Basejumper.com - archive

http://video.google.com/...=4462675184422899418

a 33 story rope swing...

personally I'd rather use my BASE Rig...

very nice, i wish i knew the designers. anyone?

looks a bit, amature-driven however. (professionaly designed, but made for whuffos)

looks like its a buissness just like bungey jumping..

I like heir hike up again through..

I like how he just pushes the girls off, hilarious!

hehe... last time we set up frasca, (november 06) i brought the GF, and she stood there for about 20mn geared up, ready to go. she was so freaked out. after the line got restless, i asked her if she wanted me to push her. she said 'maybe'

a half second later, she was ass over teakettle freefalling for 70meters, thanks to a healthy shove from me.

I wonder how many jumps that rope (what type?) they are using is good for?

I am not a climber and do not know what kind of rope
these guys were using... but for what is worth my buddy's
climbing rope, which I used for towing, is rated for 10 falls
and from a quick Google search I learned this:

The UIAA standard requires that a rope take a minimum of 5 consecutive
1.71 factor falls. This is a stringent test with a very high safety margin.
To understand it, picture the leader falling 16 feet with 9 feet of rope in
service and landing 7 feet below the belayer. Repeat this five times with
a five minute interval between falls.

More Info on Climbing Ropes

The longer the fall, the more rope that can stretch. A longer fall does not always equate to more wear on the rope.
edit to add: whythehellamitypingingreen?

I like the fact the guy at the end has his fingers through the carabeaner looks like a good way to lose a finger to me

ok...
the rope they are useing looks to me to be about 5 ropes bundled to gether,

greebn man was righ about the UIAA fall testing requirments for ropes, its is a climbing testing company that does that.

whoever said 'the longer the fall, the more the rope stretches' was correct,

a 1.7 factor fall means that you fall 17' on 10 feet of rope.

factor is just a ratio.

now, for climbing purposes, a 1.7 facor fall os about as bad as you can get, the worst being factor 2 fall. meaning you would be leading, be 10' abouve your belay/anchor, and would send. falling past him, another 10 feet, so a 20' fall on 10' of line.

this jump in the video, is about what seems to me, an ACTUAL fall factor of less than ONE.

However, there is a lot more to it than that, this is a SWING, meaning the fall is not being abrorbed by the rope, pretty much just like frasca.

i would say the THEORETICAL fall factor of this jump is around .1 (1/10)

I could show you the 'math' for this stuff, useing graphing and shite, but really, the only way to tell how much force is on the line is to use a load cell. Math, can only give you the fall factor. you could get kinda close to force, but its not worth it.

(trust me, me and the boys have spent 6 years doing that stuff)

Definitely amateur -- any professional outfit would be putting helmets on the whuffos. Isn't it possible to smack oneself on the backswing, since they're launching from a solid object at one end of the arc?

i cant tell what the system is they are using, we dont use helmets on frasca, or most of our other hucks. there are some we do where tree impacts happen almost every jump, and we always where helmets with those, but i dont know what those guys are doing.

there might be enough energy absorbsion in the system to not warrent a swing back, or there could be a energy absorbing belay (swing line), to stop the swing.

from the accents I am certain this operation is in Africa, most likely Vic Falls from a quick google search


and in Africa things are different....

none of the professional Bungee or Rope Swing operations here in South Africa require their costumers to use helmets

most countries in Africa have a legal systems very different to the responsibility-averse lawsuit-happy lawyer-serving system in North America

nobody here is going to try and protect you from yourself and that is an awesome thing

Don't know where it is mate, but not Vic Falls (I lived there a long time).


Very different!

check out the following links

still think so?

what a waste of rope.

it does seem like they know wht they are doing.

PS-i HATE the USA. a lot. but, i can fly airplanes here. thats all its got goinf for it.

No, not anymore.

Found the web site of the commercial company with a map:
http://www.thezambeziswing.com/maps2.htm

In my defense, when I was a kid there was nothing out there in the 5th gorge worth seeing more than once. I sometimes used to ride my motorbike out past there to another gorge, but you couldn't take a car out there for example.

I can't believe how much it's changed in 10 years. They really do look geared up to relieve fat tourists of their excess money!

they have one in NZ too

 FULL DAY - U$ 95
includes

*

Pick-up from Livingstone or Victoria Falls at approximately 08H30.
*

Day visa (if required) for entry into Zambia.
*

Coffee and scones for breakfast.
*

Unlimited Abseiling.
*

Unlimited Rap Jumping.
*

Unlimited High Wire.
*

Unlimited Gorge Swings.
*

Lunch.
*

Cool drinks and beers.
*

Return journey to Livingstone or Victoria Falls at approximately 17H3


hundred bucks. not bad.

 
Things have changed there so much, it's got me thinking about visiting "home".

We used to have to make our own entertainment but it's all laid on for tourists now. If you've got the $, there's loads to see & do.

The whitewater in the gorges is unmissable: warm, very few submerged rocks.

I know of a few people that have passed through there in the last few years that have scored a BASE jump off the bridge. You can't risk a big delay because you've got a fair flight to land somewhere that won't kill you.

Healthcare there is non existent (can't believe that would have improved). If you require hospital attention, remember to take your own sheets, food, medicine, drugs, needles, plasma. Oh, and expect to leave the hospital with more diseases than you went in. AIDS infection rates are very close to 100% universally.

Awesome place, though!