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I had a cliff strike about 2 weeks ago now, and had a couple thoughts on it, and would like to share. Cliff is ~350 feet, very slightly overhung, if at all. Also, the cliff has a slight U shape to it, so that it starts to come out at you on both the right and the left. I had jumped this cliff 4 or 5 times before.

I jumped, and had a 90 right. The cliff started coming at me real fast, so I grabbed left riser to steer away. Unfortunately, I was a little amped, and grabbed that riser too hard, stalling the canopy, and swinging me back into the cliff. There was minor damage on the left side of the canopy from the cliff (upon inspection after the fact). So I know that I really swing that thing around. Upon impact I knew that my leg was broken, and thought to myself "hmm, that's what a broken leg feels like".

After hitting the cliff, I got the canopy flying again, and flew it away from the wall. My memory here is a little hazy, but I remember letting go of either the 1 riser or both, having the canopy come away from the wall ( I was facing away from it). I then had a ~1000' canopy ride to mull things over. I could feel the bones in my leg rubbing on themselves. I attempted to get the leg straight, for all the good that was worth. I wear full armor on almost all of my jumps, which includes knee/shin pads of the downhill mountain bike variety. I think that this may have helped splint the leg for the canopy flight, and landing.

I landed in an open, flat area, and thought that I had kept my leg up, but the report from the other jumpers is that my broken leg hit the ground too. I skidded in on my chest. I had thought about trying to roll the landing out, but pictured my leg swinging around after my roll, so I opted for the skid.

The guys I jumped with took great care of me, and handled things well.

In the hospital, they manually set my leg that night, and then I had surgery the next morning. They put a rod in my Tibia, securing it with screws at both ends. Hopefully I will get copies of the X-rays soon, and I will post them. I spent a few more nights in the hospital. Getting the pain and O2 sats under control, and learning to use crutches.

I will be off work for a couple weeks, and should be able to get back to my desk job soon.


I am taking a couple lessons away from this. They may seem obvious, but some of us might need a reminder of these every once in a while:

1. Currency is everything. This is only my 3rd year in this sport, and it was a slow one. I had only made about 6 jumps all year prior to this one. Had I done my usual trip to the Potato bridge to get current, things may have ended differently.

2. Know your equipment inside and out. It had been a long time for me since I had an off heading on a slider down object. My last few significant off headings were all slider up, and I was able to reef on that riser, and did not stall the canopy. I think that I went into auto mode, and pulled on that riser like I had when I was configured for slider up. Again, had I gone the the Potato bridge and practiced off headings, I likely would have known better where my canopy would stall. That could have helped me avoid injury as well. I had modified my deep brake settings so that my canopy opens in something close to a stall. It seems obvious then that reefing on a riser would cause the canopy to stall. I may end up shallowing-up those settings, just a little, so that I can still turn hard and fast on risers, or maybe just find out where I can pull those risers to before I stall. Either way, I will be sorting things out.

3. Solve mysteries before jumping again. The night before, I had a 90 right on a static line. I have never had anything more than 10 degrees off on a static line before, but I didn't think much about it. I should have got that sorted out before jumping something so technical. I'm not sure if it is packing, or something going on with my canopy, but there might be something there. It could also be just a coincidence. The point is, I don't know, and didn't find out.
Another mystery: on a slider up jump last year, I had one brake line stretch on me by 3 inches. I had the brake lines replaced, and kept jumping. No idea how that happened, and I never followed up on it. I haven't been able to fully inspect my canopy yet since this last incident, as I am laid up, but I will be doing that as well.

4. Over-confidence can lead to complacency The weekend I did this jump, I had a couple newer jumpers out and was showing them around. This was my first experience as the experienced jumper on the load. I think this may have turned into some over-confidence for me. I certainly was more worried about the new jumpers than I was of myself. Maybe that is a sign that I am not ready to move into a role like that.

Before I jump anything solid again, I am going to go and get these things sorted out and dialed in, at the Potato bridge.

Any thoughts or comments are welcome. Hopefully someone will get something out of this.

Thanks for reading,
Andrew

What type of canopy are you jumping and what are your packing methods? Glad you made out of it alive.

I jump a Blackjack 260. Packing methods? Kind of hard to describe with out you watching my pack job. I took my FJC with Tom A, so I use some things I learned in that course, and some things that I picked up from local jumpers/mentors. I will say that I focus on keeping the pack job symmetrical, the lines tight and in the center, and try to keep things neat and in control.

I do a "pro-stack" a pro-pack, but on the ground. Which is pretty common, from my experience. Not sure what else I could say that would give you any useful info.

I'm glad I made it out alive too, I spent some time on the ground looking up at the cliff saying "I'm alive!"

Hi Andrew,

Glad you are okay man!!

Yep, a broken leg is unique

Just curious, how much do you weigh?

I weigh 165, which with a 260 comes out at just over 0.7 wingloading.

Solid post dude. Thanks for passing along some hard-earned wisdom.

Good post.

Do you think that toggles would have been a good Idea?

Grab the toggles at opening pulling them down to stop the canopy, then keeping one all the way down and letting one up some?

Just so you know, I'm a toggle grabber. I use risers very seldom but can if I feel the need, but generally it's toggles for me.... so far so good...

I'm interested in your thoughts about that since you're grounded for a while. I'm glad it worked out.

In this case, I feel like I had no time to do anything more than I did. Due to the shape of the cliff, I was flying right at it after the 90 right. I yanked a riser, and it was out of fear of impact. I think that if I had gone for toggles at that moment, that I would have hit the cliff to the right that I was flying at. And that I would have hit it going faster than I was. I guess that if you could release your brakes in the same about of time that it would take for me to grab a riser (I kind of doubt that) then maybe that would have worked.

In short, I don't think I had time for toggles. But that being said, I am not a toggle guy.

How fast can you release your brakes? Is it close to a riser grab?

Andrew!

Good to know you are in good spirits too!

A busted up leg hurts like hell!

Now get a haircut!

Mike!

thanks for posting your story...stay positve and good luck with rehab!

Gary
www.garybegleysports.com

It's just how I do it so yes. It's what I have in my hands right off the bat. The canopy cracks open and the toggles are doing something already. Since you've nothing to compare to, my question isn't very fair, though you answered rather well.

low object the valve canopy makes lots of difference, glad your ok

Hey Andrew, I'm very glad you're going to be OK.

I heard the story 3rd hand so let me know if I'm off here.

Did you consider stashing gear? Were the guys you were jumping with capable of moving you out of the area before they contacted EMS? Did you need to admit that BASE jumping caused the injury? How long did you have to wait for the ambulance, when driving you out may have got you to medical attention sooner? Did any of you have first aid training/equipment to treat & stabilize the affected extremity? Did you guys get busted by the ranger for jumping?

These are some important considerations when jumping this sensitive site to preserve it for the future. It's worth a discussion with your jumping companions before you launch.

Yes, we did.

Yes, but it was about a KM to the parking lot, and I was worried about doing more damage to my leg, and the pain

No, someone else did that for us.(long story)
The ambulance was there in less than 15 minutes


I have given more details in a PM. There are some answers here.

Calling EMS was a tough decision, and one I did not take lightly.

I would never want to further damage myself physically, to avoid a "bust" if I'm busted up. Try and stash the gear, be coy about details, if you need medical assistance get it. Moving a broken body around can cause permenent damage and future pain.

good to hear you're doing well bro. Try to keep in good spirits! even when the bill comes

We live in Canada, there will be no bill.

Didn't I hear JS talking about declaring bankruptcy after his snowboard cliff strike and rescue? He said something about a huge bill he needed to get past.

If he had to go through bankruptcy, it wouldn't have any to do with medical bills. It could be that the injury left him unable to work, and pay other bills, but health care in Canada is free. Regardless of how an injury happened

No, I was with him on that one. There were no medical bills but had they made him pay for the rescue it would have been fugly. One Buffalo and one Cormorant can be pretty pricey by the hour but, luckily, we don't have to pay for rescues up here either.
Dave

does he still jump? Haven't heard from him in years.

Last time we went out for a jump was Feb/08. He PCA'd me and opted not to jump as conditions were pretty shitty.
Pretty sure he still has gear though so.... I am hoping we get to huck some more stuff together in the future. Absolutely one of my favourite people to jump with!

Dave, the sentiment is entirely likewise.

I may not jump anymore, but I'll sure as hell come with you on the annual February trip. Who knows, with some peer pressure I might bring gear and do another botched roll-over.

In regards to Tom Aiello's comment; I did not declare bankruptcy, nor was there a bill from the Search and Rescue team. The only money I lost was 53 dollars (that's right, fifty-three) for the ambulance ride from the airport to the hospital.

The righteous self reliant proud libertarian that is in me is ashamed of this. The grateful hippie is just happy to live in a country where he can get away with shit like that. Let sleeping dogs lie I say. But if a stranger ever comes to me and says; that was poor use of my tax money, I wouldn't entirely disagree.

I did make a donation to the SAR fund. They also won an award that year for most technical helicopter rescue in North America, so really; they owe me...

As for Nic Russel's question...

My jumping career lasted about three years, with 121 jumps. In spring of 2007, my logbook had 5 bridges, 3 buildings (2 of which I opened), 2 antennas, 5 cliffs, and 6 cranes (all of which I opened).

I haven't jumped in over a year, the last one being somewhere in the fall of 2007.

That particular jump was a super sketchy roll of the dice jump, static-lining from a corner balcony with power lines everywhere, and the only landing on a tiny onramp towards a covered parking lot.

If you're ever in Vancouver, I'll point it out to you; and you'll go: "Dude, are you retarded?"

It went exactly as planned, clean exit, great opening, totally smooth landing, zero injuries, a clean get away, and cold beer afterwards. Yet for some reason that jump felt like a total clusterfuck; because I came away more because of luck, than skill.

I think this triggered the beginning of the end of BASE for me. I recognized that I was sinking into the abyss, taking ever increasing risks for dubious reasons. So I figured I might as well get out while I have my limbs. I've done similar things with riding motorcycles, climbing, back-country skiing, etcetera.

The pattern is you throw myself in head first, learn as much as I can, explore the established norms, and then start pushing the edge just a tiny bit. When she doesn't bite back, you start pushing harder.

Until your full weight is leaning over the edge. And then you either wise up and move on, or face the consequences in death or injury.

The reasons I smartened up were four fold.

First, I was becoming increasingly scared at exit points. When I started BASE, I suffered from an ignorant bliss. Then from jump 30 to 90, I was current and in the game; a healthy dose of fear but otherwise I felt good. Then the last 30 jumps or so, I developed an increasingly irrational fear for what could go wrong. With every jump it took more brain power to calm myself enough that I'd be capable of assessing risks properly. That stole away precious brain power I need to enjoy everything just for enjoyment's sake; the jump itself, the environment (nature or city), the people I jump with, etcetera.

Really, I hate fear. I don't like the feeling of being scared. I seek it out, but only because I can use the rational capacity available within my skull to estimate probabilities for a considerable number of different outcomes any BASE jump could have.

That's an intensely stimulating intellectual exercise, driving to the core of what it means to be alive.

Or, to put it semi philosophically or pseudo intellectually; happiness is a measure of how well I can control the reality I'm part of. As a consequence, to place myself in a situation that is considered extreme by many people and -based on personal experience- really quite a challenge to be in control of, means an opportunity to tap into a source of happiness that few other activities in life can match.

Still, control is only part of the happiness equation. The reality over which you exert control is the other part.

A person can be in total control over his reality, but if that means watching stupid television shows all day, you really have to wonder if that kind of control offers much value.

In my case, reality has always been of high quality. Nonetheless, in the last couple of years the quality has risen to levels that are nothing short of inexplicable. Seriously, my life is pretty damn fucking enjoyable. In particular, and most relevant to this post, I have grown an incredible appreciation for the incredible friends that make up part of my reality.

Come to think of it, I realized not too long ago that having moved from the Netherlands to Canada six years ago meant I effectively pushed a reset button on my social life; given that I didn't know anybody here. In hindsight, I now understand it takes a few years to complete a full reboot and reattain -or in the case of my North American friends- supersede the depth and quality I had left behind in the Netherlands.

At any rate, an ever increasing awareness of the amazing people in my life turned into an increased desire to stick around on this planet for a while to come. This was in stark contrast to the time when I began my BASE career. I remember several solo crane jumps, where just before jumping I reasoned; "If this jump is a success, great. But if today is the day I die, I'd be okay with that."

It wasn't a suicidal thing, just contentment with possible outcomes. A nihilism, if you will. Death would have sucked still - but in the grand sum of my life; I really couldn't complain; and I didn't have much to lose.

These days I'm less content by the prospect of death, and more content with life and the quality of it. As explained, that is largely due to great friendships.

Thanks. you know who you are.

Friendship aside, there is a third reason for my retirement. Namely, that new interests are taking up much of my time; not in the least increasing responsibilities at work, a punk band I'm playing in, and various women, right Dave? Time is in short supply, and motivation to go out for a jump after midnight is less and less as I get older.

The fourth and last reason to quit, and I'll freely admit this; is that I have the BASE check-box ticked off on what I call life's list.

Put bluntly, I could say; took the course, bought the gear, made the jump, got the number, moving on.

By all means deny it to yourself, and laugh at me for admitting I did BASE just so I could brag.

Honestly though, the number of BASE jumpers who can sincerely claim the spiritual higher ground of jumping solely and purely for oneself can be counted on one hand. It doesn't mean the rest are all glory hounds and publicity seekers. It just means that I'm not a saint, and that having made some BASE jumps continues to be a common trigger for an interesting conversation with all sorts of people, about . That has value to me.

If you're thinking; what you mean is that you BASE jumped to get laid, right? Who knows, but sadly that worked out only once, with another BASE jumper actually; this beautiful girl from out east (if you read this, shoot me an email).

Getting laid is part of it, if you want to be philosophical and argue that most people's motivations can be reduced to their desire to procreate. Evolution does that. But that's not really what I meant.

How about this for a theory...

Every BASE jump contains a risk reward trade-off. Let's say the risk is X, and the reward is Y. As long as Y is bigger than X, the risk of jumping is worth it.

But really, the reward always consisted of two parts for me; Y1 and Y2.

Y1 = The objective experience of BASE while you are doing it. That means the actual freefall, the parachute flight, spending time with friends hiking up the mountain, etcetera.

Y2 = The subjective post-BASE experience and how you integrate the thought process that enabled you to do BASE jump into other parts of your life. This is related to that checkbox of your I alluded to earlier.

The value of Y1 has not changed much through my BASE career. I still enjoy spending time with fellow BASE jumpers, standing at an exit point, and the mechanics of freefall and canopy flight. If anything, enjoyed it more later on in my career because I was more aware while jumping.

The value of Y2 however, has largely faded; having accomplished the major BASE goals I was after. Those were get my number, jump our local cliff, open at least one building by myself, do a bunch of solo night time jumping (which for legal risks I had to stop as well, a fifth reason why I quit), and meet a great people.

I accomplished all those things, and much more. Wish I could say the cliff strike wasn't one of the accomplishments, but it has shaped me as much as my first solo crane jump did, if not more.

Doing any of these again won't be new. I can go visit new objects, travel the world, and there'll be minor differences. But weighed against the risks, I'd rather pursue more drastically different things like full contact knitting or shark fucking.

So anyway, with Y2 dropping to zero, X suddenly became bigger than the remaining Y1.

And that's all there is to it.

I stopped writing on this forum around the same time I stopped jumping, but the website is bookmarked and I read up about once a week . It feels good to know that I can still type two hundred words a minute into posts that nobody gives a fuck about.

Really, I just enjoyed writing this out for myself; I never tried to nail the motivation for my retirement as explicit as this post.

You know what though, I already admitted I visit this forum once a week. I continue to offer a place to stay for visiting jumpers, and I will gladly show them the local objects and ground crew for them, as I do for the regular Vancouver visitors.

Most of all, I still have my gear. In the back of my head is this understanding that freedom is only one a pack job away at all times. And even though I may not jump ever again, the knowledge that I can go at a moment's notice, that's liberty.

Gravity be damned,

Jaap Suter

full contact knitting or shark fucking

Hilarious, thank you for
that much needed laugh!

freedom is only one a pack job away

Great line to end a great post!!

One of these days I hope re-visit
Vancouver and will look you up.

As Dave has said, there will be not bill for the medical fees. However, I did just get an $1100 bill for the ambulance ride. My insurance should cover some of it though

I know it's nothing compared to the bills Americans get. Gotta love public health care.

jeez Jaap, a simple yes/no would have done. I am of course joking, good post, and nobody can judge anyone for stopping their jumping. They should actually congratulate them on making it out relatively unscathed. But I will want some pointers next time I'm in BC.

So Jaap, congrats, you're alive!

-nic

Great post Jaap.

A lot of shit in there that sounds very familiar that we're all too lazy to articulate.

I miss basewiki.

Fucker.

Thanks for clarifying Andrew.

I look forward to jumping with you again when you're healed up.

In the meantime, ask Dave, Jason or Mike about how the criminal mind works.
(A little known fact is that is that we all jump with weapons in case any post jump situation gets out of hand)

Spence

Is that in case the authorities show up, or to put injured BASE jumpers out of their misery when it's too much work to carry them out?

Hey Spence, surely you pass through Vancouver on occasion? I regret not having met you thus far. Both Raistlin as well as the Calgary crew all speak so highly of you. By extension of my respect for them, you must be of high calibre.

So next time you're in Vancouver, don't be a stranger. Perhaps you can talk me into dusting off my rig and visit our local bridge. I mean the 180 footer you freefell. If you don't mind though, I'll just static line instead. Or, even better, that little cliff halfway to Whistler is always fun to bounce from.

Andrew; I totally forgot to say fuck yeah in my previous post; such is the self indulgent asshole I am. My apologies, and congratulations on avoiding death and various other nasty outcomes. Sorry to hear you broke your leg. I'm sure you're back on your feet soon, so come visit with the misses!

Cheers,

Jaap Suter

Jaap...your earlier post about why you may stop BASEing summed up why I don't skydive very often anymore. It was a perfect post. I may have to plagerize (sp) some of that shit....it's gold.

I also think you nailed your explanation of BASE jumping so outsiders may be able to understand the whys and whatfors.

Awesome post dude.....I think they should "sticky" that.

I can also relate to the OP in more ways than one. I too have made decisions that were not stellar but the end result was I am alive to tell the tale and help others learn from my mistakes. Brave post to admit your short-comings regarding that particular jump. Hopefully someone learns something from your extremely valuable post. Thanks.

Hi Jaap,

I haven't been to Van for some time now but if I do I'll be sure to give you a call.

No need to drive all the way out towards Whistler when you have a nice cliff right in town

Spence

[re:thread hijack - I'd PM you but your acct isn't set up for PM's]

X-Rays, as promised.