Basejumper.com - archive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M99QbbJMYI
Check this out!

 
Amazing! The freefall skills those guys have are unreal! Even better than us fat Americans.

That's probably the scariest basejump I've ever seen.

This one goes into the same category...
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8df_1204559080
Jumpers are good in something else and the importance of the BASE Jump is only secundary...

Yeah I saw this video a week or so ago.
I definitely wouldn't wanna be him

As I recall this video won, Bannf, one of the world's most prestigious mountain film festivals the year it was released. It caused quite a stir and was actually very favorably viewed as legit adventure not some hairbrained scheme.

WTF was that?

That was part of a documentary.


I saw it a lot of years ago so here's what I remember. If someone remembers more or has a better account, please correct anything I write here.

One person was at least a skydiver. I forget the BASE experience. One of the jumpers wasn't a BASE jumper let alone a skydiver. They did some bungee jumps. Then to practice throwing the PC, they did more. Afterwards, the new gey did a real jump from a balloon and pretty much freaked out with delight and utter amazement of a first jump.

They made the climb then completely botched the exit as you see in that video. Amazingly they pulled it off.

Sure it was more challenging to fly with such low density but they were out of control from the launch.

Great footage though.

That was in 1992 and it was Nic Feteris (a very accomplished BASE jumper of that time) and Glenn Singleman, who was a climber with no BASE experience.

This vid pops up every few years and the "newb" reaction is always the same as in this thread. When we first saw it we also went WTF, and that was right after it happened.

However, the launch altitude was 19,537-feet MSL and they were both wearing heavy film cameras on their heads. The landing altitude was close to 14,000-feet MSL.

The way this came about was Nic wanted to make the jump but didn't know anything about Alpine climbing. Glenn, the climber, was game so they taught each other the skills needed. Glenn made a few normal type BASE jumps for practice and also took Nic on a few practice climbs.

For years this was reported as the world's highest BASE jump, and it was, but not in the way most wuffos thought as the actual freefall was only 5500-feet or so.

Keep in mind no one else was doing anything like this at the time, so as bad as it looks, they get a pass I'd say, just for doing it . . .

I knew Nic back in those days (he's a great guy) and on his first trip to the states (he's an Ozzie) he was wandering around downtown looking for a building to jump and he got mugged for his wallet . . .

Edit to add: Nic also successfully jumped from the Statue of Liberty. The Park Service nailed him on landing, but he took his lumps quietly and it's to his credit, in light of more recent events, that anybody hardly recalls it.

NickD
BASE 194

From what I understand that was the 1st Base / Climb project. A BASE jumper and a climber cross trained each other with the intent of making the highest jump in the world by climbing and then jumping the Great Trango Tower. The BASE jumper was Nic Feteris an Aussie, I believe the 1st President of the ABA. I met him a few years ago in Norway when he was jumping again after a long time off. He was a really mellow guy with some pretty amazing stories. I remember I got back home and was telling an old BASE jumper that had made a few in the early 80's about this Aussie I met with the tall tales and he informed that they we true. Among them were some pretty coveted jumps even one that none of us will ever have a chance at again, but the best was how he supposedly didn't have money to get home so he jumped the statue of liberty to get deported. I don't know if it's true but it was a good story .

So they were experienced just it was that they were learning, and didn't account for the thin air and effect of all the camera gear. Remember it was the 80's, they didn't have youtube to learn from.

Also didn't Jimmy and Marta try this again a few years ago?

Nic, BASE 71, also jumped the WTC in NYC while there. Nic was the founder of the Australian base association. cool guy, from what I've heard. now a little heavy and doing motivational speeches for major corporations. he called up my buddy, BASE 36, to invite him for jumps in NYC but declined due to work obligations. Strange, an Aussie got it in this modern day, but an American got it 1912.

Thanks Tim and Nick, never seen it before.

I remember seeing a short BASE docu, shot in the late 80s or begin 90s (Just a guess). There's a blond dude interviewing a few basejumpers, one of whom was Nic Feteris. The dude even accompanies the jumpers to an exitpoint on a B in the early morning. Nic also talks about him beeing mugged and he also talks about getting caught trying to tackle the Sears Tower, if I remeber correctly. I'll try to dig up the video when I'm home.

Eli

I met Glenn and his wife in Twin Falls, Idaho a few years ago. Glenn was dusting off rust flakes the size of Texas and his wife was taking a FJC from Jimmy and Marta. Four very nice people. It was a fun weekend. I think Jimmy proposed to Marta that wknd.

Glenn and his wife were training for a reprise of his highest BASE jump with hopes of taking his wife into the Big mountains of the Karakorum, Himalaya or the likes and jumping in similar fashion to the jump with Nic. I think it was being billed as "Highest BASE II".

As I recall they got to the face they had scoped out and it was not suitable for a long enough freefall to make it feasible so they bailed. Jimmy and Marta should know far more about this. It would be a good story next time you see them.

jon

http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1452&string=base%20tv