Basejumper.com - archive

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

 
Michi

thanks for clarifying the SBA's position on this.

PM me as there seems to be a lot of people who want to donate some money towards your costs - just in case you don't get enough from a certain big company!

thank you.

you guys kick ass.dont worry about the whiners, the haters, the jealous types, the naysayers.

be a doer.
stay fly.
-b

when i first saw the "RB guys are cutting down trees" posts, I thought BULLSHIT. these guys re good skilled people, some are friends of mine.

yet another thing blown way out of proportion.

Fuck the haters. it's easy to hate; be it jealousy, ignorance, or boredom, all they are are haters and that is all they will ever be.




you guys keep up the magic.
for Shane and Eli.

This doesn't change my opinion of Redbull and I still don't think its right for the trees to be cut down.

.........pity that i never saw such massive reaction after some littering at the exit in the mountains or at the landing area. tThis is by far bigger problem than trees being cut.

I am sure that one nice exit shot of 20+ way will compensate whole anger as half of the participants will be those who were loud about the trees here!!

Since you are such a knowledgable person why dont you also explain why the team is bad for the sport

I think it depends on your ethics here....

I think litter bugs are all a bunch of cunts, i think people who don't recycle are a bunch of cunts as well.

One of my favorite sig lines when i was aproaching base was, “Leave only footprints, take only pictures"..

Maybe this is a bit old school, and not "real" in todays world... but its something that i have aproached in all my other sports so why not this one.

Regardless of the people involved and the shots you got, i don't feel this is a good way for the sport to evolve.

but then i guess this sport is not about rules, or certainly the rules that thier once were keep on changing.. for the better, i don't think so, but thats just my opinion, which is for yours to throw away.

(Preferably in a Bin)

my opinion means nothing but it is what it is.

i really don't think it's a big deal,.. like vtmike said, there are countless other similar incidents that go unnoticed. while i don't advocate the cutting of trees like this, it really is done everywhere everyday for similar conveniences.

ultimately i don't think it will have any affect upon the exit other than making it slightly easier to launch big ways.

so, i'm not defending the actions, but seriously... stop your crying about it, especially you that are bitching that have never even stepped foot at that exit.

having looked at it, i am already over it.

meow.

I like your style guys - i just set 4 cars on fire, cause they were in my landing, then i blew up a garage which was in another landing, and then i took down an antenna on a roof so i can have a better exit.....personally I think it would be cool to blow up the mushroom as well, then we could have a nice running exit up there......

A message I received from Lauterbrunnen:


"Yeah everyone is freaking out about trees, Xxxxxx cut them and is amazed people are freaking out. people freak out over trees but no one says a thing about all the trash and toilet paper that everyone else leaves."


(I still think Nick's satire is awesome.)

So, you just get paid by the guys who are responsible, which means none of this is your thing?

I don't buy it.

When you agree to work for someone, you're accepting their procedures. If you don't like the things they are doing, you shouldn't work for them. By working for them, you are tacitly approving of whatever they do in producing your film/event. It's just the same as if you participate in an event--you're part of it, and that means that things done by the event are yours, too.

"Hey man, I just work for them" is a lousy excuse.




Can you please provide the names (and hopefully contact info) of those Swiss locals who made the decisions?

Thanks!

Um, you mean like this post (from the sticky at the top of this forum)?



Looks like people are saying things about that, too.



In any case, I don't understand the "well, everyone else is fucking things up, so it's ok if I fuck them up a little, too."

That's a pretty lame excuse.

I was there during the tree cutting down and saw some of the stuff the production was doing. The trees were not cut for safety, be honest, they were cut for video reasons. I agree when Mike says the RB guys had nothing to do with it. Taking a stand about the trees wouldnt have done anything but maybe getting them sent home. That doesnt change the fact that the trees were cut. Please dont compare this to deforestation and other problems throughout our world. That is not the point. The point is that we have a wonderful valley with legal, yes legal, base jumping. If base jumpers or their production staff dont respect this valley, it could become illegal. Be it trash, landing, phone calls, or cutting down trees. Its all bad. The real difference is that trash can be picked up, people can get phones and start landing in right areas, but those trees take 20 or more years to grow. It pure respect and nothing more and we need to respect this valley for the future

oh dear, where to begin...


that statement implies you really have no desire to listen or respect any other opinion than your own. it makes it hard to hold a dialogue and work towards consensus. it makes it sound like you already know all the answers and we all should just listen.




yet it seems that one member of the SBA does not agree that the organization was involved at all. I don't know who to believe.



so you are just hired guns with no creative control over the project. fair enough.



wait, aren't you folks just hired guns with no creative control? so how can you be so confident about the eventual good of the project?

o.k. many athletes "promise" to win a game and make other similar confidence statements. this confidence can help them perform better, and so it might be for you folks. that still does not mean I believe the athletes. I still must watch the game to see what happens and if the athletes keep their word.

(let's not forget that there appears to be little consensus on what is "good" for BASE. even if it pans out exactly as you wish, I doubt everyone will agree on the outcome.)

another thing professional athletes understand is that they are role models that rightly or wrongly, will be emulated. they realize it is best to function on a higher level and show leadership. sadly, one member of the SBA reports that most of your team has not even bought the Landing Cards. true the economic impact of your project may dwarf the Landing Card's value. but it is a leadership, principle thing. if you are above needing the Landing Card, why should anyone else?

the role model thing plays out in other areas, including cutting down the trees.



all the above is true.

let's just not misinterpret anger for hate.
people get angry when the project members failed to act as role models.
people get angry when their opinions are dismissed.
people get angry when they feel they have been treated in a condescending fashion (read some of the posts in this thread to see this trait in action).

I will assume,
you are talented,
you are sincere,
you work hard, and
you are charismatic.

those are great, strong traits that get diminished (imho) by disrespectfully stating things like "I'll make a statement, but will not listen."

It's this simple; you didn't refuse to jump.

There's another thread going on dropzone.com. Here's what I had to say there:

http://www.dropzone.com/...post=3684223#3684223

so? are you saying your friends never make mistakes?



people criticized the cutting of trees and other acts. getting angry and crying "bullshit" are not the same as denigrating a person. why take it to a personal level? (I always thought you possessed the intelligence to rationally present your opinions.)

when you demonize people, you insult them by saying their opinions have no value. that is not productive. I would have thought you knew of "The Lucifer Effect." see here for more on it.

Brother, you're the biggest hater I know. I'm calling HYPOCRITE! With the utmost amount of love, of course.

P.S. Wwarped...calling someone on being lame and insulting loses its momentum when you insult them by implying they don't have the intelligence to rationally present their opinions. It also negates the sentence before it, since you take it to a personal level right afterwords. Just sayin'

It also does exactly what your last paragraph is talking about. After all, if someone isn't intelligent, their opinions have no value, right? What makes Calvin's opinion less valid because of the way he presents it?

Anyway, as a filmmaker, I loathe the actions of this production. The film industry is basically run on screwing the world and society over, be it by making crap movies or by awful, arrogant and destructive sets/production/etc. The LARGEST problem I have with this is that documentary movies, or really any nonfiction productions, should do their best to keep the world they are recording as close as possible to reality. By removing these trees, they lie to their viewership about the reality of jumpers at La Mousse. I haven't seen the clip, so the reality they might want could be more "YEAH XTREME!" than, you know, actually showing people the terrain of an exit, but whatev.

I think it's funny how much people flip out about stuff. How many of the people who hurled a post up in response to this have seen the exit since the removal of the trees? How many of them have EVER seen the exit? I'm sure some have, but I wager a larger number have not. I remember a few years back I was involved in an incident which was posted on the morning report, which in turn was put on a jumping forum by a caring individual. It was unbelievable the amount of hate posts it generated by people who had no idea where this place even was!

Base jumping is not a "sustainable" activity. Everything about it consumes resources and destroys areas. Why do you think everyone wants to keep their "special" places secret? Because if everyone shows up, they will get trashed. As far as the Lauterbrunnental is concerned, I agree that all the other behavior of the HUGE amount of jumpers in the valley is more detrimental to the future of jumping there and the public perception of jumpers. I can't tell you how many jumpers I saw this summer repeatedly landing in really tall (over 1m) grass. People think it's cute to put their stickers on everything and f__k with the livestock. People can't stay on a trail or take their trash with them. Stickers are trash that someone else will have to deal with. I know I've done some bone stuff there as well which upset people (raping the mechanical donkey) so I won't point fingers, but the point is, as was said to me by my friend "P", jumpers are their own worst enemies. He was speaking of a monolith which was closed after a short period of legality, but I think it is universally applicable. People who like to say base is free and sustainable need to do a more realistic assessment of all the resources used to get someone from their house, to the exit, and home again. Also don't forget the resources required to make your rig, canopy, tracking suit, wing suit, helmet, and cameras, which are mostly all petroleum products. I'm not especially bothered by this (hence my inability to resist raping the donkey).

Oh, and Gee, I'm very disappointed in your lack of destruction for the sake of jumping. You are one of your fatherland's elite, a knight of the sky and slayer of steel dragons. I expect more violence next time and the wearing of a latex dominatrix outfit. I know you have one. The Pole told me.

That is all.

I just hate redheads dude. everyone hates redheads.

not at all, just saying that they are people, they are BASE jumpers like the rest of us. they understand BASE as a community and they would not just go cutting down trees for the hell of it. Imagine what would happen if they would have been filming a Hollywood movie? I think the chainsaws would have been backhoes.



thanks for the benefit of the doubt, it was rash to be so blunt. I see the ousting of groups of jumpers as a very trendy thing here and I tried as long as I could to stay out of this one. will continue to try and cower away now. whenever I get involved in these BS threads I end up having to apologize.

maybe I was less than clear.
I believe your brother is an intelligent, passionate person.

he also has balls.

he expressed his passion more than his intelligence. (probably a redhead thing...) it's hard to counter his passion, or have a discussion based on it. I enjoy learning, especially where I'm wrong. a passionately expressed opinion gives me very little to reconsider my stance. passionate opinions rarely lead to consensus.

opinions based on intelligence are not more legitimate or correct, but are better tools to convince others.

people who want no discussion and choose to dismiss the opinions of others tend to turn to insults.

just my humble opinion, which can be wrong...

Calvin's not a ginger, btw. Just his sisters. So nope, not even close.

told you I can be wrong!


ps
and thanks for the correction.
you taught me.
cool stuff.

Personally...I was more sympathetic before your post. I didnt say shit about the trees or Red Bull or whatever. Honestly, it definitely seemed like everyone was hopping on the bandwagon...ya know fuck red bull T's and all that.

But the defensiveness of this post actually kinda pissed me off. I dont give a fuck if it was Red Bull who cut the trees down or fucking Santa Claus. When I got into mountaineering, I took a 5 day mountaineering course on Mt Baker, there was one trail to get to the glacier, I remember I stepped off that trail to get a picture and the guide became so pissed. I thought it was bullshit at the time, but now I understand. You dont ruin good shit.

The exit point at yellow ocean at least its a communal tool...everyone can use it. Not everyone is getting a video production done at La Mousse


BTW...as far as removing trees at the exit point and that making it safer...bullshit...taking those trees leaves them dying which means the roots no longer hold soil...erosion sucks. I held onto those trees waiting for others to jump. People have slipped off the exit points and died before...oops

but what the fuck do i know

Totally agree. Unfortunately it is most likely falling on deaf ears, case closed in their eyes.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znowCx_y7nU

 
This didn't sound like a big deal to me till I saw the pictures. You say it's just a couple of very small trees but the pictures look pretty damning. All this anger towards red bull may be miss placed but some one did cut those trees down. Every one seems to be pointing fingers at every one else. Perhaps the perduction company is who should be addressed.

As to how to do that. I don't see a couple of hundred people refuseing to drink red bull even being noticed. I think the t-shirts are funny but again no one would care and most would never get it. Did they actualy break any kind of law, regulation, or agreement? Did they have a filming permit? Dose it have some type of clause about returning areas to original condition? Who owns this land? What regulation is it under. Has any one looked into this?Has any one taken this to the press. If you're going to go up and replant that might be a good time to bring them along. Base jumping is so often protrayed negatively and others are so often given voice against us. It might be our turn to use the power of public oppion to our advantage. Posting shit here will never do any good but the same story and pictures under the heading of local base jumpers defending the valley might get something moveing. Some where there are people with the power and athority to throw that film crew out.

Lee

I don't think that's the right road to go down.

As soon as you invite the government in, even with the best of intentions, they will want to run the whole show. Ever heard the expression about the camel's nose in the tent? Let's not let the nose in.

First,
-The name of the exit point ,is LaMousse not "La Moose."

-To Permit is To Promote. also see: "I was only following orders."

-When you wear a uniform, you represent that faction all the time, not just "on the clock." Its true for the Fire Department/Police, It's true for Red Bull.

-Making excuses for your/others actions, by citing others flaws/mistakes/etc is argumentative, and shows a lack of one's ability to take responsibility for ones actions. also see "Integrity"

-Your statements about "straw bale houses..." and "Recycling grey water.." The world we live in is slowly destroying our beautiful planet, which is why 6-3" trees at an exit point in Switzerland mean so much to so many people.

-"We are just Skydivers and BASE jumpers, just like the rest of you."
Being a skydiver, and a BASE jumper does not make you (plural) like "the rest of us."
~J
981

I'll be more than willing to address that question in PM if you really want to know.

So do RBAF/the film company have any measures of effectiveness for benefits supposedly coming to jumping? How will the results be communicated to the wider BASE community?

Are there any steps in place to learn from what did/didn't work in order to help the next project come closer to achieving these benefits?

Is there any plan to remediate the site (environmentally and visually)?

Without any evidence of a longer term plan, the arguement that this will be good for everyone doesn't really hold up.

At best, you've got a one off, flash in the pan that will be positive for BASE for 5 min before the public forgets and goes back to watching dickheads on youtube.

At worst, it's a big up yours to everyone by trying to hide a selfish, profit driven act as something that was everyone's best interests in mind (and assuming that people would believe it).

In about 3 to 4 weeks we will plant some trees at the exit of La Mousse.
I opened a paypal account:

riplamousse@hotmail.com

I will use the money donated to plant 8 trees. If we get more money than we need, I will forward this to the account of the SBA.
The money from the SBA is used to pay the farmers who own the landing area. About 1/4th is used for infrastructure, such as the windsocks we placed in the landing.
And I think this is only fair as only one member of RBAF has paid for the landing card (Thanks Miles!)

I think money will not be such an issue, the trees are not that expensive. But I really hope that we get enough helpers once we plant the trees, this will be hard work.

Thanks for your support
Michi

Hi,

I was there this last week, I will upload a picture that I took at the exit, I'm standing where I usually stand when I'm gearing up, you that has been there will know where, this is just looking out from there.

More trees is cut "behind" me but will give you a picture of the "re-arrangement" of the exit.

I will not be a part of the debate, I just try to visualize what the debate is about.

Stay safe out there!

PerFlare
Swedish BASE Team

Ps.
The red circle indicates the second tree, except the one still standing, that most people exit between

Hi Per,

I thought you stopped jumping.

I don't like cutting of trees at all, but fact is that it happens on this planet. In the valley as well, and for the most part not by base jumpers, but by local(s) companies. Just hike above the normal exit points on the nose side and you will see. Of course, just jumping does not give us the right to cut down trees. Worse, it might lead to us being negated the right to jump. Surely this is not what we want. Therefor, I support the replanting of trees. Not just in LB, but in general.

Ronald

aside from walking off the job (which is always an option, no matter how difficult), I'll accept that the jumpers had little control over the cutting of the trees.

but what about buying a Landing Card? is that too much to ask? can they be part of the community, maybe show some leadership? neglecting such a token effort seems shameful.

thus I'd like to thank Miles for apparently manning up and buying a Landing Card. he did the right thing and it should be appreciated.

i do miss that little gate there that was made by the little tree you circled.

good seeing you buddy, hope your insides heal up!

If they "had to" cut them, at least they could have done a proper job. Totally butchered.

I was on the phone today with M, the mountaineering guide and jumper who cut the trees.
If he would have known the consequences of his actions he would not have done it.
It was all legal - he had a permission of the local forester.
He cuts trees all the time in the Valley - It's part of his job to do so. Usually not on exitpoints, no one knows, no one cares.

I can see both sides, "take only pictures, leave only footprints" is still valid.
We still ask everybody to follow this rule.
It was not his smartest move when he cut these trees. He did it with good intentions.
He learned a lot of this story - so please don't lynch him.

M. is the only true local in the valley, he lives and works there his whole life.
We are glad to have him, it makes dealing with farmers and other locals much easier.
Without him there would be no via ferrata exit, because he planned and built the via ferrata.

If you meet him buy him a beer and tell him personally how stupid it is to cut trees on exitpoints.

I hope everyone calms down a bit, at least the drama here was good entertainment.

And enjoy the the sun next time at the la mousse exit....

OK, this is my last post regarding this issue.
Like mentioned before, I think it was wrong to cut down the trees. I hope this was the first and last time someone did something like this at any of the exits in Lauterbrunnen. I know by cutting down the 2 trees at the high nose, we could also make big ways from there but pls don't do it...
But I also think it is wrong to bash on the RBAF the way it has been done... Maybe they could have been stronger when the production company decided to cut the trees and explain to the production company that there is such a thing as BASE ethics and that it is a sign of disrespect to the people who opened the jump and the other jumpers in general if you change an exit on the soul purpose of your own benefit. But in the end, they guys from RBAF are paid athletes and it is expected from them to do what the money givers ask for...

Some jumpers in Lauterbrunnen where trying to pick fights with the RBAF jumpers and someone even cut down ropes at the Eiger they put up for revenge. This is also a very low thing to do.

We will plant some new trees in the coming weeks. After all the polemics and discussion regarding this subject, I think this will not happen again and we from the SBA very much hope that this was the last time someone "changed" an exit. If the exit is to dangerous, jump somewhere else. If you are filming and the exit as it is, is not good for it, film somewhere else. If anybody does something wrong, tell it to him but don't punch him. We are still a subculture in the eyes of "normal" people so we have to stick together.

Amen and a good night from Switzerland :-)
Michi

OK, I did not see your post when I wrote mine :-)

still valid though...

wtf.

Yup, M had to chop down a tree recently to rescue a jumper.
Everyone thought it was awesome job.

M is a very nice guy who offers his help to almost everbody. he lives in the valley and i´m sure, he does care a lot about it...

andY

la mousse is one of the exits with a special atmosphere,...many times we sit there, rest longer than usuall or sit there and simply think,...on many other exits we simply gear up and jump,....now its not the same place anymore and this is what people make so angry,...the hole complaining about cutting trees is bullshit because right now more trees get cut down somewhere than other people ever pissed in their lives....
the anger comes from the reason....

its a difference if you cut something down for rescue someone or for saftey on an exitpoint,...
if its done only because to get a better picture or frame than its getting questionable....

and its questionable from the other side to say"but we put new ropes on the eiger" or"we take a good infuence to the public with a good film" to bring the anger down,....

but all the mess would calm down if the "cutters" could realise that it was not a good idea...
the reaction of the comunity is so bad because no one of the guys who had influence of the sitiuation at that day of the cutting said"uppps,...that was a bad decision"......they said "stopp crying,...we put ropes on the eiger",.....and that ist the reason for the anger....

the funny thing is that cutting trees got more impact than the fact that many people dont pay the landingcard,...dont pay attention to the rules in the valley,....like dont land in the high grass and stuff that piss off more people outside the comunity than on the inside....

beating each other up is bullshit,.....

whatever,...next time when i am up the at la mousse is take a knife with me an try to make some nice scupltures of whats left of the trees in the ground,...
mabe the magic comes back to this beautyfull place,...

This topic (in multiple threads) has received a lot of attention. Sadly, the Landing Card gets relatively little. (Check the number of views on the different threads - the Landing Card thread is Sticky).

These tree cutting threads should be a reminder that we ALL need to ensure we are acting responsibly.

Hello Ronald,

Nope, still jumping but more low key now days ;) and mostly solo's (solo's in Lauterbrunnen is hard to now days but hooking up with other jumpers on exit is nice too)

Yep, I agree that cutting down the trees probably was not the best idea, but we can not re-do the choices made so let's move on.

I hope you are having the best of times!

PerFlare

Hey bro!

Me too =) it was a nice exit, still is but I'd like the gate.

Usually every year my wife hiked with me to that exit and we had coffee and stuff with us just hanging out there for a while =) then I exit and she hiked back and then we hook up for a Tagensuppe and a beer in Wegen on my second =)

You stay safe and I see you around the world!

PerFlare

...a lot of (good) reasons to cut down trees ?

...just respect the nature - including landing areas and the way to the exit points !

...if we don`t ruin it it will be there for decades - even if we have left this planet

peace,
Bernhard

Hey, wait a minute =)

- Did they succeed?
- If so, who came out on top?
- Is there pictures/film from the fight?
- Who was in it?

You just must love a classic bar fight, that stuff is pretty rare in the base community so I hope there are pic's/film or at least before - after pic's of the fighters!

Well done!

PerFlare
Swedish BASE Team

;)

Ps,
Cutting ropes are uncool =( BTW, when the via ferrata is done on Eiger please let me know =)

Not a Red Bull, but still a bull http://www.e-meyn.com/...en/ToreroQuijada.wmv

I have to agree the pictures from the exit do not look good, and since many keep it as a very special place for themselves, I can understand the feelings. Legal papers (if they had) can not justify for the anger people feel. I really hope you guys will continue the anger on other areas that impact the base society as much or even more as destruction of the forest, at maybe a place locals really do not care or neither even see.

For small communities, big picture movies is very valuable money coming in to circulation, and it will promote the area to other groups than just basejumpers. This will change the attitude from the locals about basejumpers and basejumping. There is many times those jumpers who give a fuck in other ways, the locals will see and disrespect baviours, such as not buying landing cards, landing in high grass, landing in trees, dangerous behavior, smoking grass openly in front of locals, drinking, driving and being the coolest species on the earth. They see the new generations coming their way with same attitude, again and again.

Love and Peace!

I hear it went down something like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAaCklUmois

Typical BASE jumper bar brawl, that's how we roll.

Typical BASE jumper bar brawl, that's how we roll

You mean Real BASE Jumpers fight like muppets?
Then hell I am bringing popcorn to enjoy while
watching the fights planned for Bridge Day

"I suggest that you remove your hand or so help me god I'll knock you down."

I am upset. We (a lot of us) BASE jump because of the trees, the fresh air, and other things not found in an aircraft.

The red circle tree was kind of cool and unique. It gave the exit point character and even made some unique photos.

However, that being said - the reason I will never EVER buy or support Red Bull... Red Bull should be donating shitloads to the farmers, the valley, and buying landing cards in bulk, one for every crew member and jumper. Come on - no one paid for landing cards? How lame!

The fact they only purchased one card per the previous post shows complete disrespect. Even if this is not a Red Bull production, the Red Bull team should be leading by example.

Hey Red Bull f*%#s - don't burn one of the best places in the world. PLEASE... Buy replacement trees. Buy the landing cards. Go to each farmer and shake their hand saying thank you so they will let us ordinary F*%#s jump there in the future.