Basejumper.com - archive

 
winter is coming... arghh I saw snow today!

for u northern jumpers, do u jump guyed A's during the winter? what gloves do u wear so that ur hands don't freeze up?

how thick are ur gloves and do u change to thinner gloves once u get to launch point?

do u freeclimb the guyed A if u can only climb it on the outside or do u use a steel cable ascender with a secondary harnsess?

I saw alot of the "fall arresters cables" How many jumpers have and wear a harness and fall arrester clipped on.

Very few, in my experience. I've got one, and have used it, but it's usually pretty rare to see them.

Windstopper fleece gloves are pretty nice. They keep your hands reasonably warm if you are moving, and they compress well if you don't want to jump with gloves. I've never needed more than that, because if it's that cold outside, I'm staying inside.

would a prussik knot from a 7mm nylon line offer enough fall protection if attached to the fall prevention steel cable?

it probably would do okay, but after a few hundred feet of climbing with the prussik tensioned appropriately to catch you if you slipped, the cord would begin to saw through.

Cable ascenders are pretty easy to locate if you want one.

what kind of cable ascender would u recommend and do u happen to know the standard cable diameter used for fall arrest?

I don't know. I think Tom A has a couple of them. My guess would be a 3/8" cable.

Mostly freestanding. Nothing very big out east anyway. I prefer some thin gloves that make alot of friction on the palm. If the gloves are too big or padded you use alot of strength gripping the rung instead of hooking it with your hand. I never jump with gloves on.

I'm also looking at a cable ascender. I don't know about you, but I find the climb is the trippyest part of the jump.

I think we're overthinking the glove issue. Just grab whatever is handy. Gardening gloves (although I don't know that you'd find gardening gloves around my pad. I don't garden), mountain biking gloves, whatever. Any gloves are going to work.

Stuff them into a cargo pocket once you're done climbing.

I hear ya. That's what I've been doing. But when it's really cold out, light gloves don't keep your hands warm, and heavy gloves make it a bitch to climb.

Sorry to ruin your rep babe, but there are gardening gloves at your pad. I like climbing in them. I also have a pair of snowboarding pipe gloves (small, made for springtime and warm weather riding), they have pretty good grip on the palms and fingers but a lot of it has worn off. They are warmer than the gardening gloves but they're not super huge or too bulky to climb with.

Edit: typo

3/8" solid core cable.

I've got a LAD-SAF L3300, made by DB Industries of Red Wing, MN, USA.

Could be I'm just not following you... If you're stuffing gloves into a cargo pocket, where do you keep your beer?

It goes like this :

1) remove beer from cargo pocket
2) drink beer
3) crush beer can and put in cargo pocket
4) put gloves in cargo pocket with crushed can
5) jump

When you land get more beer from car. If it was long hike, then fetch beers from bush where you hid them before you started climbing. Best is ground crew who can carry a beer cooler.

Cold towers are easily climbed with Atlas Therma Fit Insulated Gripper Gloves. Cheap, grippy, warm, and small for jumping down in your pocket.
I always jump without gloves, but that's personal preference.