Basejumper.com - archive

So, i never post my BASE stories.
here it goes.

we found this building, we cased every exit point and every landing front to back. we had back up landing areas if things went wrong on opening. we wanted to jump off one point of the building but we couldnt get to the exit point due to these TINY little bars you have to walk across to get toit. so we decided to go check out the corners of the building (our other exit points)

there was one part of the building that looked do-able, really do-able, but with our lack of experience and extreme fear we didnt know what to do about it. the point was a good 30-40 feet lower than where we wanted to jump (270ft)

we backed off, out of nothing but pure fear. i have never experienced vertigo before, but my mind was telling my body it was falling when i was taking those last few steps to the exit.

i felt like i couldnt think about the jump, all i was focused on was the fear in my head. it didnt seem right. and i really didnt want things to go wrong.

but holy !@$% is it frustrating to drive away from something that you were standing on top of with a packed rig on.

over and out.

by the way,how high do you/should you be for specific jumps? is 240 high enough for a handheld in the city? whats the cutoff for a static line/pca/handheld jump ?

Sure you can FF that, but why risk it. It is better to have altutude you need than wish you had more. There is nothing wrong with leaving an object. its better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.

Cutoff for SL/PCA for MYSELF is 150-170 ft. I wont go any lower

it all depend on the object and the LZ,my first B were 240 or 230ft were i by my vented canopy needed to do 1,5 sec atleast if i wanted to land in the lz(basket feild just below),i did 1 sec and made a nice treehucking landing

So you cant say which alti you´ll need as atleast on a jump,its all about the lz,the object and YOU..

as i started BASE i said i would never jump lower than 300ft.. now i find my self really enjoy the 230-250ft frefall range and am sure by the right lz i still would jump off 130ft perhaps slightly lower...

boarders moves all the time one of the funny things in this sport..

I had the same vertigo standing at the exit point (a 3-foot high wall, eight inches deep, on a corner) of the first building I came close to jumping. The conditions were perfect. It was our intended exit point. I told my buddies I couldn't do this, got a hand back down (what is it they say in climbing -- 80% of accidents happen on descent?) and descended the staircase while they jumped. Chicken 'B' for me.

Everybody walks down from stuff that's perfect at some point. Walking down from something that's 40 feet lower than your plan 'A' (and therefore not perfect) was probably a wise choice. If it's good, you can always go back for it, right?

It's not always the right decision to walk away, but it's never the wrong one...

Spread the love.

Dan-the-Man.

Good Point. I agree that is all about all you said, especially the "you" part. Base is inherently a very solo activity


I also agree, that is VERY true.

Grundleson
by the way,how high do you/should you be for specific jumps? is 240 high enough for a handheld in the city?
whats the cutoff for a static line/pca/handheld jump ?
.......................................

240' is enough for a PCA or a Hand-Held throw and lower is done all the time .
You can do 240" with go and Pitch Stowed, back-Gainer and still live. been done a Lot.
For an open landing area with Dirt & Grass. With an exit from pillar or bridge or small tower or antenna.
or a building with more softer or open landing area like a Flat clean Parking Lot.
That stuff gets done a lot so I would say go for it.
But: Your in town. Things in town are pretty hard. walls, streets, sidewalks, poles, wires. etc.
For myself. I would Tie-off or someone that I trust PCA me @ least for the First one.
.
On a good PCA or Tie-off with a marginal Heading on Opening. You will have plenty of time to
Pop-Breaks, Slam it in deep brakes, pick your spot. with a couple of seconds to set-up, Flare and Land.
But Not Much more time than that. Especially if you had some sort of Drama on opening.
.
Play it Safe. So you can go back and Hammer out the jumps every night till Ya burn it.........
.

wow, i dont quite have the balls to stow it and throw a gainer off something that low quite yet. but i'm sure, down the road, it will happen.

all the replies to my post this morning have been really. good to hear i'm not the only one backing away

I say any BASE experience you walk away unhurt has been a good one. actually jumping is not required.

heck, the other day I was at a wonderful site. we thought the conditions were excellent, except for the really black sky. we said "No" because the landing area was just too dark (it had obstacles as well). but I had fun checking it out!

I like to be really damn high for my jumps. ;)

as do i.. thats what the sunglasses are for...

Every jump Ive walked down from, Ive felt really really bad about myself because of it. But in terms of knowing yourself, and defining your identity as unique from others, in realizing and overcoming your imperfections you become a better, deeper person. You always go back. And the achievement is always the sweeter and more reaffirming because of THAT fact.

If BASE were easy, probably we wouldnt be doing it. We need a real challenge with real consequences. If youre not scared, its not a base jump.If you didnt walk down, you werent challenged enough.
And anyway, regular people feel bad about themselves because they had a pepsi for lunch rather than a carton of milk.

So start feeling better, already.


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if it makes you feel any better I only need to chicken from an A to get my chicken BASE #.

I have been known to take my dear time on top of the object just to climb back down - and cost whoever I am with some SERIOUS sleep time.

to be truthful my chicken S is a bit flaky - I was geared up, but the winds is what got our whole group to turn around....

the point ? I like the fact that I made those choices for myself. I don't like that I inconvenienced whoever I was with. bottom line - I am still here, un-injured.

I have jumped from two objects so far and have walked away from both on occasion. One of them is the Potato bridge. I am pretty sure I will get a Chicken BASE # before BASE(if I get that at all).

Kris.

pussy!

better that than end up with a number you dont want just yet..

I never want that kind of number...
By the way, this shuld not be bold or underlined but I don't know how to undo it...

I certainly got Chicken BASE before my BASE number... no shame in that at all...