Basejumper.com - archive

After two weeks in hospital, I'm on to the long, tough bit. Thought I'd share my logbook entry (attached) for the fateful jump and send out a big thanks to everybody who was so supportive while I was in the hospital.

I wish I could keep this all positive, but I've got to say something more... The day before I hit the water, I watched as a jumper left the bridge with a helicopter in the landing area, blades spinning. My understanding is that the same happened while medics were pulling me out of the canyon. I can only say that it sickens me to think that, while these folks are saving my -- or anybody's -- life (and, without exaggeration, I am alive today because of the speed and skill with which the medics responded), somebody on the bridge could be so inconsiderate as to complicate matters for the pilots by jumping. You may know that you can land well away from them -- they don't.

If I could make one request, from one jumper to another... Please wait until the helicopter is clear before jumping, without exception. These people deserve all the respect in the world.

Edit to add: To all those who wouldn't think of jumping in that situation, thank you for bearing with me while I rant.

Glad to hear you are doing good..........



here's to a speeding recover.............

=================================

Glad your out of the hospital, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask.
Your neighbors to the South,
Alan

Whenever I get hurt, I take the plastic hospital wrist band and tape it to the page of my log book for that jump. It's a good reminder when you flip through the pages.

Do you still have yours?

Glad to hear that you are out and doing well. You are the “Miracle Man”!

good point. Nice to hear from you. was great meeting you. thanks for all your help in TF. glad you're getting well.
cheers
g

Jason,

Glad you're back! The road to recovery can be fun too, in a masochistic way! Keep yourself positive and soon enough you'll be in the air again.

Here is a pic for ya.

edit to remove copyrighted material ~TA

 

Good to hear from you...

Have you checked on your pin rig fund? Don't let Nick go and blow all that money we're sending him. I'll call you later.

I was writing the whole incident down yesterday and can't believe your still with us after what happened. Makes you appreciate how close the edge is even off a seemingly simple bridge.

Tony

>>The day before I hit the water, I watched as a jumper left the bridge with a helicopter in the landing area, blades spinning.<<

Hi Jason,

That would be me - Guilty as charged . . .

I was on the bridge when the helicopter arrived. He landed up by the wind flag and I watched as the injured jumper was attended to by medical personal. A few times it looked as if they were about to move her and I was ready to stand down until they departed.

After some time and no movement on the ground I made a decision based on my ability and experience.

I’ve landed around “spinning blades” many times in the past, at drop zones, at air shows, and in the Marine Corps I’ve even landed round parachutes near turning helicopters. Was it wise? Was it disrespectful? I don’t know, I’m human like the rest of you. Did it cause any practical problems – None that I saw or heard about . . . And if it did, and I mean outside the BASE community, I’m ready to write a letter of apology to whomever that is.

The injured jumper, it was later decided, is put into the boat for transport and the helicopter flew out over my head about 10 minutes after I landed. As it passed the pilot gave me a big thumbs up out his window. Maybe that was the first BASE jump he’d seen up close. He didn’t seem to have any heartburn over it – so maybe you shouldn’t either.

Sure, in hindsight I might have waited - and yes, I could have had a heart attack or stroke right after launching. But I was slider up and even after opening, had something disabled me, I wouldn’t have reached the area where the helicopter was sitting.

As an aside, and just because you mentioned it - I don’t consider policemen, firemen, or paramedics for automatic hero worship like is so much the fashion today. I have respect for them, but I think in BASE we need to get our priorities in order – and the first one is to look out for and value ourselves.

And if my jump was the event that “sickened” you – then you weren’t paying attention to the real carnage going on . . . The state of the art appeared to be in pretty sad shape overall, or at least it was that week. And since I too have been in BASE plaster up to my chest nipples for year - I’ll wish you a very speedy recovery, Brother . . .

And if you don’t remember me - shortly before your jump I’m the fellow who measured you with, and without your body armor on to get some updated numbers for rig manufacturing, and I really appreciated you taking the time to do that . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Nick,

No need to play the persecuted guy here.

I have no doubt that there was nil chance of you interfering with the Chopper. Perhaps the chopper pilot and crew thought that seeing you jump was totally rad. but they would have had no idea who was jumping or what their experience was, it could have been another shmuck that was going to pound in anywhere - like had been happening all week.

The busted up dude has a point. I think it would be a good idea in future for jumpers to wait until the chopper has left the scene before re-commencing jumping. It's not much to ask.

Perhaps not all chopper pilots are as cool at this guy, perhaps some of them would become a little uneasy by parachutes in the air 'near' them. Let's cut them some slack, it could be me or you that they are saving next time.

Not bad mouthing people who jumped while EMT's were in the landing area, but...

My concern with jumping while paramedics are attending to another person is the delay in getting someone to you. Normally not a problem, but you look at what happened on Monday and you can see the concern.


Jumper down helicopter flown in and ambulance brought in with Sherrif or Deputy

I was third off when the helicopter leaves empty, land, look up a guy flare's ten feet off the ground breaks leg and arm. I call 911 Ambulance is still enroute to hospital so they have to send another. We call of the helicopter due to extent of injuries.

EMT arrives and sherrif and I start walking to his boat and I look up to see Shannon's jump. I yell at the Sheriff to call the helicopter and one of the EMT's assisting with the broken bones hustle's to the river. Shannon is rushed to the ambulance in hope...

I go back to the broken boned jumper and jumpers are standing around helping the EMT's "Hand me this colored thing out of that colored bag" and so forth...

The Sheriff finally called the bridge and asked that jumping be stopped due to being under staffed. If Jason would have been the one who just hit the water who knows how it would have turned out, hopefully as good as it did, but there were three EMT's assisting with Jason and Jason was there only concern.


Do I think you endangered yourself or others? NO! Because chances are you weren't going to get hurt and need any assistance. (I jokingly asked you if you swooped the helicopter at Woody's that night.)

But it could have made a difficult situation even more difficult and we clearly made the Emergency staff in Twin work for every penny we donated to them that weekend.

Sure, the BASE community might be tight but they are sure bunch of cheap bastards! So far I got squat! Not a penny!

Here is the link slackers!

http://www.skydiveems.com/NitroRigging/jason.htm

Anyone can see that's been retouched Abbie. Here's the original before Nick doctored it


edit to remove copyrighted material ~TA

The issue isn't whether or not we as jumpers are capable of making the jump safely with a helicopter in the landing area. Next time you're driving through a controlled intersection, think how secure you'd feel if you thought there was a real possibility that someone waiting at the red light would try to dart through a gap in the traffic.


That's the problem. In some cases, individuals pursuing what is best for themselves will result in a situation which is considerably less than optimal on the whole. In general I place great value on individual freedoms. But for the few minutes it takes to care for an injured jumper, I think we can put some of those freedoms on hold so that the medics can work more efficiently.

Nobody's worshiping them as heros. But with a little consideration we can help them get their job done more efficiently.

Michael

Quite.

They're doing an stressful and variable job. They need to make quick, accurate assessments and then act promptly, doing their level best to focus on the job in hand.

Any distraction takes away from the focussed treatment of your fellow jumper. Most whuffos can't help being distracted by seeing someone jump, it's quite unusual the first time you see it apparently.

This didn't always hold true during that weekend, but my rational is that a helicopter is there because of a serious injury. What's more, if the pilots are worried about jumpers, it must delay or interrupt their flight plans.

During one of the Memorial weekend days I think I must have waited three times for a helicopter to clear the landing area.

Don't worry, I reckon I still did 8 jumps that day; I'm not in a rush. Neither am I that important.

 

Wow, another productive conversation...

Wow, this post from Nick is really inconsistent with many years of postings that provoke thought in so many directions...and perhaps that is what is going on here because this posting is showing "frustration in solitude" as opposed to "inspiration in solitude" which is what I have observed and enjoyed in the past postings. Perhaps there is more below the surface that is not being shared by Nick, otherwise I am quite surprised by what is written because it makes no sense to not be cautious and caring for fellow jumpers by allowing a process that is designed to help people and yield as much hope for an outcome that is favorable to almost all but the Grim Reaper. Perhaps Nick has been affected by the many negative emails he receives about his list and is infact is subconciously exploring those selfish thoughts that he receives for his efforts.

It's a crazy world but what WE all enjoy so much is IRONY so let's wait and see what the universe will deliver to such a meesage if in fact it is actually genuine expression.

kris

good to see your out of hospital and didn't get a high speed enema

How about 30?

Shakes head.

Okay, Abbie,

You can disagree with me, like others have in a civil way, but where’s all the hate and venom coming from . . . ?

I call other jumpers “brother” because that’s how BASE always seemed to me. But, maybe you’re right and it’s time to drop it. Since about the year 2000, or so, we are getting further and further away from that ideal and I think I’ve been in denial about it.

And I’m secure knowing that I’ve helped enough people in this sport, both inside the gear industry and outside of it, that your statement I took some measurements down wrong didn’t hurt me like you intended . . .

Nobody likes being second guessed, and maybe I said some things in that first post I shouldn’t have – But, I’ll take my turn in the barrel, I mean, everyone finds themselves in the BASE doghouse once in a while. And there’s a lot of company in here.

The saddest part is - it used to be us against them – and now it’s becoming us against us.

NickD
BASE 194

It's the way people are these days... I see it in my kid's.."and they can thank god" that they are step kid's..other wise they would be a bit more respectfull of others... or crippled... "brother always was used as a word to express " a small understanding of respect, and friendship. We have lost that in the past years. Don't be in denile, just surround yourself with people who think like you do or just don't really care what you think.....they just like hanging out with you...

Ditch that reserve son, we'll be jumping low.

Isn't that a quote from Sergeant "Bull" Randleman from "Band of BROTHERS"???

No mate. That hasn't changed. The dysfunctional BASE family has got a lot bigger, but there have always been black sheep.

Just because someone jumps off a few fixed objects does not automatically qualify them to be a "brother"; how they behave does.

However, you don't have to meet many BASE jumpers to realize that an overwhelming majority, for some illogical reason, are in fact fantastic people.

But if you expect "brotherly" behaviour as the norm, you'd be disappointed fairly shortly.

Taking a hypothetical character, let's call him Abbie (or Francis, if you like). Abbie is an extraordinarily friendly and generous person, if barely house trained. Abbie thinks that anyone that jumps off fixed objects is automatically a good person and invites them all to stay in his home for as long as they like.

Most of Abbie's guests will exhibit genuine "brotherly" behaviour, but a finite (if tiny) proportion will not. That's a fact of life away from the rose tinted spectacles. Always has been, always will.


Bollocks.

If a "brother" does something a bit naughty, one's memory, hearing and eyesight will most likely become highly selective.

But how selective depends on the alleged transgression. Being a "brother" does not provide unquestioning loyalty for all circumstances.

Having said that, when your BASE "brother" does something obviously minor (like jumping while the life flight helicopter is in the landing area), it's very easy to overlook and move on.

Amen...

Chill out boys!

Having seen that everyone is busting my balls about the pic here is the original-super-untouched one.

Abbie,

Personal attacks aside I agree with you 100%. You could have left them on the side...unless you needed some time off the dorkzone

Nick,

You fucked up dude, everyone does, just fucking admit it, I did not see any apologies on your part, I really thought you were much better than that. And all that Marine Corps, blade swooping, Korea, Nam horse crap, who do you think you really are?

vandev,

People these days? Nick's old school and he is the one who showed disrespect.

To all,

Jason does have a "brother" and he was right there with him waiting for Dr. Death to take him away. The least everyone should do in a situation like that is to sit down and smoke a joint.


edit to remove copyrighted material ~TA

Lighten up on the profanity.

Your photoshop skills are very good....

Jason, Good to see you back... It is amazing and the title of the thread reflects it well. You recorded your freefall time of 6.09 seconds...This is only half a second longer than "regular" freefall, so you may have impacted at almost 80 mph! This is an amazing testimony to the protective capability of the armor that you were wearing.


Jumping stops at the Bridge Day when medical help is administered, trains go along the tracks and boats are full and these rules seem to make a lot of sense (maybe except trains) there.

besides the personal attacs i do agree whith most of your aguments.
If you didnt make thouse personal attacs im sure you not only would be allowed here but also could have taken this tropic in the right way..

Hope to jump whith you one day,just dont push me off unless,i agreed

I did not photoshop anything...I guarantee you so

I just can't help this, but...


quote

Nick,

You fucked up dude, everyone does, just fucking admit it, I did not see any apologies on your part, I really thought you were much better than that.

end quote

Pot, kettle, black...

To err is human dude. What gets under my skin is that according to what Nick has wrote because of his superior skills he feels he is above common courtesy or common sense. Knowing Nick for the little I do, I really thought he was better than that.

Read this stuff again:

You know what - Fuck all you lame boneheads . . .

And if you're not smart enough to reply on your own without doing a word for word autopsy on my post than spare me.

The bottom line is I looked, figured I wouldn't be a factor in anything going on below, and went. If that isn't good enough for you then begin reading again from line one above.

Nick
BASE 194

Duuude, I already read what Nick said, I was more referring to what you failed to say a while ago.

Ginny

So you are saying that you control all the entropy in the Universe and all the variables?

Wow Nick, please teach me that so I won't nearly kill anybody again!

Next time someone gets fucked up, I wait for the medics to come, jump, hook the shit out of my ragged out tarp, and swoop few inches from their heads. Hey I know I got the fucking skills to do that and they might even enjoy the "visuals".

Come on, Nick, you're better than that.

That's a personal attack. Consider this your warning.

Nick, (nicknitro71)

I CLEARLY explained to you and Tony, these photos were not to be released by you.

DO NOT post another!

Baz

and chaos ensues. delete me. i dont exist.

Sure you do. And your name is Bryan Rapoza. I banned your login (Avenfoto) from this forum for PA's. So you started posting from this one to circumvent the ban. Please stop.