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I keep hearing horror stories from people that have a hard time finding a mentor in their area. Apparently their local scene consists of a bunch of old arrogant stuck-ups who have been in BASE so long that beginners are not worthy of their presence.

I call bullshit; total and utter bullshit. If there are active jumpers in your neighbourhood, you will be able to find a mentor; no problem.

The real problem is your own attitude. This is not directed at anyone in particular, but I've heard similar versions of this story at different locations...


Whatever...

We're protective of our sport because we don't like it when people get hurt. It hurts the injured, it hurts their families, it hurts us, and it hurts the sport as a whole. But we love meeting excited beginners that show common sense, solid judgement and good preparation. Sharing the passion is a huge part of our sport and we need new blood in the sport to share it with.

Here's an offer I'll throw out to all the prospective jumpers in North America. If there is an active jumping scene in your neighbourhood, you've done thirty accuracy skydives using your own BASE canopy at your local dropzone, taken a first aid course, and you still can't find somebody to groundcrew for....

Drop me an email; I'll pay for your airfare to my city, take you on as groundcrew for several days and then pay for airfare to the Perrine where I'll teach you all I know about BASE over several days. After that, I'll makes sure you find a mentor.

Offer expires at the end of 2006 or when the first qualiying person emails me.

P.S. I'm well aware there are several incredibly experienced and good BASE jumpers that started out as jumper X and still act like one.

 

There really aren't that many areas where there are more jumpers than the number of objects can accomodate. It's a myth. Take your local area for example. It does seem crowded, doesn't it?

Yet, I think if some of the existing experienced jumpers would follow established protocol when jumping a certain B, that object could accomodate more jumpers.

Yet, I think if some of the existing experienced jumpers would spend more energy on opening new objects instead of jump-whoring the same AB all the time, that area could accomodate more jumpers.

Sorry, I'm not trying to take a stab at you here, but recent incidents are ironic in this light.

I'll admit that I live in a luxurious area with only three active jumpers and very little interest from the skydiving influx. But you'll have a hard time convincing me a certain area is crowded. Better management can ease the pain a lot.

 

Sweet bro, sweet! I might have some surprise wrapped up in a ribbon when you come visit here.


Yeah, that's a good observation.

Sweet! I will take you up on this offer. Is it coach or business?

bsbd!

Yuri.

For you? Business baby, all the way. But you'll have to bring the goods...

When it comes to the less than legal jumps, pacing on a site appears to be of extreme importance. You know there was this other geographical region that we both know about which had it's share of old timers and newbies and was being jumped a lot but the newbies. So much so that the old timers decided to curtail their activities because they felt the newer jumpers were making things too hot. Now were the older times being assholes for not mentoring the newbies or were the newbies too egar? Some of the newbies survived and went on to become not so newbies to the world of BASE, but one or two of these newbies went on to getting hurt and hopefully lessons were learned by more than just the injured.

Not that I would know what BASE was like before 911 (because guys like myself, you, Jaap, Abbe, etc, etc, etc are all still pretty green), but since that imfamous day, our sport has not been an easy sport to do (at least at the less than legal sites). I prefer jumping legal sites because I like to jump not worrying about getting busted and losing my gear. But legal sites are not easy to come by and the not so legal sites can be fun jumps as well.

I may or may not be in the minority here in thinking what I'm about to say, but BASE jumpers complain that there is too much drama in the skydiving community (and there is drama there for sure). But all I see lately around here is drama in itself. So-and-so doesn't like whom-do-you-call-him because ... so-and-so is an egar newbie while whom-do-you-call-him is the old timer not willing to mentor so-and-so. I think it's great when someone becomes passionate about a certain activity, but BASE doesn't define who I am. BASE is something that I do for ... shits and giggles? ... I don't know ... all I know is that I'm on a high after certain BASE jumps are made, but making these jumps are still scary as shit on a pogo stick and it's not always easy to be standing there at the exit point asking yourself why you're there. I would love to open up some new sites (and may just do that as I become older and wiser in this sport). But I would also like to not fuck myself up while BASE jumping.

I don't know ... except that only one of my two rigs is packed right now.

I think we are also experiencing too many scenarios where the jumper wanting to get into BASE has barely a hundred skydives, below average canopy skills, and not the right attitude (i.e. reluctance to ground crew, burning objects). People are less patient today and want instant rewards without having to pay the "dues" or follow the progression suggested by others.

Exactly! The problem is not with potential mentors, it's with potential students. Do things right, and you'll easily find a mentor.

I think you may be oversimplifying. There is definitely a shortage of qualified, available, and willing mentors. Mentoring someone, in the real, old fashioned sense, is incredibly demanding, and a huge responsibility. It can easily mean guiding someone through more than a hundred jumps, over a span of time ranging upwards of a year.

The need for mentors in the real, old fashioned sense, is diminishing with the advent of more legal objects, more relatively easy objects, more information dissemination (through the internet, and through the growth of the sport itself) and the better quality of FJCs available today.

Today's needs are very different.

Jaap, these comments are based on my observations and experience with a broad range of jumpers. They are not intended to apply to you personally. I think that you have developed a good range of skills, and that you are developing your skills far more effectively than the vast majority of jumpers in your "generation."

As an aside, I think that your personal path, which is highly atypical, may color the way that you views these issues. I think that the average jumper has a far less methodical learning approach than you.



I disagree. I have observed the average skill level of jumpers in the sport dropping dramatically. While we still think of the same X number of jumps jumper as a "grown up" BASE jumper, the truth is that a guy with X jumps today has far less developed skills than a guy with X jumps 5 or 10 years ago. In fact, I'd speculate that the root cause of this drop in average skill level is inextricably linked to some of the things you point out (easy availability of safe FJC's, more wide spread knowledge of legal sites, ease of pounding out a bunch of jumps in a short time).

I think that traditional mentoring produces jumpers with a much higher average level of skill and knowledge, and that an expansion of traditional mentoring could really help to boost the average skill level of jumpers today, and especially of jumpers who've started in the "modern" training system.

While there may be other ways of helping raise the average level of skill, at this point in time I don't see anything really replacing the traditional mentoring that used to build intermediate skills amongst up and coming jumpers.



Can you explain what you see as today's needs?

Well I ask this question........I have about 130 skydives now......I live in a bad area, meaning I have to allways travel to go skydiving....from canada to the states........I hope in the near future I can take up the sport of BASE.....I'm looking into buying a second skydive rig and putting a used base canopy in it .......then by the end of summer 06 taking a FJC and then hoping to get into Tom's week long FJC......

Now where I live, I'm 99.9% sure there is not any active base jumpers around.....
I'm pretty sure I'm the only active skydiver here...meaning have my own gear and jumping ever other weekend....

I know of some base jumpers state side down where I do some skydiving.....a friend from there that jumps took a FJC last summer.......
Now my goal is to, try and get involved in the ground crew scene down there.........

I really don't know what else I can do, to better prepare myself.........

I know of possible 3 objects around here also...but there is no chance of them being open unless I can get involved with some experienced jumpers...

That is my dilemma

This I won't disagree with.

But I do think we need to recognize that the majority of this new generation of jumpers won't go much beyond easily available objects. I get the feeling that the Potato generation of jumpers thinks they don't have to open up objects anymore. They go to the Perrine, then they visit Moab. Shortly after they do a trip to Europe to check out Kjerag and Lauterbrunnen, and then they come home where they continue to jump their local and easy A until they retire from the sport.

The skills necessary to jump an easly available object that is being jumped by millions before you are vastly different than the skills required to explore, scout, open, jump, land and get away from a new illegal object.

The latter, call it old-fashioned BASE if you want, has a distinct need for old-fashioned mentorship. The former, let's call it the MTV generation of BASE jumpers. They want quick satisfaction, and they're going to get it with or without our help. So we need to do the best we can.

Clearly there aren't enough old-fashioned mentors, nor do I think MTV would become much safer with them.

Moab is an advanced area for jumping. Few people disagree. Yet we won't be able to stop the MTV generation from going there, so how can we do it best?

Through existing FJCs, where we teach people they need proper brake-settings, and that they can use the bridge to do obstacle avoidance drills. Then, let them go to the Turkey boogie. There, surrounded by many experienced jumpers they can put all the risk management and decision making into the hands of other people. If the experienced jumpers say it's too windy, the MTVers won't jump either. Everybody wins.

It really becomes a simple formula. You learn how to pack; you get fifty jumps of the Perrine; you go to Moab where an experienced jumper shows you around if you're lucky, and then the summer after you visit Europe, preferably during the heliboogie, and jump at all the sites where experienced people can hold your hand.

It's a lot like backcountry skiing. Some of us still put on our snowshoes and hike for hours to get away from the lifts and face the real dangers of raw exposure to snow. Meanwhile, the majority pays the two grand and goes heliskiing with a guide. Both groups come home and call themselves backcountry skiers, but we all know the difference.

Does it matter? Not really, everybody had fun and practiced the sport safely.

The real danger is the guy that's gonna go off alone without a guide, nor proper training. This is similar to somebody going to Moab with five Perrine jumps and hiking to the top of Tombstone alone. Bad idea, but neither good mentorship nor regulation are going to stop him.

Poor decision making skills can't be cured. The best we can do is steer the majority and hope for the best.


That's very true, but I'll argue that today's jumping environment apparently doesn't need the skill. If you stick to the formula, defer to holding hands when appropriate, and follow the beat path, you'll be able to tick off all the checkboxes on your BASE list and call yourself a true BASE jumper.

In the past three weeks alone I've talked to two different skydivers that really wanted to try BASE some day. But only the Perrine and maybe Norway some day...

Does that person need an old-fashioned mentor? I don't think so.


More outspoken experienced jumpers.

For example, I really admire what Clint is doing in Moab but from his posts you can tell he just doesn't have time and energy to redirect all the unprepared newbies that try to play on his turf. He needs help, and it's our responsibility to offer that. When we're in the area, and when we talk to other jumpers about Moab.

I just reread the above post and noticed it's a little ranty. I'll post it anyway.

In the ideal world everybody would have an old-fashioned mentor and life would be good. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that there aren't enough mentors (as you pointed out), but furthermore I think there is a generation of jumpers that are really looking for different things in BASE than what a mentor can offer.

You're doing great. Hang in there, it'll pay off in time.

That's fine, but I find BASE jumping is a leveler of generational differences. Sure, jumpers come to BASE, pursue BASE, and practice BASE, each in their own way, which is the essence of BASE, but they (and we all) still experience the same feelings.

I can speak for most men and say we get from BASE one genuinely masculine thing. A tingling scrotum . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Amen brother, amen.

That's what I meant when I said: "Does it matter? Not really, everybody had fun and practiced the sport safely."

I don't care that there is an MTV generation. It doesn't matter really, except that we need to take the observation in account when we try to come up with better ways of teaching.

you should take up paragliding there must be good thermals where you live

so who´s your mentor then?

I only jump legal objects during the day and walk away from these half the time because something didn't feel right. Do I need a mentor?

I am just a fair weather 'SE' jumper .

Kris.

if you jump in the UK yes becourse that many objects you cant jump off during the day

*peeks around the corner to see if it's safe to come out*

I just want to give a personal insite to what I've experienced. I have done 2 BASE jumps and the only thing that scared me was what I learned I didn't know..."No mentor will ever be able to tell you / teach you everything you need to know. There is just too much to learn". (Thanks..you know who you are) Taking into consideration the things I had learned about this sport, and REALLY accepting that there was actually NO WAY I could rely on anyone else but myself to keep me alive...I put BASE on hold and have been doing everything possible to better my odds at survival...through gaining more knowledge and experience (canopy). I am currently paying my dues...and my mentor could vouch for that. Whether ground crew, helping to maintain sites and keep them open, or whatnot...I am learning all I possibly can. I am giving time and loosing sleep and still, currently not jumping. I know this will all pay off in the long run for me though. I have actually heard others make comments about how a lot of BASE jumpers these days, do not know how to go about opening a new object nor how to maintain access to sites, etc. These are some of the things I do want to know. I personally feel it will make me a more well-rounded jumper in the long run.

On another note...I have been around this sport for a very short time, about 8 months or so...doing ground crew throughout it all and reading all of the BASE boards/forums; my learning has not stopped. *Disclaimer - Opinionated statement* It seems that a lot of the 'new generation' jumpers focus their reasoning and jumping for the wrong reasons and are learning more of the 'not-so-critical' aspects of the sport. I had the honor of meeting and hanging out with a legend in this sport and anything that came out of his mouth, I soaked up as if I were a sponge. Listening to the things that the founders of this sport went through...the details they paid attention to when jumping...basically...I noticed that everything coming out of his mouth was the foundation of BASE; the survival skills that kept them alive. Taking this all in, it made me start to feel as if BASE jumpers of today have forgotten what these guys went through....The little "minor details" (sarcasm...they are actually pretty major) that some could/would easily over look. They lived because they did a lot of prep work, planning, and detailing out every jump. It wasn't about how cool of a video you could get, or who you could brag to about it, or who can pull off the coolest aerials....it was about survival and the love for BASE jumping.

Those are the skills I want and the knowledge I seek.


I could see that happening.

I feel that with today's BASE specific gear, bridge day, FJC's, etc...there are a lot of people coming into this sport without realling knowing and accepting the risks involved. It seems, a false sense of security is guiding a lot of peeps...(not all). As I said, this is merely just my opinion.

All I can say is that me, personally, ..I'd rather pay my dues to those who have got this sport to where it is today first; instead of only contributing a bad name or another # for Nick D. to add to his website.

With the onslaught of the "new age" jumper, I see 1 of 2 things may happen:

1) We are about to see a massive peak in "the list" numbers through an even more so lack of respect during the "over confidence phase"

2) we are about to see how the risks are not so bad with so many under skilled people getting away with it and becoming nice and rounded experienced jumpers.

Which ever of these 2 occurs (mmmm.....) we will still see a lack of respect for the fundamentals and the sport is going to become something that most of us don’t want…

Normally I would step in with an American Bash here (just for shit n giggles), but when I am actually posting something seriously I don’t…. (You see the difference now? - rl you see I am not a USr basher all the time! hey? )

Caveat: I guess am actually a “new age” jumper due to my time in time in the sport, so I guess this post is worthless to the masses anyway…

<Hijack>


You will be assimilated.

</hijack>

I am contemplating base once i have 500 jumps which should be by the end of 06. I live somewhere where there are only 2 guys who could possibly be mentors but they havent BASE'd in a few years and are not really into it at all. My best friend and I have decided to go to an FJC course together after we have 500.... but our plans after that are totally lost... We live somewhere where their are a couple of objects but nothing is set up or "open" as you guys call it.. so as far as im concernec.. after my FJC I will be out in the wilderness with no guide but myself and my buddy. We cannot travel to the US all the time to jump so we will have to figure somehting out.
I have a whole lot of respect for BASE and am willing to put in the time being ground crew.. I already read as much as i can about it... and i dont have anybody to be GC for...
enough with my whinning.. iwant it bad enough so im sure i will find a way..
Any suggestions?
Dan

Be smarter than the guy that has a mentor. Practice harder, prepare better, make sure you stick around for five days after your FJC at the Perrine, hope that you have a bucket full of luck, and then go at it alone.

It's been done before, it'll happen again, and if you're smart and slow, you'll have moderately good chances of survival for at least some amount of time.

I also highly recommend gathering some phone-numbers when you meet experienced people at the bridge. Asking for advice on these forums is great, but picking up the phone and talking to some BASE jumpers has often led to much better advice.

After FJC training (and additional time at the bridge immediately thereafter), it can help a lot to find a few experienced jumpers who are going on a road trip and go along with them. I did this when I had 5 jumps, and I got to see, and learn from, a whole bunch of different objects and more experienced jumpers, and also got to watch and participate in the scoping process for several new (to them) objects. It was amazingly educational. It cost me two weeks of vacation, and several thousand miles on my vehicle, and it was well worth it.

Here's my application Jaap:

CRW - done a few. http://ozcrw.tripod.com/
Accuracy - working on it.
BASE Gear - got my own and have done a couple of jumps on it.
Mentor - that might be a struggle. Nobody likes me!!!

And the experienced guys in my area ARE crusty old demons!!


That's discrimination against "otherers". Howabout we go halves from downunder?

Where do I go for the interview?


You've hit that nail somewhere near the cranium!!!!!

There are those that complain, and those that just get on with the business. e.g. I might look like the 20th terrorist from Sept 11th, but I still visit the good old paranoid USA despite the harrassment I get at the airports. I've got a choice, don't go and complain, OR, go and put up with a little shit for a LOT of fun!!!!! I know which is the better choice!!!


Dare say that to the two second attention span, I don't give a shit, me, me, me, I have no time, I don't want to stop to smell the roses, you can stick the roses where they fit, where's my next kick, what box do I tick next, I have no respect for anything else in the universe, it's not my fault as my parents brought me up this way, Nike, Pepsi Max, etc person, and they just look at you funny or ignore you.

People these days don't seem to understand about privilege, they only believe in personal rights and they blame everybody else when things don't go their way. That is what society is creating.


I think so too. People are trying "stuntier jumps" but with much less skill, preparation, practice, understanding, or real applied knowledge. They are pulling it off and having a chuckle when the bridle gets caught on their feet momentarily with the ensuing two second canopy ride. Yay, cool dude, did you see the vid, man, that was tooooo cooooollllll, what a close call, yeah dude!!!!! Yet they do NOT realise that they were only 0.2 seconds away from death. Ah, but it is the nature of the sport apparently, they accepted that BASE was dangerous when they started, so dying is acceptable to them - but it IS NOT fucking acceptable to the family and friends that are left being wondering!!!!!


This becomes very tiring after a while. You lose friends and aquaintances because you change from being nice and indirect to blunt after seeing one too many bounces. And it is worse when people come to you and lie about their motives, experience, etc. This is blatantly using an experienced person's time/hospitality/skills/etc for personal gain without considering the fact that you may be undermining their ethics/guilt/conscience/etc.

And when people refuse to listen and pursue their own path because they think it is better or more fun, what can you do? I personally could not be stuffed wasting a second of my time on an adult who will not listen and is convinced that they are right (without any facts/background/experience/logic behind their thoughts). I will only help those that want help (if I can help). Why? My time is precious. Your (I mean the potential student here) life is only precious to me if it is precious to YOU. If you do not give a shit about your life, THAT IS YOUR DECISION. I can live with your decision.... You can live or die by it!!!!.

This is why many experienced jumpers don't want to mentor.

There are many other reasons:
- time to move on
- family, wife, children
- business &/or careers
- other interests

etc.


I think you better check that out with a Doctor Nick. One too many antenna jumps????

Thank goodness (or fukc) for that.

You will go a long way in the sport, and you are welcome downunder anytime!!!!

All the very best of luck with it all.

Don't do it, Jaap.

He'll trap you at the exit point at dawn, and he'll start talking and the next thing you know, it'll be midnight.

And a hearty to you, Tom.

rl

With the right company and a beautiful exit point, there are few things I'd rather do. Jumping is secondary...

Damn. I forgot who I was writing to. Make that "dawn, two days hence" instead.

rl

cut your hair and you migt get to that point one day

So let's say I'm being honest and realistic and I would make sure I have:

- 200 jumps
- 50 of those spent doing Canopy flight exercises/drills (mind...I'm not saying CRW)
- at least 150 of those practicing landing
- I'll get in shape and maybe do some board diving or gymnastic just to be in control of my body (not with the purpose of doing gainers)
- I'll buy my own rig and let you advise me on what to get etc.
- I'll travel out to anywhere and stay there for up to 2 months, groundcrew you and do your dishes

Would you be willing to help me through those first jumps? This is all hypothetically so even if you say yes I won't take you up on it. Just curious.

I'm not sure if your post is directed to Rhonda Lea or myself, but in case it's intended for me....


Assuming that your active local scene is not willing to take you on as groundcrew...

You need to add a first-aid course, and make at least twenty skydives on the very BASE canopy you intend to jump with. I'd also want to talk to your DZO and possibly one of your nearest family members (depending on your age). Having rock-climbing and mountaineering experience is also major bonus points.

Then scrap the dishes, and make it three weeks instead of two months, at least one of which is spend at the Perrine.

And most importantly, you need to be a nice guy with the right attitude.

Then possibly I'd be interested in transfering my knowledge with the proviso that my slider-up experience is very limited.

It would probably consist of a short week of groundcrewing, packing and other exploration and touristy stuff. Then a long week at the Perrine where you'll be packing intentional line-overs among other suicidal stuff. Then we'd tour the west-coast on our way back north getting at least an A, E and O in BC and potentially in other places depending on how the locals receive us.

It's deathcamping, Jaap style.

Do remember that by making 200 skydives you'll have more skydiving experience than I do!

 

I'd never advocate anything. The sport carries to many risks to be advocated in any possible way.

However, I do think the right person with the right mentality and the right 50 jumps at the Perrine (with proper brake-settings and most of them dedicated to obstacle avoidance drills) can go to Moab and jump with no more risks than most of us (meaning Splatula) jump some of our E's with.

If you think you're more prepared for a slider-down 180 offheading with line-over than the hypothetical person above, think again.

 

Why is that? I think in general Bs tend to be more advanced than Es. There are exceptions, the popular B in LA arguably being one of them.


No, it's "ASE-in-three-weeks". But not necessarily for the sake of getting a number or some letters. It's for the sake of getting exposure to different objects and environments in a short amount of time. I could take them off a B too, but I'd rather do a crane instead. It comes with all the educational value of an illegal urban night-jump, but carries less risk. Plus, it leaves something they need to do on their own. Call it an 'exam'.


Pfff, like he's the hero of responsible behavior...

 

But many E's give you nice easy landing areas, less turbulence, and stress-free legalities. The pressure of jumping an illegal object in the middle of the night while the clock is ticking, even the slightest breeze is doing funky stuff and your landing area has a bunch of cars parked in it, far outweigh the extra 90 degrees you get on some, not all, buildings.

But I think we both agree that real comparisons are site-specific, so whatever. Let's make fun of Abbie instead.

As long as the jumper doesn't have any serious off heading issues, your local E is also a fantastic object to get some canopy time in as well. It's far from an easy object, but it's less stressful than the urban jungle.


Didn't we do that on his last visit here? If not, I think we need to make him hike up more mountains ...

then i guess you have been busy doing BASE jumps as your profile says 242,or is that parachute # total? i cant figure out your profile..

student 1038? as far as i know its your BASE# having the # means your an experienced dude ,so why the student thing?

in the sport 4 years? that has to be skydiving right

can i join,i really want to learn how to snowboard

dont be rugh to Abbie,it aint his fault.. i think

Don't forget to do some skydives focussed on tracking. In North America, we often forget the terminal part of jumps, and as a result we have, on average, much worse tracking skills than most European jumpers.

To be entirely honest, it started as a lame attempt to disguise the fact that I lack sufficient skydives to be a safe BASE jumper. Then it slowly transitioned into the question; how often have I plummeted towards the earth requiring action to save myself from death?


I have to wholeheartedly disagree with the fact that a number makes a person experienced. There are plenty of beginners with BASE numbers, including myself. There was a time where BASE numbers said something about skill and knowledge, but these days they are a historic link to the beginning of the sport, and not much more. That doesn't diminish their value though!

As for the student thing; being a student has been one of my guiding philosophies in life, not just in BASE but in anything I do. I've always found that if you set yourself up to learn something from any situation, you'll come out with more skill and knowledge than you had before. It also reminds me that humility and modesty are good traits, something I definitely need to be reminded of occasionally.

I could have 5000 BASE jumps, but I'd still call myself a student.


Yeah.

I know tons of good trackers (there's at least a dozen really good trackers at my former DZ in CO). It's just that you need to hang out at the DZ and get in on some of their tracking dives to see how good they are. But there are way too many BASE jumpers who look down on skydiving to bother going to the DZ and thus come to the conclusion that there are no good trackers around here.

Plus if people hand handle stomaching a little skydiving, this video shows a sample of some good trackers and these aren't even the people I speak of in CO who do (almost) daily tracking dives.

When I said "we" I meant "we, North American BASE jumpers." I was in no way discussing, or attempting to "look down" on, or in any way denigrate any skydiver, group of skydivers, or participant in any other sporting activity.

Yups I forgot tracking and first aid. First aid is always useful. Also for my future career.

Also..I'm willing to listen...but I'm not willing to take things for granted.

Not quite correct. I'll start talking after we land. Jaap being the absolute fitter person of the two of us will find out very quickly that he can get at least two jumps in for each of my one. He'll end up doing at least 8 for the day whilst I am dragging my sorry fat arse (that IS the proper spelling for my learned American friends) up for my four. That means that our paths will only intersect a few times during the day. And I will be sssssoooooo much out of breath, that I won't even have enough oxygen going to my brain to sustain any meaningful talk. left foot, right foot, breath in, breath out. Jaap will recognise this VERY early on, and will then avoid me as much as possible during the day. And then. . . . . . . .

But after the jumping is finished. . . . . . . . . and we are a having a few ales. . . . . . then I will come out of my quiet/instrospective/shy shell. . . . .

Anyway, who are you telling Jaap that I am talkative???????

xoxoxoxoxo

Tom

dude your too serius,relaxe read the jokes,become the old Jaap that were more fun

Jaap sounds like an old timer.

As you do more jumps and meet more people and do real time in the sport, you get to see more and more accidents. Many of these are totally preventable and are a direct result of human error - and I mean fundamental stuff, not freaky out of your control stuff. This is frustrating!!!!! Jaap has a basic underlying desire to help his fellow jumpers to enjoy the sport for a long time. He does not want to see his friends/aquaintances/colleagues injured/dead/scared from the sport. Not all people understand this for some obscure reason.

Just my 0.02.

p.s. to survive and enjoy, I beleive you need a balance of seriousness and fun. After all this sport IS SERIOUS, and it should be fun too.

p.s.s how is our Aussie/Danish princess going??

A woman who is not very funny in her own right, but who has the occasional knack for writing things that draw others out.

And some people are easier to draw than others.

You're the best, Tom.

rl

Thanks...I may just hold you to that..so watch out!


Very much appreciated....

Sounds like it is a "drawing" contest rl.

20 paces my dear.

Fingers at the ready.

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Type.

ps. this is all practice for me. If anyone takes me seriously???? Then that will make one of us - cause I certainly don't.. But if you want to delve more deeply, maybe I have some deeper underlying . . . . . . . . . (fill in the blanks here) . . . . . .

Sorry, it's that time of year. Just for you though, here's a picture of a rabbit with a pancake on it's head.

Totally funny...

Jaap,while I agree that "a" pancake would be funny
on the rabbits head...that pic appears to show "TWO"
pancakes on his head.....and that......well, thats just
rabbit abuse.

(and obviously not proper headgear for a rabbit to be jumpin with)

It's even MORE FUNNY if those are the blueberry pancakes that chris couldn't get for his breakfast after bridgeday (ask tom but you kind of had to be there to understand it ... but suffice to say chris was severely P*ssed at not being able to get blueberry pancakes because the breakfast menu was finished ... It was a cross between "Falling Down" and the re-invasion of Poland (sorry poland) ...

huh? girls only get it each months

is ´that a rabbit? Now i would laugh if you could find a pic whith a guineea pic,which wear pandcake

okay i agree it is funny