Basejumper.com - archive

 
Pete Swan and myself were discussing John Agnos' infamous exploits today at the DZ, and it occured to Pete that John may quite possibly be the first BASE jumper to have been rescued from all four objects.

First was his rescue from a building jump gone very wrong in Vegas, then he fell from a cliff in Colorado while trying to access an exit point, then his birthday jump fron an antenna in California, and now most recently from a bridge in Colorado.

So, unless anyone knows of another jumper who has been rescued from all four objects before John, we thought it fitting that he receive the number one BASE rescue slot.

I hereby nominate John Agnos for BASE Rescue #1.

here here....
deliver dues where they are deserved.

I hope to one day get busted base #1... god I love running from the cops.

hey jimmy, been practicing my shotgun skills, wanna race at BD?

Did somebody say shotgun beer? You are so on.

BASE arrest #1 went to J.D. Walker, BASE 37.

What saved JD from more serious consequences, at the time, was the police, the DAs, and the judges didn't know much about BASE jumping, or more so, had never heard of it. So they didn't feel a need to make an example of him as they figured this isn't a huge social problem. They reasoned, how many wackos jumping off buildings with parachutes could there be?

So at the time (late 80s) you usually got a small fine (mostly probation) and sometimes even a few light hearted laughs from lawyers and judges stuck in a courtroom that's usually filled by nasty thugs and gang bangers. The fact this is not the case anymore is too many of us let the BASE cat out of the bag.

The difference between JD and John is one of adding or subtracting from the whole.

JD was pushing hard on what was a very small BASE envelope of the day and he was a respected BASE jumper. John seems to be doing something completely different, almost to the point of being a rebel without a cause. JD was a true BASE character in the best sense – go anywhere with him - and your sides would be aching from laughter.

On the other hand, and in his defense, John, who I've had some phone conversations with, doesn't come across totally the way he is portrayed. (Do any of us?) But to say he's accident prone, and there is a problem with his methodology, is a big understatement. Every time JD was busted he was running - not hanging off a tower or building or found in a heap . . .

However, I've seen it many times with countless jumpers before him. John will come around somewhere down the line - everyone does if they stay around long enough.

NickD
BASE 194

JD, Steve, and Kenn put me off on my first jump, a 600 foot cliff when I had ~38 skydives. After I went off, the three of them went off holding hands, all naked - or rather - nekkid. JD from what I understand started the whole trend of "Get vertical with Dew" adrenalin adds, that he had sent in to Moutain Dew. JD was helped by Nick B****r got BASE very quickly, either in a day or a week. JD's first jump was a building.