Basejumper.com - archive

Just read this - dated today.


Source - http://www.20min.ch/...-in-den-Tod-25090168

Translated version - http://translate.google.co.uk/...-in-den-Tod-25090168

Sincere condolences to the Spanish crew from the Canadians. We're very sorry for the loss of your friend.

To the Spanish crew...I'm so sorry for your loss. It's simply unbelievable, I was literally just there in the valley butchering my spanish with you guys.

BSBD

This is not good news ever ...

sorry to the spanish crew for your loss..

Hello, thank you for your support. Stefan was from Bulgaria and worked as a packer in a dropzone near Madrid (Ocaña). He had around 55 base jumps. Yesterday, 7 of us went to jump from the High Nose. Stephan was the 5th to jump, I was to jump right after him. His exit was perfect, but the track he performed did not separate him much from the wall. He pulled very stable but rather low and had a 180 turn on opening. He eventually cleared the turn but was too low and impacted on the talus. He then kept on falling and impacting, but nobody could see it clearly because he disappeared behind the trees. The canopy was fully inflated when he first impacted and the strike did not seem so hard because he was already very close to the talus, so no one thought that he would die because of the injuries. We called Air Glaciers and the helicopter arrived really fast. They airlifted him to Bern.

Stefan was an exceptional person and he will be missed by many people. He was the kind of person that is nice at heart, ALWAYS kind and ready to help....always giving, always smiling and cheering. He told me once that his mission in life was to live it to the fullest, enjoying each and everyday.

On this trip (my second to the Swiss valley), I jumped from yellow ocean, mousse and nose 3. I just did not consider jumping from the high nose because after reading various articles and posts about LB and listening to the advice of my husband, I knew that it was kind of a technical jump and I didn't feel I was ready nor I had the skills to jump from there. There was something scary about this place. Yesterday morning we were doing our last jump and everybody was going to the high nose. I hesitated....but then I thought: “hey, I can do it too”....My husband was very reluctant about it but I insisted, so there I was, ready to do my first jump from the high nose....All the way down to the exit point I had a strange feeling, like there was something wrong about all that... I never got to jump because Stefan went before me and died, and this is terrible because he was such a great man.

I don't know if there's a way to avoid so many deaths in Lauterbrunnen. Maybe it is just statistics and it is normal that people die, but the problem I see is that it is so easy to access any of the exit points and there are so many base jumpers every time that it gets very difficult to fully realize and understand the potential danger in each one of them. I have learnt a lot of lessons on this trip that will keep me safer from now on, but it is very sad that I had to learn them this way.

Rest in peace, Stefan.

Thank you for your very honest account of your feelings, and I'm very sorry for your loss. I hope it is some consolation for you that the loss of your friend may have saved you from serious injury or death yourself, since you were clearly unsure of whether you were ready to jump from the High Nose.

BSBD

Hi Hannah,

Sorry for your loss. Out of interest, was Stephan wearing any form of tracking aid (such as a Phoenix Fly tracking suit, or similar?)

Thanks,

Richard

He was wearing birdman tracking PANTZ, like me. His tracking skills were a whole lot better than mine and he was very confident when jumping. IMHO, his death is, as always, a result of various reasons: not enough separation from the wall, low pull, and canopy turn. Change one of them, and the result could have been much different.

RIP Stephan, and sincerest condolences to family and friends and the other jumpers along from spain.

I don't know what to say, that hasn't been said, certainly deaths in the valley will always occur as long as there is jumping, but that doesn't mean we can't learn and do our best to avoid them. but as Hannah alluded to it is easy to get in over your head there, and thee is no need. There are such safe exits where you don't need to track at all (YO, N3), or barely (LM), its important for people to practice their tracking skills on these exits before attempting the more advanced ones, but I guess everyone knows that, we are all only human, and peer pressure can be overwhelming. Be safe out there people, use your BEST JUDGMENT, and stick to it.

It is very important to remember this in BASE, "just because you get away with a jump, it doesn't mean that it was a wise decision to jump." For example, if you jumped the HN, had a very poor track, hummed it low, and openen next to the wall but on heading and it all worked out fine, it is important to realize how close that was and make corrections ( eg, a different exit or in your tracking skill on another exit?). Everyone knows these things yet its important to try to follow them.

Be safe out there, base is still and will always be a very dangerous and unforgiveing game.

best-

W

edit to add based on comments below:

Fair enough, only on YO you don't need to track. The point I was *trying* to make is that some exits are much safer and require less developed skills than others, that is all. I did not mean to imply that any exits in the valley are trivially easy whatsoever. If you read and take the entirety of my post I think tis pretty clear that I was warning people to not get ahead of themselves and tyheir skillsets and to be safe based upon their own best judgements; and not to be influenced by peer pressure, that's all.

thank you

+1

why does this remind be of drunk driving? people get away with poor decision making, and thus do not realize how much risk they are assuming. some will never pay any penalty for it. but when the reaper comes calling, it disrupts so many lives...

if anyone feels compelled to jump, please step back, pause, and re-assess the call. ensure you are prepared appropriately.

condolences to family and friends. I wish it were not so...

Thank you for your incident report. Your thoughts is very important, and also your conclusion to learn from.

Sorry for your loss, my thoughts goes to his family and friends

My condolences go out to Stephan's family and all his friends, this is terrible and sad news.

And thanks Hannah for posting and letting us know what happened. This first hand information is import to others for sure, far more than any zwanzig minuten can provide us.

Hei,

Just a small correction: there is only YO where you don't need to track (althought its always better), please correct this!

Every of this 5 known noses you need to track quite good and insure a good judgment in therms of opening moment.

condolences and my thoughts
/t.

sorry to interruppt but:

No tracking skills or barley needed in the Valley????

dr thrill, on LM you got 6 sec to impact!
on the nose less than that.....!!

the only exeption is YO,........yes, if you are willig to pull that close to the wall that you will kiss it immediatly if you got a 180 wth linetwists....

http://www.base1007.ch/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=90

folks,...stopp saying to the people that the valley is easy cheesy stuff,....its all subterminal tracking and skill or subperb skill is needed on EVERY exit...

start thinking why and how the incidents and accidents happend in the valley,....

people rely on that what the expirience jumpers say,...
and if an good tracker says "that jump is doable" doesnt mean its jumpable for everyone....

condulence to stefans family and friends...

+ 1

I agree to what toni and elduderino says:
Pls stop underestimating LB. There are no easy jumps in the valley. I try not to jump to much in LB because it freaks me out the kind of people I see on the exits. One guy knows the exit and a group of beginners folowing them...

If you sit on the exit of the high nose on a weekend day in summer, you can see at least one person per day who is extreemly lucky not to have died on that jump. And 90% it is a beginner who just came to LB because everybody goes there and because his more experienced friends go to the high nose (short walk).
You need GOOD tracking skill for all the jumps exept Yellow Ocean.
And I am very sorry to say, if you pull low and still manage to have a wall strike on the high nose you should never, never, never have jumped the high nose.
Jumping in Lauterbrunnen is dangerous, even for experienced jumpers. And it makes me very sad to still see people die who should not have jumped there in the first way.

Again:
if you have no or minimal subterminal tracking skills and you still go to Lauterbrunnen, jump YO first until your track is good, even if you need 4 jumps a day for 2 weeks. But this way you will survive the other jumps in Lauterbrunnen

My condolence to the friends and family of Stephan.

Edit to add:
My comment is a general observation. I don't know which skills Stephan had so my comment is not based on this fatality.

Go slow, that is quite fast die in base.
Hugs for who needs.

RIOT B.A.S.E CREW

Sincerest condolences to the Ocana DZ family

Only a few weeks have passed since I had the pleasure of meeting such a great bunch of people so willing to help and so freely to offer advise. A great introduction to B.A.S.E followed by a night out with the crew. My trust put in Stefan ordering the meals as my ability to read Spanish non-existent, the night followed with great food many a drinks and great stories from all, Stefen getting more enthusiastic with the stories and jokes as the tally of drinks on the bill proceeded to grow. Many a great laughs a good hangova in the morning and a great night had by all. I thought for sure that this would be a re-occurring event sometime down the track....

In the short time I got to know Stefan I saw a great joyful character and a man that lived life to the fullest. Thanks to Stefan for all his great advice a legend and a character that will not be forgotten....

Hope you going ok, I am sure the good times will not be forgotten.....

Deepest condolences

Sharpy aka "Bushman"

http://skydive.bg/stefan_memorial.htm

I met Stefan in this trip in LB and we got very close with him because he could speak Russian with me. We planed to continue our communication and we decided to on jump trips together, but…. He was great, cheerful and good man. That’s too bad that such wonderful man left. My condolences to Stefan family and his close friends. I'd like to show short video with his jump on sept 4 2009, my girlfriend Irina got him on tape. Sorry for the quality I want to share it with relatives and close ones.
Blue sky black death

Source - http://www.4shared.com/file/131733374/e91cb105/In_memory_of_Stefan_Drenchev.html

i was honoured to know this great guy and share happy times in his home town, he will be missed by many, my thoughts are with his friends and family

stefan, may you fly free forever

Hannah im so sorry to hear about stefan. I only had the pleasure of meeting Stefan briefly when i was over for a long weekend in august. He packed for me a couple of times when i needed to make the call or just couldnt be bothered because i was hungover! We had a chat when i was about to jump Ullis Raven and he just loved base. So atleast he went doing something he loved.

Fly free Stefan

Max