Basejumper.com - archive

Just throwing the piegon in with the lions..

Watching coastguard rescue on tv all they seem to do is pick up walkers and other people who get trapped on te castline...

Now if i rember rightly a big hoo haa was made with the press when a base jumper was picked off the south coast...

Now hold your horses children, its ok for walkers and others to use the coastguard without it making national press, yet if someone with a different outlook to having fun, i.e a basejumper.. bamm we're all evil, wasting resources, putting coastguard personal at rick... bam bam..

Swiss valley pass, now its a small amount of money, yet is it purely for basejumpers, or is it for everyone using the valley, as in walkers climbers, paragliders etc etc,

I think they all do a great job, i donate each year to them, yet it rather gets my goat going when, if, maybe, one day i have to make a call to get them out their, yet hesitate because it makes everone look like a tit, due to bad press...

So Q.. swiss valley pass thingy, does everyone need one, or should everyone who goes there buy one??

When I was there the walkers/hikers never seemed to be off the trail cruising around the farmer's forage crop. BASE jumpers land in the crop and tread out. I tried to land on approach roads whenever possible.
Hikers have never opened low over a funeral in the valley and not too many walker's bodies have been helicoptered out after being tended too on or at the bae of a cliff. I am sure some require rescue.
Sure BASE gets a bad rap alot of the time but the Valley is pretty unique and BASE is pretty in your face to those who live there. It freaks people out generally and maybe that's not wrong??! It's a freaky thing to do.....

As regards the Landing Card.
As Dave has already mentioned.
The hikers/walkers/daytrippers on the ground tend to stay on the paths and well worn trails.......I have not seen any jumping around in the farmers fields.
The Paragliders I have seen there have been quite disciplined in where they landed.....pretty much in the exact same places...opposite the campsite, The DZ 'LZ' near Air Glaciers or the LZ at the top end of the Valley.
This is unlike 'us' who tend to land use different parts of the fields below the exit points, much more often, causing more wear /damage ( on the grass, as well as the fences) .......and increasingly with WS flyers taking different lines down the sides of the Mountain, also in some 'unauthorised' fields.
SBA did/do a great job in keeping the peace between the many visitors and the working community.......
I mean 'authorised' landing areas, windsocks and the good feeling that you are contributing towards your use of another persons property....for a pittance of 20 Euros or so a year...?
Is it really a point even worth debating.
Personally I think its an absolute steal...it should be more.

As regards the Rescue Card.
That's available ( and suggested) for all Mountain users over there....whoever that is, skiers, climbers, hikers, BASE jumpers, whoever..
And I'm sure they are just as miffed as pulling off an unprepared climber off the wall as they are coming to help pull a BASE jumper out a tree because they pulled too low, or did something silly to end up there.

Now this one is optional for the tightwads out there...of course they will still rescue you without it, but you will get billed.
BASE is full of risk assesments...and here's another one.
Choose not to buy a 'rescue card' and ACCEPT the risk that if you do need a rescue, you are going to get invoiced......alot !
...and that there should be absolutely no argument in you being able to /paying that invoice....you took that risk.
Personally, I dont have the confidence to know I 'wont' have an event that requires rescue when I am out there.......so I make sure my insurance and rescue card is fully paid up before I jump.

ok... so there are two different things a landin card, which is given to thelandowners who's fields are crushed, due to crappy pilots... which is £20

And a glacier rescue card as well??, how much is that, or is this just covered under normal insurance ? normal / adnormal.. either or

Is glacier / mountain rescue a state / private / charity organization??

Keep the awnsers coming i'm going somewhere with this..

As far as I am aware, Rega is a private company and the premium you pay for a rescue card is a 'top up' insurance to what insurance you already should have....in case they wont pay for a Rega organised rescue.

Its pretty standard information that all jumpers going to The Valley should know, and have no excuse not to know.
Its information available on The Swiss Base Association's website as well as advertised in The communal 'BASE' pub in The Valley.....match that up with word of mouth , and you really have to be one ignorant or unprepared jumper to jump in The Valley and not know about it.

I know people who have jumped there without it, and in my eyes that's fine, provided
- you pay up without any arguments if you need rescuing and have to bear the full cost of it.
-You keep some info on you , or that's easy to find, about how you are going to pay for that, and any medical treatment you might need until regaining conciousness (if you do)

I'm not sure what information you desire. You seem pleased with the posts so far.

Do you realize nothing new has been posted? It has all been posted before? We have even tried to collect the major points in one thread?

What additional information would you like to see added to that thread?

see: sticky thread

Got everything i wanted..

I did not realize that the £20 was purley for the farmers.. athat rega, unlike the uk coastguard version is a private company, whereas in the uk its actually a charity, and funded with donations.

If Rega was a charity i was going to sugest organizng some kind of event in the swiss valley to raise money for equipment and personel, both as a show of good willfrom the base jumping community, and as a way of saying thanks.

But it seems that is not nessercery due to them being a private money making company.

Maybe an event still would be nice to highlight our thanks to the farmers, and locals who live and allow base jumping to go on.. money going towards a community poject or something...

Anyhow's

+1
from the stories I've heard, it would be appreciated.

but let's not forget about the small things. recently one user posted a story. evidently he won over a lot of goodwill from a farmer by doing 3 things:
1) waving at them, saying "Hi" and "thanks"
2) actually talking to the farmer
3) leaving the farmer a token of appreciation (in this case, alcohol.)

while I have NOT been to Switzerland at all, I have traveled and learned a few things. whether than apply in LB, I do not know for sure.

- many locals think they will never have the ability to travel. thus, anyone coming to their locale must be wealthier then themselves.

- the visitors will have a freedom that many locals only dream about.

- people like attention, especially from people they admire (see the first two).

- people will feel disrespected if ignored by people they admire, and can turn against them.

- gifts of any kind show a ton of respect. it could be pins or flags from home. trinkets really, but the recipient will feel more connected to the outside world. a thank you note will do wonders, especially if it includes a picture of their property and smiles. but lets face it, all that stuff can also clutter up a home. one thing that always seems appreciated and will NEVER clutter up a home is... alcohol!

basically, the locals feel they are being hospitable. return their kindness, make them feel special!

I went to Vietnam in 2000 as an aid to gentleman
in a wheelchair. The organizers of the trip gave
participants a list of DO's & DONT's which helped.

Kind of like the site guidelines found on this site

The best trinket/gift there was simply giving the
village children cheap ink pens so they would have
a way of practicing their writing - very rewarding
and everyone was super nice to us.

I doubt the Swiss need pens...

obviously, I agree in concept!

if we stick to a bottle of alcohol...
we ought to be able to turn all the farmers into drunks!
how many farmers are actually involved?
how many jumpers pass through?

or just buy the landing card AND go out of your way to be friendly and appreciative to the farmers! maybe even show your landing card to the farmer as you wave?

i think we should give the farmers pictures of ourselves - signed - so they can put them over the mantle in their homes. preferably face shots, like what actors do in Hollywood.

rega is charity.
air glaciers is a private company.

I thought you were pissed at me as "Walker" is my surname. My wife's also.. But now I understand.
Take care,
space

me too, regarding Mr. Walker.

 

460 wrote:


hahahahahaha !!!!! I was thinking the same thing! But we should definetely give them action shots as well! Maybe they'd want some nudes too??? just a thought...

I always figured that when the locals almost run you down with their cars and little farm-cart thingies on the walk back from landing that it was because they didn't like us! I never thought that it could be becuase they admire us! wow It's like a veil has been lifted! I feel so special now.

I'm not sure many would like that...
but here is a picture I like, maybe the would as well?
gotta love it!

They probably want us to stay as safe as possible, land where we are 'supposed' to, be respectful of their land/culture/way of life, avoid doing stupid things that cause rescues and body recovery on their property........basically anything that avoids extra effort and concern on their part.

I know I'd get pretty pissed off having to put up with with disrespectful tourists messing up my day to day....I'm sure these guys are no different.