Basejumper.com - archive

Okay, I have but two jumps up in Twin so I hope that I am worthy to post here.

I am writing a paper for my English comp II class and it is a persuasive essay on how BASE should be allowed in all US National Parks. Do any of you know of any articles or papers I can find on the web for research? As of right now I am writing this paper based on conversations that I have had with friends and I need some solid info for the paper.

Thanks gang!

 

Thanks a butt load! I'll start there.

I dont post here, mostly a lurker but this



Is fucking funny.... thanks for the

Several other folks have done similar papers. Try searching the forum for their posts, and you can ask them to share research with you.

Lisa,

I am glad that I could bring a bit of joy into you day!

Thanks,

I'll check the forums.

I am focusing my paper on two areas. The first is that by bringing BASE jumping out of the shadows legally, the sport can then be self regulated which would hopefully improve the safety of the sport.

The second area is that the National Park Service will benefit from the much needed tourist revenue.

If I am way off base please give me your input. No pun intended.

Can you elaborate on that? I question whether the sport needs to become any more legal than it is today. Aside from the national parks in the United States, I think that worldwide the sport is about as legal as it can and should be.

Furthermore, I am far from convinced if more legality would actually make the sport safer. I would sooner assume the opposite.

The focus of the paper is in regards to the national parks in the the US only.

It is just an idea and I would love to hear others input on this. If the NPS allowed permits to jump the permit holder would have to have some kind of certification that would prove that he or she was competent enough to BASE jump. Maybe a Base number would be sufficient.

In theory this would encourage some kind of education program similar to the license progression set in place by the USPA. I am sure this has been discussed here before but I haven't found it in the forums as of yet.

I am very interested to hear why you think that allowing BASE jumping in the parks could decrease the safety of the sport.

In general, the argument is that a large influx of new participants would occur, with less and less preparation and training, and the average skill level would subsequently decrease.

I've definitely seen this happen in the time I've been involved in the sport. I theorize that the rise of the legal span here, along with accompanying "First Jump Not-Courses" has contributed greatly to this. If you can make it out to be just a thrill ride, and "so easy a bag of dogfood can do it" you're likely to see new participants who are less serious about preparation and training.

Especially if we were to open up the big cliff, since after all many people will think it is "just a skydive"...

Not that I'm saying this is a legitimate reason to keep the thing illegal. On the contrary; we should never ask the government to protect us from ourselves. But at the same time, we can't really use improved safety as an argument in favor of legalization either.

huh?

I thought the environmentalists already believe a certain valley gets TOO much traffic...

doesn't the NPS try to limit stays by rockclimbers?

that argument might hold for some parks, but not the one we all want to jump.

Curious how giving a free jump course, after evaluating prospective students only for a short bit on the phone, or via email similarly makes BASE significantly easier for any individual to enter on a whim, as though it were just a roller coaster ride, with fewer impediments in the way of these individuals to require a higher level of committment from them to demonstrate a higher level of preparedness and seriousness...

Wow, I think I've changed my mind. Maybe it should stay illegal.

What can be done then to asure that people have the proper training? Or can anything be done?

Sorry guys if you have all had this discusion before.

I think we're not giving whuffos enough credit. Even if our National Parks were completely legal, most people in this world are smart enough to follow normal training methods before jumping. The average person is too scared to even think about BASE jumping. Sure, there have been and always will be exceptions. But realistically, your average Joe is not going to buy a rig on Ebay and find his way to the top of El Cap.

BASE jumping is an exclusive sport with a small number of participants. It's definately not the right sport for about 99.999% of the population. But some people act like God must approve your application before you can participate.

I can only hope that many more legal sites are opened around the world. If we continue to worry about a few things that can go wrong with legal jumps, we'll lose out on the tens of thousands of things that can go right.

 

A rather interesting discussion here...we're writing 24's paper for him.

I'm really about people watching out for themselves. I don't feel the need to have the government protect me from things I might do that really only directly effects me. I understand there are all kinds of indirects effects of drinking, smoking, riding without a helmet, driving without a seat belt, skydiving, BASE jumping, etc, etc. But most things I do effect me much more than the rest of the world combined.

If I choose to make poor decisions and take up BASE jumping without first finding out what I might need to know, then so be it. My death may be bad for the community, but I think being dead is a very good deterrent to that course of action. If not then I'm bound to kill myself somehow anyway. Hand out the Darwin award.

If it's legal and people want to try it it's going to be a very small percentage of the world population. Skydiving's legal and the only friends I know that skydive I met skydiving. It's a very small community and BASE is just a fraction of that.

I'm not saying I'm against education. I think anyone interested in attempting almost anything should seek the proper training. I don't feel like we should be holding base as if it's something we own. I wouldn't even suggest anyone try it, but if someone asks I'll point them in the direction I think would be best.

Legal, hell yes I like legal! I would love the opportunity to walk up to a building, ride the elevator to the top, and jump off without the added danger of getting busted. Take the NRG bridge for instance. What's the likelihood of someone being in the landing area on any given day, much less me hitting them? How about the cliffs around Lake Powell or the Grand Canyon?

It really makes no sense!!!

I had not thought of that. I was trying to think of some way to encourage the NPS to trust BASE jumper so that they will open up the parks. What you said is what I believe is the main issue. Why are BASE jumpers treated differently? I guess I overlooked this before. You have all given me some good information. Thanks for taking the time to jump in.

I better go. I've been doing homework all evening and I have to be up for work in 5 hours.