Basejumper.com - archive

hey....

its been bugging my mind to do a base jump since starting to skydive just over 2 years ago.... ive read up a lot about it and watched as my jump numbers have finally reached 200...in this time i have done half flat flying and half freeflying, and attended a canopy piloting course to get my canopy skills brushed up.
im in the u.k. and dont know any base jumpers,ive met some on my travels skydiving, but dont know anyone i could approach about being a mentor.
i want to approach base with as much care and attention as possible, so was thinking of doing a 4 day course in spain i have found,but wanted the opinion of the experienced jumpers of whether is it better to search for a mentor??.....
the base course is pretty expensive, is it worth all the money?? is this the way i should start out???

i did search on this site about 'finding a mentor' but only came up with some posts from 2005'....

cheers for any help you can give......

matt

It depends mostly on where you live and how conservative you are. In the USA, usually jumpers start with a combination of both an FJC _and_ a mentor. I've never heard of a first jump course that isn't marketed as just "the first step" in BASE jumping; after you complete the first jump course, you're expected to continue progressing with a mentor who jumps closer to your home town. Most BASE jump courses seriously urge you to have a mentor lined up before you take the course, and may not admit you if you don't have a mentor.

Obviously, if you're serious about getting into BASE, I'd recommend you find yourself a local mentor, go out and ground crew on a few jumps, and try to soak up as much knowledge as possible. Then complete a first jump course, and only afterwards begin jumping with your mentor.

A lot of jumpers forego the first jump course, and there's nothing particularly "wrong" with that. However, a first jump course gives you an opportunity to gain a lot of knowledge in a short timespan under controlled conditions. If you skip the FJC, your first jumps will most likely be with your mentor from a less forgiving (and probably less legal) object.

Find a fellow jumper or three who can vouch for your canopy skills and heads-up attitude. And maybe, just maybe, someone in the UK will send you a PM.

Be safe, go slowly, and try to soak up as much knowledge as possible on the way. There are no medals for hurrying in BASE.

Both is a good idea. Take the course but find someone with solid experience and good judgment to help you out along the way after the course.
A course is only a starting point which seems to be lost on many new jumpers. There is always a whole shitload more to learn. I cannot speak to the quality of the course in Spain but if any course you find is good you won;t regret spending the money IMHO.
Good luck, have fun......................

cheers for the wise words.... i'll do my best to find a mentor, and get on the case about the FJC.

i just found another one www.321base.eu

does anyone know of this course????

Both. It's useful to have the future mentor around when you do your FJC too, IMO.

FJC's don't always marry up with the sort of jumping you end up doing either - don't think for one minute that you're "qualified" when you've completed one.

Doing the course in Norway, for example, does not prepare you for jumping antennas in the UK or elsewhere, nor does being PCA'd of some bridge a couple of times. The experiences are very different.

BTW - I should point out that just because you've reached the magic 200 jumps, which appears to be the minimum for taking a course, doesn't mean you're ready. Indeed, yes, you may be - to survive, but not necessarily to enjoy yourself fully. BASE can be decidedly stressful if you find yourself in a situation for which you feel underqualified. Many jumps are relatively simple to execute, providing all goes right, but turn really bad very quickly if anything doesn't quite go to plan.

I had 700 jumps - and some hang glider flying time - before I took BASE up. I'm not saying that's the answer either but I did that because:

1) Of the people I had met at the time, those that had 500+ skydives before they started BASE seemed to enjoy it more, and be more at ease with it
2) By that time, I knew enough people well enough to ask someone to fill the mentor role - and not get laughed at / refused

It's not a divine right to attract a mentor - remember it's a dangerous game and they are assuming some responsibility for you. So, they've got to like you and believe that you won't be a liability.

Mentors are good - they keep you out of trouble by keeping you realistic, whilst still having fun. I would defintely recommend holding off starting BASE until you can find someone suitable.

Good luck!

cheers again... i'll do my best to spend some time finding some local base jumpers and see if i can go along to a few jumps with them and just take it all i and learn as much as possible, then maybe after a while someone may suggest i book the FJC......

this is the one i was thinkin of doing..

http://www.baseeuphoria.com/id17.html