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You don't need any guide in the valley now :
The Red Bull Crew just cut the trees at the exit point, you can't miss it !





re-titled since I split this off from another thread. -- wwarped

what exits?

Seriously?? Pics?

youre joking right??

I also think this must be a joke. I'm almost sure they would not do this, some of the guys on that crew know the valley very good and have personal conection to the valley. Every BASE Jumper knows that "leave no trails" still is valid and even a much more sensitiv issue in the valley and the guys from Red Bull know this very well.
Michi

unfortunately la mousse is not la mousse anymore....thanks redbull

wow. chopping the trees on the main la mousse exit would be quite a move.
are you sure?

yes , we still have the two door trees but all around ....

well sounds like someone severed their connection...

Wow, it's very hard to believe, that anyone could be such an Idiot.
Do we have more details on the matter ?

If the case is in fact as reported, I'm making a personal effort to never buy that drink again, ever.

/AV

Would be nice to know who is the "Red Bull" who cut the trees, if it really has happened as described. If it really is the case, I'll follow Aave.

V

La Mousse on our way down from the Eiger this morning... it's true. Not just a couple of trees... a lot.

My name is Mattt and whoever thought this was ok is a fucking duschebag. DUSCHE!!!

Ok, so it's not like this valley has no trace of us anyway, we've watched the trails turn into muddy eroded highways over the past 6 years and the exit points stink more of piss every day.

But seriously, cutting trees? For a 'check-me-bro' film?

What, did you think that no one goes over there any more? Did you think that we didn't like the shady feel of the exit area? Did you think those trees were in our way, too?

Not to blow this out of proportion - it is just a few trees, and the earth will not much suffer for it. But it's just so obviously uncool and so lame. Grown-ups should know better and it would have been a lot nicer if you guys had just left here without fucking anything up.

Hilarious.

Wow, what the hell for?


TommyBoy: Sorry your thread was hijacked!!

Mods: Maybe the tree cutting ordeal should be moved to a separate thread. This should shine some more positive light on The Red Bull FuckForce. Hate to say this but it may be just a matter of time now before Death Valley is closed

good point.
done.

I really doubt anyone from the RBAF reads this forum. Maybe this issue could be addressed somewhere else? The again it's even more likely they don't care about the issue at all and are going to continue doing whatever they want.

I agree that RB may not read this thread and if they do, I doubt they'll care. FB seems unaffected by his critics.

as for somewhere else, have a suggestion?

if people wish to have a discussion on this topic, fine. it actually can help build consensus as to what is appropriate and what is not.

who owns the land? did RB break any laws?

clicky
scroll down to the bottom of the switzerland video & click on comment

I am sure I will regret entering into this discussion but since I was there last week let me clarify a couple things that I personally observed.

1. The spot where the tree's/limbs were cut is about 30 yards to the left as you face the valley from the standard exit. There was nothing being cut at the standard exit by the movie people and I was jumping there when they were there at exit.
2. I was told as I stood at the site that the mountain guides that the movie people hired actaully did the cutting so I guess you could view this as the locals did this and controlled it. Do mountain guides need permits or approval I have no idea but this was not RBAF running around wiht machetes and chainsaws, I trust the guides can judge what is right or wrong in thier own valley where they work to make a living and live but that is just my view. ie: I am not trying to blame the guides..
3. There may be a lot of reasons the valley may get shut down someday but the movie being made and these trees/limbs that were cut is probably not one of them. The movie production crew is spending incredable sums of money in the valley from what I saw and everyone from Air Glacier to the local guides I talked to plus the stores, hotels, ect are benifitting. I am sure you can find a farmer or two that does not like it but overall it appeared to be a lot of money into the local economy.

I am glad you did. That is a much clearer picture of what happened.

Thanks, that clears things a bit. Even though I do not agree with cutting trees just for good footage.

V

Maybe I will be the one to regret entering this discussion if the rest of the community turns out to be a bunch of pansies.

What, it's ok to cut trees down at an exit point, as long as they aren't the ones we happen to jump between? get fucking real.

I agree that this will never contribute to the valley being closed to jumping, if that ever happens. however that's not the point, not even close.

The mountain guide works for the film crew.
it was the film crew's idea to cut the trees, obviously. Maybe it doesn't matter who is lame enough to do the dirty work for their 500CHF per day wage, but it reflects on them personally and it doesn't make it ok. And it doesn't transfer the responsibility away from the film crew.

Again, this is just a few trees, it's not a huge deal. But it's really just disgustingly sad that this sport suffers from such a drastic lack of ethics, more so than any other I have ever been a part of.

We have been jumping here for years, many years before the film crew arrived or before the mountain guide in question had anything to do with BASE jumping. and we will hopefully be coming here for many years after these skydivers leave and no longer have anything to do with the valley. It would be a lot cooler (read: ethical, proper, responsible) if there wasn't lasting damage from their 2 month stint in the valley.

No amount of debate will undo the damage - how about just fucking think about it next time someone wants to cut trees down to save time because they don't feel like hiking and want to lap an exit point with a helicopter.

Flame away, let's hear someone else try and justify it.

thanks, thats sounds quite different than the first poster.

still not cool though.

I don't care how much money is being poured into the local economy, this is still messed up.

now now, space, this is basejumper.com

logic, and reason are not allowed.

please go with the flow, and jump to conclusions like everyone else.

thank you.

Sorry, I must have spaced out. I will try to do better in the future.
Take care,
space

i like

It's just another exit. if you don't jump this one, many many other does ...


You always can find somebody else to do your bad stuff.

So money is everything in this world. If i come with more money to inject in the local economy, can i rape the farmer's girls

 
Yes.
yes.
and finealy Yes.

The third was proven in Quincy, IL and holds till the drain on the comunity by all your bastard children grows beyond the income you bring to the comunity.

Lee

Here are a couple of pics from the day after the exit was cleared. The exit was cleared to make room for camera equipment.
I have only been to the valley twice, and dont really know what people call new, old or regular exits over there, but that exit was definitly my fav.on that wall. I dont have any pics of how it used to be, but one of the trees was actually a really cool exitpoint, you can see it on the first jump on this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD_eJsjhU6E

Leave nothing behind, take only pictures.

OK, I will jump to some conclusions now…
I was hoping this whole thing is not true…

I am truly disappointed about this (But I'm 100% sure that Red Bull does not give a shit about this...).

I don’t jump so much in Lauterbrunnen anymore but when I’m there I mostly jump the high nose because it’s a high jump. But when I really want to do a nice jump, I like to go to La Mousse, gear up and just sit there for some minutes and enjoy the exit. I am not the kind of guy who likes to sit around exits much but on La Mousse I do this because it is still one of the nicest exits I have jumped so far. The trees are big part of why I liked the exit. But unfortunately the trees where in the way of Red Bull to make a move, so fuck it, hell yeah, cut the fuckers down, that will be so cool… We are Hollywood...

To 1): La Mousse has to exits, both of them are marked with the blue sign. The exit you are talking about is the exit which has been jumped more. This is the standard exit for most jumpers.

To 2): The mountain guides are paid workers of Red Bull. They got paid to cut trees, so they do it. They give a shit if the exit is nice or not. They will very likely never go to this exit again. They have absolutely no connection to the exit. The guides cannot judge if it is right or wrong. It does not matter if they are from the valley or from Uzbekistan. They did the job they got paid for.

To 3) I agree, this will have no impact on if the valley got closed or not. This only has an impact on the BASE jumpers who jump in the valley. It proves that they give a shit about others. The valley does not need Red Bull. The hotels are full with or without them. The only organization the benefited a lot is Air Glacier. I like all the people who work there, they are super friendly and Dr. Durrer is a hero in my eyes and I will also bring them a Christmas present this year. But the management of Air Glacier is very BASE unfriendly. They do not cover BASE rescues anymore. REGA still does. Air Glacier will gladly take the money of Red Bull for the hundreds of flights but they will not spend a dime on any rescues of BASE jumpers.

I never had anything against Red Bull so far. I like the drink and I thought they did some cool stuff. This action changed my opinion. I cannot understand how they can be so egoistic and arrogant to do something like this.

Michi, SBA

devil's advocate here.. Maybe the trees were ill and cut down for safety reasons The video crew just took advantage of the new free space to locate their cameras and provide to all video-hungry BASE jumpers a new view of the exit.

Was the "tree-management-authorities" advised ? Maybe all this is very legal after all.

holy shit that is exactly what i feared.
my fav too...

hey, maybe they needed the wood for a nice viking funeral for eli?

who knows?

Space, not that it's a big deal, but you actually attributed a quote to me that belonged to Warped.

It was not 30 yards to the left of the exit point as you point out but the actual exit point were everyone jumps from the cut trees were thrown in a pile in the area to the left were some of us used to gear up. I jumped there 2 days before they cut them and the day after they cut them and I have to say that I was blown away. I am concerned that this exit point will erode away as there are lots of trees missing; I have photos... I was sitting there at the Horner when my friend asked a question about the exit point and why they cut the trees part of the response was that they made it a safer place to jump from; My friends response was to hold up his glass as a toast and say you guys are losers. I second that......

yes... many exits and landing areas around the world were improved/cleared/cleaned in order to make it safer for the jumpers... but, I think that I am right to assume that the "locals" were involved in the decisions making (and I am not talking about moving 2 rocks and 3 fallen branches)... US BASE community is very big in asking the visiting jumpers to get in touch with the locals and follow local rules and regulations... How come nobody from RBAF got in touch with SBA (Michi, correct me if I am wrong in assuming this)? This is not advancement of the sport... this is shitting all over it... RB and GreyGoose was my fav drink for a while now, but I am quite sure that I will find another energy drink substitute...

I guess this is where you regret wading into this thread.... Why did you say 30 yards when the truth is that it is much closer to 30 inches than 30 yards from the exit?!
Having spent some time in the Valley and most of it on that exit, I am sad and angry about the damage there. IMHO, there is no excuse for doing shit like that. All the RB guys I have met and jumped with have always been solid people whom I am happy to know. I have to wonder if any of the RB athletes protested chopping down the trees or if they stayed silent because head office wanted the shot?? I really hope it is the first one..
No, it isn't the end of the world and like others have said, it won't be the thing that shuts the area down but it is pathetic and very, very selfish.

my computer skillz are what they are, sorry...

 
I of course would never advicate violence. However it's not inconceavable to me that a groop of locals and visiting jumpers, people having a deep and profound love for nature, in the finest ethical tradition, acting out of love and in the best interest of the sport, might on behalf of all there fellow jumpers who have and who ever will visit this most specal of places, take it into their own hands to act, and beat the liveing shit out of these guys. This would of course be a great shame especaly if they were to focas their attention of the faces of these indeviduals. It would be most unfortenant if they were not able to finish their film project do to unfortinant injuries to their pretty faces or had to explane in the film the sudden apperance of a shiner or loss of a tooth.

I'm just saying that it might be best if they were to leave the area before any thing unplesant happened. In fact it might be best if they left the whole country. I don't know how long ill will might percist but they might have to stay away till... say till the trees grew back. In the interest of safety that might be best.

I feel obligated to point this out now before there is an unpleasant incedent.

Lee

FUK DOOD, just throe the asswholes offff w/o a rig!!

IF a jumper dislikes Red Bull's behavior THEN the best thing they
can do, which also happens to be legal and practical for someone
living in another country far away from that beautiful mountain side:

1. Don't Buy Another Red Bull Ever
2. Don't Wear Any Red Bull Items
3. Don't Watch Any Red Bull Movies

While all three collectively would send the best signal to the
company that you do not approve of their behavior none of
these are as fun as screaming online about it or making
slightly veiled and humorous threats of violence.

your post reminds me of christmas.

http://redbullairforce.com/2009/09/lifestyle-human-flight-3d#comments

Seriously...was it really worth this shot?

The only tree I ever cut down at a BASE site was
because I landed in it (pilot error) and it was the
only way to get my gear back

I don't drink or buy energy drinks, actually I am
obnoxious enough just on black half-caff coffee

Back in February of '08 Redbull was going around day blazing buildings including one that was being quietly jumped here in San Diego.

When I bitched about it, I got called a hater, I was told I was jealous, and you all thought Red Bull was the second fucking coming . . .

Now they crapped in your backyard and you're all going ape-shit.

I don't want to say I told you so.

But, I told you so . . .

NickD

With all the mother-fuckering and finger pointing going on, is there anything that the accused can do to make amends for the alleged offense? perhaps an apology, donation to the sba, reforestation efforts?

Also notice how they made shure that none of the pictures showed the cut down trees.

you need to put some fuggin hidden land mines or bear traps up near that exit next time the red bull team visits. booom!

It would be nice if they would buy at least a landing card.
I found only one team member name on the "paid" list.

Hi everybody

I am really pretty loathe to come onto the forum, but I thought I should give you all the benefit of what I witnessed on the Mousse exit a few days before the shoot took place there. I think the circumstances of the tree felling may not be as clear-cut as most people assume.

When I arrived there, a group of around 5/6 people were sitting around discussing camera positions etc & it was pretty obvious they were all part of the Red Bull film crew. The producer was there with what seemed to be riggers/camera-men/whatever. Apart from the producer, everyone else seemed to be local or at least Swiss. There were no jumpers present.

One of the crew remarked that they would need to clean the place up a bit, but from what was said I understood that they were only going to clear out the dead wood. It is highly possible that the producer understood the same thing as me. In any case I didn’t hear anything said that unduly shocked me & I’m a big fan of trees, particularly the 2 trees on the Mousse exit.

Then one of the crew suggested they should ban other jumpers from the exit on the morning of the shoot, but the producer was adamant that there was no way he was banning anyone else from jumping. He was actually quite forceful about this and it kind of endeared me to him. We chatted for a bit and then I jumped, and then maybe he turned round and said, “Right, now that dumb-ass has gone I want you guys to cut down every tree on the exit”.

However I like to think that the crew probably came back on their own, got a bit over-enthusiastic with the chain-saw, cleared a bit more than had been decided on, and that the producer was just as pissed off as the rest of us when he saw the result.

Neil

PS I’m just a newbie jumper and have no connection whatsoever with Red Bull. I’ve only ever drunk a couple of cans of the stuff in my life and I personally think it’s pretty foul.

i agree it's pretty rank but can be quite tolerable if mixed with Jägermeister and slammed

jagerbombs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JMOh-cul6M

Please do not confuse the US BASE community with the Red Bull Air Force. They are far from being the same thing.

I'm pretty sure the last time jumpers did something like this was Yosemite, 1981.

What's that old saying about those who don't know history being doomed to repeat it?

If the SBA (or anyone else) is willing to organize a tree planting effort to replace the one's cut down there, I'd be happy to donate to that cause.

Yeah, right. How very nice of him to decide not to ban other people from a public place he does not own or have any authority over.

this is a very personal comment... i'm sending all my bad vibes to you.
i wish you 3 weeks of diarrhea without toilet paper

I think they took the "leave nothing behind" part a little too far

The RedBull way of dealing with critics: they took the site down instead of a reply. Nice.

V

Jakee

I don’t know how things work in your part of the world but a perfectly plausible scenario in rural Switzerland is as follows:

1) Film company injects a load of cash into local economy and hires local mountain guides to act as safety consultants/riggers. Producer does not want amateur jumpers getting in the way of his shoot.

2) Head of local guides’ office calls mayor (or pops round for a quick Red Bull/Jägermeister slammer – they’re neighbours) to voice concern over safety issues involved with having members of the public at the Mousse exit point on the morning of the shoot.

3) Mayor issues a temporary order prohibiting members of the public from accessing the Mousse exit point on the morning of the shoot. This is posted in German, French and English on the town-hall notice board, in the Horner bar and on the access path.

4) Jumpers rightly pour scorn on ‘Check-me-out, media-whoring sponsored jumpers” and go and jump Yellow Ocean instead.

Result: Producer has banned other people from a public place he does not own or have any authority over.

However like I said the Red Bull producer was actually quite forceful in supporting the rights of amateur jumpers to keep jumping on the morning of the shoot, even though the local crew would (understandably) have liked to have had the place to themselves.

I can’t believe I’m spending so much time defending Red Bull. I’m off to find a more worthy cause!

Neil

ps I am as appalled as anyone else by the felling of the trees, just not so sure about where the blame lies.

Jumping in the valley was a great way to end off my tour of europe this year La Mousse was a great exit point and what i thought was a beautiful view of the valley ,me and other jumpers would sit and talk and rest in the shade of these trees,

they (rbaf)have no respect whatsoever for the environment...

i feel disgusted that fellow jumpers would do this or even contemplate doing this,


i guess only time will tell what the soil will do around this exit point now that the trees holding the dirt are going to die.

There are 3 Red Bull athletes listed in Switzerland, 2 listed in Lauterbrunen on the red bull site. Andy Farrington and Clint Clawson are listed as being in LB. Mike Swanson is listed as being in Switzerland.

i have no idea if they were involved in this. I am just reporting what is on the Red Bull Team site assuming it is accurate.

 
If there is anyone who is artistic enough to produce a decent "FUCK REDBULL" T-shirt logo?

I'd be happy enough to get some printed and send the profits to the SBA to replant the trees.

This way we get to spread the RB love and the SBA get's to replant the trees and show the locals that we care ...

All designs for the shirts can be posted here or emailed to james@smartrigs.com and i'll send a free one to whoever comes up with the best design

I want one!

Me too!

count me in on a F-R shirt!

got word from one of RBAF that it actually was their guide that did the cutting.. RBAF voiced their concerns; apparently its not as bad as it seems.. but i dont have a clue anyway, i'm no BASEjumper..

 
Ok that's four F*ck RB t-shirts so far ...

Keep the orders coming and hopefully we can find someone who can draw real nice

Make it 5

6

6

 
fantastic - lets see how many people we can get to buy one -if we get enough the SBA can buy a new clubhouse and put a plaque up at the exit point

 
And we have the first design already ...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!

I was going to try my hand at making one but this one is flawless.

 
Shall i put you down for one as well then?

yes!

After toroughful self-introspection, I'll take 2.

 
Can I get one?

Lee

I'll take one

 
Ok - so that's 10 so far ...

Remember folks - we will make these t's so wear them with pride - perhaps try to get as much footage and pictures of these shirts in true RB style ...

How about wearing one at BD if you go?

Remember folks xmas is just around the corner and everyone knows someone that could do with a T-shirt!!!

 

"Producer does not want amateur jumpers getting in the way of his shoot."

"However like I said the Red Bull producer was actually quite forceful in supporting the rights of amateur jumpers to keep jumping on the morning of the shoot"

Very curious as to what constitutes an "amateur" jumper? So if you have a COOL energy drink corporate sponsor with RAD logos covering your arse on your AWSOME wingsuit then does that make you a "professional"?

Last time I checked these dudes (and chicks) were jumping off the same cliffs, bridges, buildings, etc. that I jump off and deploying a parachute and landing a parachute..........just like I do? Big difference is I don't need to cut down trees to exit (or um to get that radness shot on camera)

 
Certainly - what i will do is sort out the logistics of printing the shirts and then we will set a fair price and send all of the profits to the SBA tree-planting fund

You know - these could become the number 1 bestseller of the year

Maybe some FRB sew on badges too?

 
Certainly - if enough people want them - we will make them ;0)

Maybe with an inbuilt 'RAD' detector as well?

That way we'll be able to tell when the 'COOL RAD XTREME DUDES' are in the area and can make space for them

+1 for a shirt (large) and the sew-on patch/badge idea

"professionals" get paid to do something

"amateurs" do the same thing but for free

That is why no one brags about a hooker

The wife and I watched "Harold & Kumar Go to Whitecastle" last night.

The five dorks who kept yelling "extreme" had me cracking up!!

+2 Xl and L

 
Excellent - that's 14 t-shirts so far and 2 requests for some sew on badges as well

I love the design...but would never wear a shirt in public that says FUCK across the front. Maybe something more subtle? I am not a graphic artist by any means just an idea.

"Die"
~J
RIP La Mousse

PS: I wear a medium, just let me know where to send the check.
~J

NICE!!! Id rather have this one as well . . .the "FUCK" just isn't always appropriate and the tamer version gets the point across just fine!!

I'll pick it up the $94 on Sunday. Thanks.

Kinda makes me wanna go to BD just so I can sport the shirt.

I want a FRB helmet.

+ 1 T shirt

359

Ok - that's 19 shirts so far (just read my pm's as well) ...

I'll let the voting public decide which artwork to use ;0)

We could go for something like

"Redbull gives you GREEN FINGERS" with appropriate artwork?

Or feel free to chip in with safer options

I vote for "tame", yet still poignant version as well.

 
RB is an Austrian company and the owner Dietrich Mateschitz is one of Europe's wealthiest people. I don't think they want any bad publicity. I think we have the power to generate some. Is there a way we could get the message (how REALLY uncool, lame, naturehating, unethical, disrespectful and just fucking wrong it is what has happened) across to the companys headquarters?

If some American dipshits do this in what is almost in the companys own backyard, I'd really want to see them react in some way (meaning things like public apology, tree planting, donating money to the valley, sacking the film director etc). If they ignore the message, then lets spread the word. Then everyone will know what this company is truly about, they don't give shit about anyone or anything, just sell their product at any cost.

Michi and/or Moritz, could the SBA be the driving force with an "official" complaint on behalf of all of us? As high up the ladder as possible. Talking about a complaint with a side order of a threat of really bad media exposure. There are many that are pissed off, and eventhough as a sport we're tiny, I believe we have some power to get a nasty point across to a lot of people. RB already abuses BASE to some level, they can not get away with something like this. Utter lack of respect.

Kerkko
BASE 1184

edit: oh, and put me up for one shirt, size M. Also please post how to pay for it.

T-Shirts . . .

NickD
BASE 194

two xl for me

1 XL for me!

It would be great to hear from all of the RB chaps involved in this. Don't shy away, tell us what happened.

If your not willing to make a post here then it also says a lot about your strength of character, your personality.

not nearly as dramatic...

 
I like that.

Lee

Elegant.

I'd buy one.

+1

i want the fail one.....priceless

here is a slight improvement.

This one's my favorit

 
Ok - a couple of questions

1.are the european guys happy to pay shipping from the US (maybe in one parcel to me / Michi) and then split out and shipped within EU or does anyone know someone who will print for us in EU (for a reasonable price)?

2.shall we do one 'full fat version' and a lighter (safer version)?

3.how does everyone feel about paying cost plus $10 and shipping (the $10 will go to the SBA)?

Thanks for all that have contributed so far - we are up to about 25 shirts!

Let's wear em with pride

+ 1 Large

 
Excellent - we seem to be at 29 t-shirts so far with some more to come.

Remember they'll make excellent Xmas presents for your loved one!

Perhaps GOFAST will take a job lot?

Maybe the SBA will make it 2010's slogan?

Either way we will work out the best way to get these t's made and shipped to you ASAP.

Please bear with me as it's my GF's birthday and i'm getting a lot of shit for spending so much time on the computer!!!!

How about some shirts in time for KL?
Plenty of media coverage there

Hello All,

there's a really cool and handy website http://www.spreadshirt.net/ where you can set up a internet store for free, upload your designs and apply them into t-shirts, hoodies, boxer shorts, scarfs, mugs and you name it. You can also decide a sales commission on top of the base price for eachs product and forward those sales commissions straight to SBA (if Michi is willing to give a valid IBAN account nro for this purpose). That way everyone can get their shirt srtaight from the spreadshirt store in the colours they want and on design they want and spreadshirt takes care of shipping as well. We (Finnish BASE Association) have been using it for 2 years now and recommend this highly, the products are very high quality and it works like a charm. A shameless advertisement for our store is here : http://281577.spreadshirt.net/en/FI/Shop. Check it out and see if this would be good distribution channel for these products.

And sign me up for a Medium sized T-shirt as well!

How ironic....

This one the redbull can comp a few years back....

can you see what it is yet

+1 medium

V

there are many make your own tshirt sites like cafepress.com. all you do is upload the image and anyone can buy them. One site the shirts are just 9 bucks a pop.

http://www.customink.com/

 

Ok, before all you haters out there keep on slamming a group of people you have no idea about, how about getting the story straight. The problem with hearing stories and forming opinions is that its like banana phone you played in grade school. You sit in a circle whisper something to somebody and it goes around, by the time it gets back it is something completely different than it started usually nowhere near the original statement. On top of that people read things on the Internet and formulate strong opinions without facts, so each time the story that is told is exaggerated a little more until you have a bunch of strangers slamming strangers. These are the facts:

Part of our team is on a project in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. We are not the only athletes on this project. We are 4 out of the 9 stunt people hired for this production. It is a production, which means the independent production company is in charge of all logistics and tells us when and where to jump. They have hired local mountain guides and base jumpers to help with this process. Most of the locals they have hired have lived in this area most, if not all, of their lives. When we heard the rumor that a few trees were going to be cut down we protested as a group. Short of tying ourselves to the trees they wanted to cut down we did what we could. Our disapproval was eased when the local jumpers that were doing the work, and are involved in the Swiss BASE association told us that it was just going to be a couple of small trees and that it would make for a safer better exit point for all.

Not that I feel that I have to stick up for the production company, cause I don’t, however they aren’t all that bad. For instance next time you guys are hiking up the Eiger to the mushroom, enjoy the new ropes replacing the old worn out ones that people were still using although they were breaking or ready to break. They also paid to put in steel cable so you and all future visitors can safely cross to the mushroom exit point, the same construction as Via Ferrata. They also paid to have the trail on the way to La Moose cleaned.

Haters will hate and lovers will love and not everyone will always be happy with other people’s decisions. We are just Skydivers and BASE jumpers, just like the rest of you. Our passion is human flight and I can assure you we always have the sports best interests in mind. The potential impact that this Movie will have on the Skydiving and BASE jumping communities is very high: From the promotion of this Valley for tourism; which will help keep the peace to giving a little back by helping to keep these sites open for future use; promoting BASE jumping as a sport worldwide, by giving people an understanding that this is a sport and an art, and that it is not just a bunch of yahoo daredevils, but a group of passionate individuals who love human flight and strive for better spots and better performance daily. I truly believe that this movie could help open the doors for legal sites worldwide where people in the past have either blown the opportunities, or not been given the chance to prove they won’t. And, hopefully all of this good will help to soften the blow of losing 6 trees at one exit point. (I don’t mean to sound like I am down playing it, but for everyone wondering, out of the seven, I think one was over the size of 3 inch’s in diameter).

Furthermore, this is not a ‘Red Bull Production’. There are Red Bull athletes, and some support for marketing the movie from Red Bull, but that’s it. They do not have anything to do with production. So, unless ya’all are out there using organically fed horse and buggy’s or wooden sailboats for all of your transportation; living off the grid in renewable energy, straw bale houses with composting toilets; recycling your grey water; not eating meat; living off organically produced veggies and no fast food; not buying anything from Wal-Mart or other similar big businesses, and … don’t forget that shiny computer you are using, and the one you tossed out last year, the list goes on… then you too are showing support towards the destruction of the planet yourselves. So maybe get off the hate wagon and instead of pointing fingers, figure out how you can make a difference yourself saving our beautiful planet.

Peace and Love

Mike Swanson

P.S We took the original post off to stop the uneducated bashing, I will not respond to any further unnecessary slander over this topic, since the facts have now been given and that is the sole purpose of my response. If you have further comments please feel free to contact the Swiss locals that made the decision I’m sure they would be happy to explain this again.

Organically Produced Food For Thought:

When I woke up this morning I went to the local base jumper/mountain guide to find out the true amount of trees and size cut down. I told him about the people outraged about the trees. He said that he wished people would look at their own countries, the deforestation going on and their own problems at home and let the Swiss take care of Switzerland. He also commented that when he cut down a shit ton of big trees to build Via Ferrata nobody complained. He also mentioned that not many people used the yellow ocean exit point that is used at the moment until they cut down a bunch of trees and made the platform that everyone uses now, and nobody complained about that! The real problem in the valley according to him is not a couple of small trees getting cut down, but the respect that the BASE jumpers show the farmers starting with: being polite, not landing in their tall grass, and calling air glacier before jumping. Also, the damage that people are doing taking many short cuts to the high nose is way more damage to the forest. (Probably a 20ft part of a short cut would add up to the cutting of the 6 small trees). These are the things that when you visit the valley are important, not being world police and judging them for what they do with their country but just enjoying it. If you are locals and are upset talk to the guys that made the call, you know exactly who they are.

Just to make this very clear, the SBA does not approve cutting trees at exits in any ways! If anybody who is "involved" in the SBA says it is OK to cut down trees at exit points in the valley, this has nothing to do with the SBA.

I am very glad to know that the jumpers from Red Bull where against cutting down the trees. I think you guys have a lot of influence to how jumping is seen on the outside but this also burdens you with responsibilities to the other jumpers. It was wrong cutting down the trees and there is no excuse for this, if a Swiss jumper was involved in this or not. No one has the right to cut trees at an exit, unless he is the owner of that land.

Anyhow, we will plant some trees at the exit next Sunday. It would be very nice if the jumpers involved in this filming project would help us. Hope to see you all there next Sunday.

Cheers,
Michi, SBA

 
Mike thanks for clarifying things - however i don't think that we are just a bunch of corporate haters, but rather a bunch of concerned individuals.

The large numbers of posters and support should give you an idea that this is not about hating a particular company - it is generally about people with certain ethics worrying about a particular establishment that appears to shun those principles.

It is true that the production company appears to have made several improvements for people in the area if your comments are true - however i doubt the production company got up one morning and said 'let's make things better for everyone else". It is more likely that the improvements were a by-product of the production company needing to do something for their own benefit.

I take it if it isn't a Redbull movie and the production company wanted to make it for their own reasons that you guys will not be trying to obtain any kind of associate image boost for your product by displaying any kind of logo's in the production.

Otherwise as a sponsor of the production then RB would have had the kind of input which would have helped if you really did want to stop the trees being cut down.

I also trust a suitably qualified tree surgeon or environmental officer was consulted who made sure that the loss of the trees does not adversely affect the exit point in the long term as soil erosion is often a major issue when trees are removed from exposed sites.

It is true that we all contribute towards the destruction of the planet and i am no greener than the next person in all likelihood but i think that the point is that people felt that this destruction was senseless and perhaps might have been avoided or simply wasn't worth the cost.

Many production companies go to great lengths to get many shots which often end up on the cutting room floor and are never used. I hope that this isn't the case here.

I am also sure that there are many out there that feel that BASE already has a high enough profile in the media and doesn't need its profile raising further - a higher profile = more heat for certain people / more imitators who bring further disrepute to the sport ...

But everyone is also entitled to their own opinion ...

In my own case I've done some pretty stupid stuff and been called on it by my peers and given a rough time - at that time i had tons of justifications as to why i did those things ...

Years later i realised that some of the things i did really were stupid!

Either way - i really do respect you deciding to put your side of the story forward - i guess the truth (as it usually does) will lie somewhere between the two versions...

Ps I'm off to hug a tree - after spending an organic afternoon riding horses that sh*t in the woods and helped offset the loss of trees elsewhere in the world

this i would/could/should wear. count me in for one james : )

You could have quit the project.

But then he wouldn't be one of the cool guys.

Mr swanson, you label yourself "stunt people", but at the exit point you're nothing more than another basejumper about to do the same things than the others. Plus the film crew.

Here's the real pb. You ( as a group ) act like you own the place instead of acting like you're invited in a place a lot of other people jumped before and will jump in the future.

With all due respect for the talent you showed me as a freeflyer. But basejumping is no skydiving.

http://fishki.net/comment.php?id=58194

Haha, that's awesome.

I'd like to resurrect this thread from last year, remember this? Myself, I've seen the "new La Mousse" and I still think its a disgrace, but that's yesteryears news.

The new news is that apparently the mighty production company (remember that's not red bull... very far from red bull, red bull is clean) has stiffed everyone on their bills! I heard sums of +40.000Sfr owed to local guide (Martin, who did everything for them for couple of months and paid for materials out of his own pocket) and +100.000Sfr owed to Air Glaciers (for heli flights obviously). Let's give a big round of applause to the whole Human Flight in 3D! Woo-Hoo!!

I'm all anxious to see whether this film actually ever makes to theaters!

Kerkko
BASE1184

disclaimer: I KNOW its not the jumpers who are responsible for this but fuck this whole deal is just too much! ;)

Cheers for bumping this post - all this talk about haters vs lovers - and the suggestion that only one of the chopped trees was more than 3" in diameter... that's corporate BS - lucky there's pics up that clearly show that red Bull fucked up an otherwise sweet tree exit.
Are those shirts still available? Put me down for a couple - I don't mind paying the cost to get em to Australia.
Red Bull sucks

 
Yearly update:

Surprisingly, this film was supposed to air (again) this year a few weeks ago but IT DIDN'T! ;) The release has been postponed for the n-th time.

Just to recap: Movie was shot all over the world. Director Carl Samson (or the production company, I don't care) owes money atleast in Switzerland in the +100 000 SFr range to local businesses and jumpers, and since the hype from the RBAF has died down somewhat I'm guessing they have some bills to collect as well? I can't imagine Switzerland being the only place where he left without paying. Mr.Samson still owes people money in Norway from 2000 from that other IMAX project...

La Mousse hadn't fallen down yet a few weeks ago, but it might before this movie ever sees the light of day!

But don't give up hope, I bet they are REEEALLY close to the release! Stay tuned for the next update in 2012!

Kerkko
BASE1184