Basejumper.com - archive

Hmmmm, there seems to be quite a bit of animated "discussion" lately on First Jump Courses (First BASE Course?), instructing, and/or mentoring people into the BASE environment and the required education/experience/skills/jumps to do so.

There was a nice discussion on it HERE with good information; ...but it is five years old.

What is the current thinking on who is "qualified" to teach BASE to the new guy?

it is NOT for me. I will happily say I'm not qualified and do NOT like giving technical advice.

Wwarped, how many jumps do you have? What kind of objects did you jump?

career issues limit my jumping. Tizzy is working up an interview on me. I answered a bunch of those questions. I'd rather see her work before commenting. she works hard on them and I'm avoiding interfering.

that said, I have jumped in at least 7 US states, and on at least 3 continents. but I'm still an amateur compared too many.

Hello Captain Vague. I have more than 40 jumps. While that is true, it doesn't resemble my true jump numbers.

Now that you mention it, I think I've only jumped in 6 US states and 2 continents, but I'm still an amateur compared too many. That's pretty helpful no?

I've been skydiving for 16 years, have over 2000 skydives, several instructor ratings, and own a DZ. I've been researching/reading about BASE jumping for several years and have been jumping for about one, with 46 fixed object jumps and my B.A.S.E letters but no interest in getting an official number.

I am confident in my skills and responsible in my actions but in no way do I feel qualified or comfortable in mentoring someone from scratch.

So, the question still remains, what would be generally accepted qualifications in order to mentor someone or conduct a First BASE Course?

I'm barely qualified to tell people I'm not qualified.

is it ever going to be "COOL" to get a B.A.S.E. number again? i hope so! i don't have one yet; when i get a B i'm going to send in for it. i hope they're back in by then.

Here is something contributed to a similar discussion years ago that really stood out for me:



I think his words were very prophetic and I see a lot of that today coming true.

Even in my small local BASE community, I listen to the stories of the "good ole days" and how things were done then and I am amazed at how much different we are doing things now. I contribute this, in part, to just what Tom said and the fact that as we move forward, the bar to entry keeps getting lowered and the dues get less...

Hey Jay a little secret, they were always in. It just depends who you hang with!

I would absolutely consider myself qualified to mentor. I have 1200 skydives, a little over 300 BASE jumps, and my rigger's seal, but that's not why.

I am always asking questions, always looking more closely at my own motivations and actions, and always trying to improve. Those who know me, know that I have generally been an exceptionally cautious jumper, but that I have also been dumb enough, on occasion, to be involved in some jumps that I probably should not have been. I've tried to learn as much as I could from these lessons, and I think I have become a better and safer jumper because of them.

Emotionally, I have sometimes felt like I was invincible, and sometimes have felt like life was terribly fragile. Sometimes, when I have talked about BASE jumping, I talked like it was the best thing ever. Other times, all I could tell prospective jumpers was how many friends they can expect to lose in what is sometimes a brutal activity.

Albert Camus wrote that "...we always deceive ourselves twice about the people we love--first to their advantage, then to their disadvantage." I think the same is true of BASE jumping. What Camus doesn't say, and what I believe, is that if we can make it through these stages, perhaps we can find ourselves in a place where our expectations of the ones we love are more reasonable. As a BASE jumper, I think that's where I sit. Ideally, I think that's where any mentor should sit.

All of that said, I have only ever mentored one person. At the time, he had over 500 skydives, and had been following us with a camera for years. When I got started, I must have called him a dozen times to drive 30 minutes out to a 300 foot antenna, which to this day I have not jumped. I don't think I ever heard a word of complaint about that.

I think a good mentor should bring lots of technical knowledge to the table, but should also bring a balanced attitude toward the sport.

Michael

Great post, thanks.

I also dig Camus.

thanks pete. good to know.

I would think that the best mentor would be one that has never taken a BASE course, Learned the hard way and has mentoring abilities and has the ability to say to the mentoree that you are not up for it. Also what cwrper posted.
But the prob is this: Exactly what I was trying to combat is what I was.
I think that one should never profit directly instructing BASE. Take a loss.
Take care,
space

+1

Plus I think a mentor should have enough experience and enough attitude to know someone and tell them they are or aren't ready for base. Something that you can only know from having experienced a wide variety of difficult and easy jumps and been in those "oh shit" situations so you know what was needed in you to pull yourself out of them.

(just realised i pretty much wrote the same as the quoted post, oh well, just woke up lol)

Plus while it might seem obvious, 500 base jumps off 1 object only does not count.....and does not qualify you to teach anyone and everyone at a DZ (I'm looking at an Australian "jumper" here).

WOW!

ah i has to be the perfect metor of horro then
Hope you guys are going strong.

Space, you are my mentor when we are talking about beer.

C you again this year...... for more pratic lessons at 7 AM.

Andrezao.

Space, you are my mentor when we are talking about beer.
C you again this year...... for more pratic lessons at 7 AM.
Andrezao.
Spot on. I live in the beer capitol (Bavaria) of the world by chance?
The beer that I am drinking now comes from a brewery 681 years old. I am the man. The Mentor, The ......
Take care,
space