Basejumper.com - archive

This is a pretty cool video of a couple of dudes jumping out the library window of the Lomonosov University in Moscow.

Police investigated but never found out who they were...
http://englishrussia.com/?cat=15

Yeah, a buddy of mine showed me that video a few days ago, and I must say, I was very annoyed to see it.

In Moscow there's way too much daytime jumping taking place, and the city is going to crack down on it in the near future. There's no reason not to jump this object at night - in many ways, it's easier at night. Security is very lax, and it's very easy to get inside. However, these jumpers decided to dayblaze the object, and then post their videos online.

I came into work yesterday, and within 5 minutes one of the interns at our office, a graduate student at the university in question, sent me a copy of the video above. He doesn't jump and is in no way affiliated with skydiving/BASE, yet he and tens of thousands of other Moscovites have all seen the video.

The situation in Moscow is pretty messed up. Locals are way too eager to dayblaze their own objects. Part of this is because it's generally easy to get access to objects. Security can be bribed for $3-$5 dollars. Cops don't really care about BASE-jumping, and can also be bribed. However, if jumpers in Moscow continue calling attention to themselves, that situation is going to QUICKLY change. Laws will be passed, cops will learn that BASE jumpers can become a source of income, and security companies will crack down.

Just one month ago metal detectors were installed at the city's best and tallest B because of daily dayblazing.

P.S. I'm not Russian, though I do live and jump in Moscow. It's not my place to decide how Russian jumpers should act. However, the trends I see now will cause a serious crackdown over the next 5 years, and it's very sad to know that a lot of the objects I know and love today won't be available tomorrow.

It's on You Tube now . . .

And read some of the "brilliant" comments . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Yea... I saw that video on skydiving movies as it was posted, then within the hour saw it on digg.com

it's a shame...

I saw it on SDM.com too. I thouht the first guy was at least quick about it. The second guy looked around like he was waiting for someone to watch him jump from within the ofice. Then after he landed, he was taking his sweet time putting his stering lines back on the velcro.

I am not a BASE Jumper yet.... but I would have just stashed my rig in a stash bag and tried to blend in with the other students around the campus.

Will--

Slightly deviating off the general topic, but:

Metal detectors were gone the next day as they had only been installed because of a one-time racing event. For this particular building in this particular situation, late afternoon/evening is better and safer than 4 AM sneaking (whereby you alert the floor staff who you inevitably have to pass on your way up, plus the guards are not busy dealing with the cars and will come bust your ass). My one and only bust on that B was at midnight. Plus it's so much more gorgeous at sunset...

Now what personally ticks me off is that some jumpers are so willing to damage the doors to gain access there. The repeated busting of the doors is for sure bringing much more negativity to the local scene than does dayblazing. Last time we went there with lockpicks. I picked the first door easily. I was about to start on the second one when a jumper (incidentally, the camera guy on the MGU jump) said, "I know an easier way," and proceeded to pry the glass out of the door (breaking it in the process).

Damaging property to gain access to a site, even if its owned by the Sovietskaya Vlast' is a major political mistake. I am not sure about the attitude towards BASE jumping in Russia, but in the US private property is still a major issue.

Not only would you get additional charges, but also you create bad will with the local community. What more is there to say?

And you are admonishing me why?

I didn't know the metal detectors had been removed. Good news.

I still, however, stand by my prior assertions: if you can't jump a high-profile object at night, don't jump it at all (the only exception being super-high-profile objects like the Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower, etc.). Jumping during the day practically guarantees that hundreds of people will see you. Jumping at night significantly reduces your visibility.

There is, however, one major downside. Since this B is residential, if you jump it at 2am, the sound of your inflating canopy next to her 27th-floor window is gonna wake up grandma Nadya. So, jump it 30 minutes after sunset. You can get in before sunset while the guards are still busy, and have a smoke while watching the sunset.

Obviously, if you jump it in the middle of the day, you're much less likely to piss off the building's residents, cause most of them are at work/school. However, you guarantee that HUNDREDS of witnesses will see you from the ground (this B is right next to a major highway, that you have to fly over to reach the landing zone).

All things considered, you're going to draw far less attention if you jump this B at night.

That video has also made the evening news in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Or he was waiting for his dude to land!?

That is the best BASE clip I have seen for a long time :-) Good entertainment five points!!!

I really enjoyed that clip. Make me thinking back on my own dayblazing sniking to get myself a jump!!

I figured he was waitning on the first guy to land too. But I still wondered why he waited so long before jumping.

People do two ways all the time with the top guy pulling higher so I wasn't so sure why he would wait until the other guy had completely landed before jumping himself.

I don't care I you day blaze your B, I don't live anywhere near you for it to effect me.

Besides if that video was filmed at night, it would have been like some others posted recently on SDM.com, too dark to even watch. Who wants to just hear a canopy open? I want to see the action!

It's your city, go jump it how you please. At least you guys are still jumping!

DBR

 

P.S. I'm not Russian, though I do live and jump in Moscow. It's not my place to decide how Russian jumpers should act. However, the trends I see now will cause a serious crackdown over the next 5 years, and it's very sad to know that a lot of the objects I know and love today won't be available tomorrow.
I am russian though and I know for a fact that no one cares they just pretend they do. Its more interesting for a cop to take bribes from criminals and more interesting for a politician to make laws that benefit themselves. It yields no profit chasing base jumpers. There will only be trouble when they jump something like the red square or use putins dacha as a landing site. There will be no crack down and if it does come it will only be on paper and for a short time. Just look at the crack down on prostitution or pirated videos and such. Chill you are in russia now

Sounds like heaven

And the beer is cheaper than Pepsi.

dont forget the vodka i seen it go as low as 60 roubles a bottle.

not to upset the stereotype of course

If someone drinks a 60-rouble bottle, and he is not russian, he won't be able to see the next sunrise.
Take a 130-rouble one

if the cops dont care, then whats the problem? i mean, not thst i know much about the country, but if its not a problem for the law enforcement, then what harm is it?

Well, to say that the cops don't care is of course a generalization. There are some cops who care. There are some who don't care at all. And there are a lot who would like to make some extra cash on the side from bribes.

The situation however is that, in general, if noone complains and the cops don't feel like they can extort money from BASE jumpers, they're unlikely to do anything. This makes it very easy to BASE jump in Moscow, and makes a lot of buildings and other objects very accessible.

However, if people start to complain (residents, building owners, security companies, etc.) or BASE jumping gets more visible, that situation will likely change. Today, if a BASE-jumper is caught before/after a jump, he's likely to get dragged down to the local police station for 1-2 hours, and either he'll have to pay a small bribe to get out (average between $5 and $35), or the cops will get tired of holding him and he'll walk without paying a dime. Of course, this isn't set in stone, and can vary greatly.

What planet do you live on?

If the Iron Curtain was still up fine . . .

But the world is smaller now and Day Blazing in Russia makes it harder to jump in Los Angeles.

NickD
BASE 194