Basejumper.com - archive

I was recently checking out Nick's BASE fatalilty list and noticed that there are no deaths listed from 1991-1992.

Was there no deaths during this time? Anyone know what's up with that?

J.P.

The list is compiled from reports that find their way to Nick. If a fatality is not reported to the media or fails to reach Nick through other channels, it won't appear on the list.

I wouldn't be suprised if there have been fatalities that never found their way onto the list. There are people jumping all over the world, not all of whom regularly use the internet. If there was a small crew that experienced a fatality and had no reason to report it to the global BASE community, it's not outside the realm of possibility that it would stay under the radar.

Also, the list isn't entirely in chronological order.

Yeah.

I just thought that it looked a little funny having that gap in those specific years. I wondered if there was a story behind it.

Yes it is still, unfortunately, very much a work in progress. When I initially started it and after the first 30 or so fatalities I thought the BASE community small enough that it would be impossible to miss any of them. But I didn’t know about the very first fatality listed until the late 90s or so, and that one I just happened upon because it was reported in an old 1981 issue of PARACHUTIST. There wasn’t much of a BASE community back then and it was only considered a parachute stunt gone bad.

Over the years I still get an occasional report I have to insert, and not just add to the end, because it was hushed up at first.

Number 15 is that way, and on others like #26 which I put on the list back in ‘93, I didn’t know her name until 2004. These seem to be due to legal reasons and sometimes because many skydiving associations around the world would ban a jumper for life after any involvement in BASE back in the old days. Also remember, unlike today, when for better or worse the authorities now recognize BASE as a sport, sometimes any connection to a BASE fatality could be very serious and sometimes brought with it a charge of manslaughter.

Given the above, together with human nature being what it is, I’ll never say the list is complete, and I’m sure there are, at least a few, fatalities we don’t know about. The list gets more complete and accurate over time and after another thirty years or so it will be there to provide a good snapshot of what we all went through when there is no one left who remembers. And that was the point of the list in the first place.

I never meant it to become a teaching tool, although I’m happy that Mentors make their students study it, and experienced jumpers often tell me how much they learn from it.

Shepherding this list is the hardest thing I’ve done in my entire parachuting career. At first it was difficult because most on the list were real friends and not just people I vaguely knew. Nowadays, when it’s someone I don’t personally know, it’s still sad, as now I will never know them . . .

I haven’t as yet added the latest two fatalities which brings us to number 97 in total.

I had communicated with Stephen just days before he died in LB, and we laughed and shared some stories as he was ordering gear from us. I’ve since been in contact with his widow several times and it’s just heart breaking stuff . . .

Also over the years, every once in a while someone will attack the list as being something that puts BASE in a bad light. Fair enough I suppose when read by an outsider, or a reporter, without the context to understand it. But I believe it really shows our true character, it shows we respect our pioneers, both old and new, and it shows we recognize the significance of what we are doing. On a lighter note I also hear from people outside the BASE community who also get it. Hollywood types write to ask about buying the rights to the list. One felt there’s potential for a project because, and these were his words, “by the time I finished reading it I was sweating buckets, man, there is drama there. . .”

Don’t worry though; I’d never sell out my sisters and brothers that way.

What will probably happen in the end, after all the writing I’ve done on BASE jumping, after all the people I’ve helped over the years, and even after my BASE book gets published, all I’ll ever be remembered for is that damn list . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Nick, I'll remember you for your excellent customer service and your quick wit. As long as I get my Flik by June 1.
Cheers mate.

Oh, and on the fact there were no reported fatalities between Robert Morris Jr., #23 in 1990 and Jonathan Bowlin, #25 in1993. There was indeed one and that’s Darren Newton, #24, but I don’t know when it happened exactly except it’s in that range somewhere.

But, I think I have a reason why we did so well during those years. This is the period where BASE jumping finally started separating itself from skydiving. A time when BASE gear came into it’s own, and people really began to realize BASE had it’s own rules and it’s own pitfalls. Another thing is it was the heyday of the BASE magazine.

I was publishing the Fixed Object Journal, Phil Smith was still doing BASEline magazine, there was the Rock Hopper, and several other publications. In a sense, even with the internet nowadays, I think we communicated better in those days, and more of us were on the same page so to speak. Today the signal to noise ratio keeps many from hearing the truth of it . . . or has them chasing falsehoods.

In any case, I think we had a better chance of getting through a fatality free year back then. Today, that doesn’t even seem remotely possible. And that’s sad.

We are so much better and so much worse all at the same time . . .

NickD
BASE 194

"What will probably happen in the end, after all the writing I’ve done on BASE jumping, after all the people I’ve helped over the years, and even after my BASE book gets published, all I’ll ever be remembered for is that damn list" . . .

That's as far from the truth as you could get!
I'll remember you as one of the funny guys from California that came all the way to Florida in 90 or 91 to jump a tower just because the elevator was running.
I'll remember you because of the stories you tell and how you tell them.
But most of all I'll remember you because your NickD... Need I say more?
Sharing the Love brother, The Pick!.

What damned list?

And who is this Nick guy anyway???



You have a few more decades to add to the mountain you have already created. Don't sign off just yet!!!

Luv your work.

actually Nick, if you go first I'll remember you as being a writer with an easy style that I really enjoyed reading. And that you did some things with that gift, like "the list" and Fixed Object Journal and contributions here ... these sports are so young, many of the people making seminal contributions (eww!) are still here.

Nick,

I think it's safe to say we all learn so much from your list and thank you very much for your hard work.

J.P.

After all of us who have personally known you and benefitted greatly from your passion for getting solid BASE information out there are gone, probably so. Until then, not even close.

Walt

When I very first wanted to get into BASE, I went looking around for information about what gear to order, and other gear questions.

On the internet portion of my search, I found 3 good sources for helpful information.

One was a set of articles written by some guy named Walt.

The other two were people posting in a random internet forum who had the patience to answer questions from a new guy with a last name no one could pronounce. The first of those was some guy in Southern California named Nick, who ran the forum. (The other, if you're curious, was some Russian dude who lived in Washington, DC.)

"In any case, I think we had a better chance of getting through a fatality free year back then. Today, that doesn’t even seem remotely possible. And that’s sad."

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Nick,

I agree. But I'm not surprised. BASE gear has improved since the early days, and equally knowledge of packing and teaching methods. But with that confidence has increased too, and today it seems like more jumpers are deliberately doing more dangerous things (ie. purposely flying wingsuits close to towers/ledges, using high performance clothing to push it further/lower). And of course, there's the increased volume of people getting into BASE factor.

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"In a sense, even with the internet nowadays, I think we communicated better in those days, and more of us were on the same page so to speak. Today the signal to noise ratio keeps many from hearing the truth of it . . . or has them chasing falsehoods."

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Could this be another way of saying that BASE is more glamourized now through DVD & internet media, and more people are being drawn to it without deeply considering the consequences inherent in the sport?

. . . .when I read the list it does seem like BASE went through a brief period of less carnage back in the day.

No, I don't believe that. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the fatality list defines our canrage rate. I have done that repeatedly in the past, while analyzing the fatality list. Don't forget that carnage doesn't stop with death. I bet there were plenty of people that broke their leg, arm, back or neck during those years.

Furthermore, statistics are hard when your control group is small. The average number of deaths during those years was about two to three. Having a year with zero deaths is not significant, it's just a bit of an outlier well within the boundaries of what statistics tries to forecast.

Now if we see fifty fatalities this year, I'd say something is wrong. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

nick, even if the BASE fatality list becomes your legacy, it's a worthy one. i read it frequently and it's the first reading i recommend to anyone that tells me they want to BASE. for me i'll remember the sweet guy that sent me issue #2 of the "Fixed Object Journal", just so i could read your story The Ride. then your patience as i stalked you at bd 2005 to get you to sign it for russel.

nick, you are one of those special people that God put on this earth to make us think it's all worthwhile.

good point Jaap.