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I know it's a rambling post - sorry, it's still fresh.

Nothing to eat all day, in a rush to climb to beat the last bit of light, slammed a big can of Rock Star and chomped some sour patch kids on the drive out, pair of Han Wags that are too small and cinched up tight. Heart got pumping pretty hard from a fast climb, and at 200 feet started to feel very dizzy. I stopped and waited for a few minutes, thinking it would go away. Made a comment to the two other jumpers climbing below me that I was getting dizzy. I must have sounded only semi-coherent, because one of my friends climbed up to me. I remember telling him that if I started to fall, to please try and hang on to me. I remember his suggestion to try and loop my chest strap around the ladder, but by that point the sound was fading out, the lights were very dim, and motor skills were pretty much gone. I was trying my hardest to not lose my footing or my grip. I remember my friend taking over the chest strap idea for me, seeing that I was struggling, and next thing I knew, I was waking up from a vivid dream, hanging from my chest strap, to him asking... "dude... are you back?"

It seemed like 1/2 hour, but apparently I was only completely out, slumped in my harness for 5 seconds. Simply taking the weight off my feet seemed to allow the blood to flow back to my brain, and I was back to 98% in less than 60 seconds of hanging. I asked my friend to loosen my boots, and poof... aside from a splitting headache, was ready to get my ass off the A.

I don't know exactly what the cause was. Maybe the super sugar spike or the too-small boots cutting off circulation, but combined with a normal amount of exertion (climbing at a fairly normal pace), it incapacitated me.

My friend (you know who you are) saved my life, and I owe him huge. Thanks...

I will no longer be climbing on fake (sugar only) energy, and the too-small boots are going to be replaced with ones that fit. Regardless, I will also clip a quick-draw to my harness for the climb, just in case. Literally, 10 seconds later, and I don't think even my subconscious would have kept my grip on the A.

Thanks for looking out for me...

Thats one hell of a good friend. Glad everything workied out for ya.

damn dude, glad your OK. thats a scary story.

Sorry I didn't include diet and rest in your deathcamp course. Ill add that next time. I just figured you knew...

some climbing webbing between 2 carribeaners could be helpful to strap on to the ladder and yer chest strap. im glad youre okay man.

Han Wag? those are not very forgiving as far as size goes. what socks were you wearing?
one thing I have noticed, is socks. no matter what, don't where big socks. the best I have found is bamboo socks, the thin kind. super comfy and thin.

I remember getting weirded out by circulation from huge smartwool socks under my hanwags.
just a thought.

Scary scene dude, glad you're OK.

I assume you bought that guy a road coke

Energy drinks are no substitute for real food.

Glad to hear your ok, that's a good friend you got there and thanks for the tips.
No big amounts of sugar and small boots before a climb

Friends like that = the reason I BASE jump.

Glad it worked out. Good post.

Hey
1) Boy are you lucky :)
2) Did you drink enough fluids before you started climbing -ie noncaffienated ones. If you're dehydrated to begin with (not enough to drink, too much of the other variety of drink the night before) and do a bunch of caffienated beverages - they make your body 'diurese' or pee out more fluid regardless of how dehydrated you are. Add standing up without being physically able to sit down when you start feeling dizzy - bad combo
3) Simple sugars lead to a spike of insulin which then leads to a big drop in sugar in the blood/brain. OUr bodies are made to digest complex carbohydrates - these take long enough to break down that the insulin levels have started to decline when they're gone so you don't get the 'post-prandial" (means after eating) hypoglycemic low. Esp if you didn't have enough food the night before, this response can be exagerated.
4) Pain, fear, etc - can lead to a vagal response where the body slows down the heart rate and opens the blood vessels - leading to guess what, passing out. again usually cured by laying down.

Sounds like you combined all these classic reasons to pass out in one event! Cool!

Anyway - sounds like you already figured out the solutions - drink enough water, less caffiene, more sustained sources of energy (energy bars, apples, bagels, candy with fat even, less painful boots and a case of beer for your friend...

If it were to happen again you should probably get an EKG, glucose tolerance test, etc...

Im happy this didnt end up in the incident forum. With that being said, I would strongly advise getting checked up with your doctor before doing another BASE jump. I realize you didnt eat and bombarded your body with caffine and sugar compiled with strenous exertion probably explains everything that happened. Still, there is no harm in being extra sure your ok to go at it again. See your doctor and tell him what happened and ask him to draw some labs on you. Im guessing CBC CMP and GTT. Hope all goes well for you in the future.

A little scary, but a good story...

I'm glad that you can tell this your childrens later in life.

I could have sworn I sold an Apex DP with the Alpine climbing harness option to a "Gravityboyd"......but maybe I'm wrong? Use that thing!

bye

agreed. friends like that makes BASE special.

Who would have thought that they make a Patron "liqueur"?

I'm completely illiterate when it comes to physiology and stuff, but my gut tells me it was a combination of no food, od on caffeine and sugar, and I know it may sound weird, but the boots really felt like they were inhibiting some blood flow. As soon as the weight was off my feet, the lights turned back on. I even asked "friend" to loosen my boots while I was coming back. I could literally feel the blood coming back... I don't know if that's even possible, but that's how it felt.

I'm healthy and generally athletic, although hadn't climbed an A for a while. Never felt anything like that before. I'll have a hook-in from now on on an A, just in case, and if there's ever a hint of it again I'll go see the doc. It definitely opened my eyes - it's the last thing that crossed my mind about a jump from an A.

worldsocold: yeah - alpine will be hooked up on my next A. Still love the rig by the way. She's my baby...

haha!! Dude... but your drinks are on me, even if it IS Patron Liqueur that turns your crank. I owe you HUGE. It was a little blurry, but I remember being impressed with your mad skillz - holding yourself on the A while hooking in my chest strap as I wobbled around.

All said and done, how was the jump?

I decided to take the opportunity to refine my mad downclimbing skills. Hell I was only at 200, packed slider up.

Calvin19 beat me to it. Was just gonna ask if you jumped or climbed down.

I'd say you made the smart decision. Thanks for the story, and glad you're OK, man.

Somebody say Patron? G-G-Giggety.

'at a boy!
did your rescue crew climb down with you?

This is a device I designed in the late 1980s and it's called it a Rapid Grip . . .

It has a small carabiner connected to a steel cable (later versions were tubular nylon) and is attached to the jumper via the pouch on your chest strap. The pouch has two compartments, one for the Rapid Grip and the other for a hook knife.

I came up with this after being on a tower with a woman who became faint while climbing. And I really wished for a way to secure her.

However, it can also be used just for resting, or more importantly, securing your position after certain objects strikes, in a tree, etc. As it was very strong even a helicopter could lift you out of a tough spot with it.

Any rigger with a bartack machine who understands the concept could build one for you.

But if you use it in a true emergency you owe me a beer . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Yeah - they were slider off, and could have easily got to exit, but they climbed down with me. They said it was because of wind, but I know better.

There are plenty of people on here with way
more medical knowledge so hopefully one of
them will explain this better than me but....

On international flights I always remove my
dress shoes or wear comfy slip ons because
I have heard stories of people with real tight
shoes suffering major circulation problems.

On Virgin Air, which is one of my 2 favorites
airlines, that actually give you a pair of socks
that have rubber on the bottom and suggest
to wear them for comfort & health.

So I definitely think the tight shoes could have
been a contributor to your situation.

Scary story.....one that could also happen to anyone at anytime....no matter how fit or prepared they are.
I'm glad you had someone with you that handled it well .

I personally used to carry around a quickdraw on objects where I could use if it needed to 'rest' when harnessed or (touch wood) help to secure onto an object in the event of a strike.
It was shown to be my someone and it seemed a good idea...a few have scoffed with 'overkill'...but whatever....makes me feel better, and thats all I need to bother about.

Ive changed that to a simple tubular sling....its easy to stuff anywhere , without the 'biners and is multi functional.....for securing you to an object ...with/without your harness.
It also has a multitude of other possible functions...
Its in my pocket on near all jumps.

There is a device specially made for climbing towers that have that annoying cable right in your face. Its called a slider. It attaches to the cable and to your chest strap. As you climb, it slides along the cable in front of you. If you slip, or in your case, pass out, it grabs the cable preventing you from falling more than a few feet. Check out a company called DBI Sala. They should have them. Might just come in handy.
K

They also cost around $400, but if you check with another company called eBay you might find them much cheaper

Eat food, before climbing. This is a crazy concept when climbing a 1000ft antenna or hiking a mountain, but I hear it works.
Food=Energy

perhaps he just didnt wanted to burn the object

naah good storry :) glad your ok..

You could buy a personal anchor system and a carabiner.

Just out of interest was it an AM or a FM antenna and could this have been a contributing factor?

Its just a FM tower. The one we slam all the time. It wasn't that.

wow..this post make me thinking that wearing a rig while climbing a tower isn`t a dumb idea..i have always stowed my rig in my stash bag..i remember some while ago i climbed a 950feet antenna outside!! still with my rig in the stash bag...that was super scary

falling on the outside is better than falling on the inside... at least you die of a quick pancake-style demise instead of a meat-grinder surprise. Or if your wearing your rig, you still got a chance

Something to be aware of when dealing with BASE, climbing or any emergency where the casualty is suspended in an upright position:

http://www.suspensiontrauma.info/

How long have you got?
If your legs are perfectly still, then you can start feeling the first signs of shock in as little as three minutes. The average is between five and twenty minutes. You will faint a few minutes after that, and if you are not allowed to lie down straight away then your brain can start to die a few minutes later.

So, worst case scenario you can be dead in ten minutes. Actually, less than that - because once you faint, you lose control of your airway and if your body is upright you can choke on your tongue and suffocate in a matter of seconds.

Not everyone will be pushing death inside of a quarter hour though - the time it takes is random. Some people will last ten, some sixty. Age, height, weight, fitness, sex, race - none make any difference. The same person will react differently from one day to the next. In short, it's unpredictable. Very old people suffer first, as their muscles are less able to control the blood flow, and very young children are immune as their bodies are just too short! Nobody's sure at what age you become 'at risk', but certainly anyone over about 5 feet tall is capable of feeling the effects.

Interesting article/website! The symptoms were very similar. Yeah 935, I know YOU know, but for everyone else, here's an update:

I've since climbed the same A two more times (and jumped it ) from 920', with no climbing issues whatsoever. DAMN it felt good to get up there - I was a little worried that something was wrong with me (save the comments!)

After having some time to think about my little nap at 200 feet, I think it was caused by about 4 things all coming together: 1. no food / blood sugar out of whack 2. tons of caffeine during the day 3. TIGHT BOOTS! and 4. of course the physical exertion of climbing. Take any one of those factors out, and I think it never would have happened.

Since my nap, I've been climbing with a short runner and a carabiner hooked to my chest strap. It's actually been really handy for taking a little siesta, doing a wind check, whatever. I actually like having it. I've also not worn the too-tight boots, and have watched what I eat (and drink) throughout the day. My last climb was 48 minutes to 920 feet without any problem (that's fast for me).

Lessons learned, precautions taken... Thank GOD for 935 bein' heads up.

Dude, I think that is fast for anyone,
considering we all climb wearing gear.