger B.A.S.E. Klubb at Kjerag and Smellveggen. You must have completed at least 250 skydives with 20 jumps within the last 6 months.

If you have less than 15 B.A.S.E. jumps, you must follow the "one day" B.A.S.E. course before jumping (This is for your own safety!).

Remember that good tracking skills are needed to perform safe jumps from Kjerag and are therefore required.

Also good ability to recover after a bad exit!

What I am more concerned about is the pillow you get if you take a course from the potato bridge! You are able to have 100-150 skydives in 3 months, fjc at potato bridge and then go for big walls! Does that make you a safe stand alone big wall jumper?


Big walls are dangerous!

I did my first jump from Kjerag under Doogs excellent tutelage. I had 380 skydives at the time.
The pendulator sorts out your initial exit position and after the first couple of (strange) seconds, once the relative wind has increased, it all becomes familiar.
I'd recommend it to any first jumper, so long as you meet the SBK criteria Tom mentioned.
The first slider down jump I did, jump #8, scared the shit out of me. The ground was just too close after Kjerag!

Mike

Tom, have you bought a supply of aquabouy's after your wingsuit swim?
I liked your painkillers

not to get all hung up on semantics Drew, but has anyone ever backslid into a terminal wall NOT fatally?

(enter dream state) um what if your foot just "nicked" the flat face? maybe you couldsomehow lean forward and track without your legs. then once away enough, then fully track depending on the injury? (/exit dream state)

if so i guess a werry welknown aussie(RIP) would have done so on his last skydive...

ps i did see that you stated dream state

Just looking at the 'physics' side of things, and obviously i have NO experience of big wall or any other BASE,
i would imagine your face would be the next thing to hit the wall whether terminal or not.

What are the major factors that makes cliffs more dangerous than the potato bridge?
Are you saying that all clifss are more dangerous than all bridges? Is this simply because of the danger of off-heading openings? (having a big piece of rock behind you, even in freefall, rather than clear air?)

Are there other factors involved and what are they?

I believe there are several factors which contribute to a big wall being an unwise choice for a first jump:

1. Object strike potential - either in freefall or after deployment.

2. Psychological belief that "it's just a low skydive", leading to unpreparedness.

3. Alternatively to the above (or perhaps in conjunction with it): the intimidation factor of such a massive wall.

4. Inability to control body position in dead air is exacerbated, due to expected longer delay (whereas on a span you are limited to a sub-terminal delay).

5. More complex recovery procedures for failure scenarios (slider up line over, etc.)

I'm sure there are more, but those are some biggies.