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Incidents

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Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Rescuers have reached a BASE jumper who has been stuck in a tree overnight on XXXX Mountain near Stevens Pass.

The Associated Press wrote:

XXXX, Snohomish County - Rescuers have reached a BASE jumper who has been stuck in a tree overnight on XXXX Mountain near Stevens Pass.

Snohomish County Lt. John Flood says a ground crew arrived about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and lowered ropes about 200 feet down a cliff.

Flood says the man in his 40s is being prepared for a helicopter rescue, which will be treacherous in the location.

The man is conscious but cold and sore after hanging all night in a parachute harness, about 600 feet off the ground.

Flood says he called from a cell phone about 9 p.m. Monday to ask for help after he became tangled.

The man said he was making a memorial jump for a 32-year-old Bothell woman who died July 25 when her chute didn't open and she fell about 800 feet.
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Re: [460] Rescuers reach BASE jumper in tree
Link
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Re: [460] Rescuers reach BASE jumper in tree
Might be a stupid question, but until the discussion about it a few weeks ago i had never heard of suspension trama. With the amount of time this jumper has been hanging, is this a case where they need to be worried about that?
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
I shifted the thread over to the Incidents Forum, and adjusted the Subject line.

we recently had a rescue in Vancouver.
now this jumper needs a rescue while doing a memorial jump for the recent fatality

that part of the world seems to be getting a lot of press.
Unsure
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Re: [FreeFallFiend] Rescuers reach BASE jumper in tree near
Harness hang syndrome. It's similar to crush injuries, lack of circulation can build up toxins in the affected appendages which basically send lots of bad shit back to the bodies organs when released. If I remember correctly.
~J
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Re: [FIREFLYR] Rescuers reach BASE jumper in tree
I've been a little hesitant to comment on all of this, but with the increasing popularity of this object, I feel compelled to say a few things.

First off, this is not a criticism of anyone in particular, as I am just as guilty as anyone else of doing foolish things on this object.

It is a technical jump. It is not even close to being a terminal wall, making it a poor place to do your first cliff, first slider up, or first any other kind of jump. Inexperienced jumpers should go elsewhere.

The exit point is not easy to find. More than one person has gotten completely lost on the mountain, including people that had jumped it before. From the info I gathered from search and rescue, the jumper who was rescued today wasn't even on the right mountain peak.

A long hike is required. The "trail" is shit, at some points, there is no trail. There is a lot of elevation gain. it is not uncommon for the hike to take 5 hours or more. My point is that a jumper might be more hesitant to hike down than if the hike were easier. I've heard more than one jumper say that they would never do the hike again. The hike out from the lz takes about an hour as well.

The landing can be less than stellar. One of the landing areas contains multiple boulders, and I've seen multiple near drownings result from water landings (including myself).

If you choose to come to washington and jump, that is your own decision to make. Please properly prepare yourself before doing any base jump.
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Re: [tommyh] Rescuers reach BASE jumper in tree
UnsureDo not mess around on this oneMad

This jumper was very, very lucky if he was indeed not at the correct exit point. Not cool...a small group of locals and it appears this *may* have been a true solo BASE jump. Unreal having been to this object. I can't imagine it -I just can not.
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Captain dangerous strikes again!
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
 
talk to the locals!

Yet another case where had the jumper talked to the locals instead of assuming, this accident wouldn't have happened. Completely preventable.
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
 come on guys, can we at least TRY to not blatantly site name here?! A link is one thing, the name on our site is another.
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Re: [sethgray] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
sethgray wrote:
come on guys, can we at least TRY to not blatantly site name here?! A link is one thing, the name on our site is another.

Agreed. News links usually go away after a bit. A site posted here will stay on-line more or less forever.
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Re: [TomAiello] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
This may be the sight that even scared Dwayne Weston. I dunno about the specifics. Analyze it and learn from it and move on.
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
That hike does suck, and it is epically exhausting, especially when you get winded out exactly 5 hours from sunset and have to hike down not knowing if you'll make it.

Its hard to have all your faculties at the exit point for sure after that, unless you are in above average shape.
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
460 wrote:
This may be the sight that even scared Dwayne Weston. I dunno about the specifics. Analyze it and learn from it and move on.

It's a different one. I'm not totally sure, but I have not heard of anyone else jumping that site.
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Re: [FIREFLYR] Rescuers reach BASE jumper in tree near
The correct name is Suspension Shock Syndrome aka Suspension Trauma. The correct definition of what it is exactly is as follows:

Anecdotal evidence suggests that an immobilized person suspended in a harness will begin to deteriorate after as little as four minutes leading to coma and possibly death.

Suspension Trauma is a condition in which a person suspended in a harness can experience pallor, cold sweats, nausea, ringing in the ears, blurred vision, dizziness, feeling faint, loss of consciousness and eventual death. The condition appears only to have a serious affect on persons suspended in a harness with a dorsal/shoulder attachment without moving, for example, when unconscious.

Muscular action in moving the limbs normally assists the return against gravity of blood in the veins back to the heart. If the legs are completely immobile, these ‘muscle pumps’ do not operate and an excess of blood accumulates in the veins, which are capable of considerable expansion and, therefore, have considerable capacity. The excess of blood in the veins is known as venous pooling.

Pressure from the harness straps on veins and arteries could also be a contributory factor to this retention of blood in the venous system, which reduces the circulating blood volume available to the heart. Thus, the circulatory system is disturbed. This can lead to critical reduction of blood to the brain and the symptoms described above.

Other organs critically dependent on a good blood supply, such as kidneys, can also suffer serious damage, with fatal consequences.

The movement of a person with venous pooling (e.g. in a rescue) into a horizontal position can cause a massive flow in venous blood to the heart, which cannot cope, and this can cause potentially fatal cardiac abnormalities.

In several clinical trials where the test subjects were told not to move, most experienced many of the symptoms of suspension trauma, some including loss of consciousness, in just a few minutes. Others managed for longer before reporting symptoms.

It seems that steps can be taken to minimize the risk of experiencing the condition. Frequent ‘pumping’ of the legs, preferably against a firm surface, will activate the muscles and should reduce the risk of venous pooling. Harness leg loops should be well padded and as wide as possible to spread the load and reduce any restrictions.

Hope this can help to shed some light on the topic.
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Re: [ROO2008] Rescuers reach BASE jumper in tree near
is this the same incident? looks like the cliff not a tree.http://news.mydaily.com/2010/08/05/cliff-hanger/?ncid=webmail
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Made it on ABC news......
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/base-jumper-rescued-then-arrested-21248596
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Re: [againsthumanity] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
http://news.yahoo.com/...en-arrested-21248596
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Dwayne did hike this mountain, but got weathered out. The group ended up coming down this object at night with a cigarette lighter as their light (This is beyond dangerous on this object and could have resulted in serious injury or death).

And from what I know, Dwayne never jumped this object...
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Re: [SBCmac] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Ya I think I remember him telling me he jumped it but it was in a different area/exit as the standard one now. & was not to good as there were lower ledges and shit that was unseen till the freefall. He said it was cutting it pretty close on the opening but that was not unusual to hear.
also the time when they ran out of light on weather-hold to jump the standard exit . & hiked down in the dark. They did have there cell phones also for light till the batteries went dead . ...LOLhaha . He said that was a pretty Fuckedup excursion .
.
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Re: [sinjin] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Kind of surreal when 4 people chit chat about the accident like that in the studio.
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Re: [434] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
The site, pictures of the site, the hanging parachute, the rescue effort, and the 911 call was released last night on the CBS evening news with Katie Couric.
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Was this a go and throw?

Looking at the video they released, it looks like he's hanging about 100' below the exit (around 1:00). If I am not mistaken, the exit I've used is off to jumper's right at about the same vertical level as the jumper.
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Well you can't blame the News Monkeys can you ?
That is pretty Picturesque for the camera. Nice bright colors and the Up-side-Down cocoon thing was pretty Eye-Catching also in the film . PLUS the back-hand slap in the face when LE runs your name for wants-&-warrants and You actually made it 'Worth there Time' coming up there to see you .
.
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Re: [RayLosli] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Damn....i wish they would have played the entire 911 call.
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Re: [FreeFallFiend] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
he seemed pretty relaxed calling, like a base jumper should be, unlike that coward J.A. who called when stuck on guy wire.
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Re: [460] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
 
I would really, really like to see a transscript of the whole call. It sounded like it had turned into an argument. If it's a cell phone I don't think they can see where you are. It sounded like she thought it was a crank call and he was like "I really am hanging on the side of a cliff going to die!" It would suck to die from some idiot not beleaveing you. If you called back what are the odds of getting the same person? How big is the town?

Lee
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Re: [ROO2008] Rescuers reach BASE jumper in tree near
i was just remembering the compression/ crush injury side. "my bad"
~J
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Re: [dantana] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
I believe the exit is to the left of where he is hanging. He appears to be in the gulley between the two summits and has either exited from the true summit, or from the peak of the lower portion of the wall(unlikely, since this might truly indicate a go and throw). Regardless, the correct exit is to his left and hidden from the view of the news images I've seen.I'm sure that the locals that have been jumping from this site know this, and certainly know more about this site than I do. This site was first described to me by Steve Mullholland a climber and BASE jumper who died at the south pole in a skydiving accident in 1997. I don't know anything about BASE activities at this site prior to that. I would say that this accident is somewhat similar to Leroy's in Utah last year where a solo jumper has attempted a jump that he was completely unfamiliar with, and has shown incredible bad judgement. This gentleman is extremely fortunate to have survived his idiotic decision but at the expense in the national media to the credibility of the BASE jumping community. Way to go Bro!
dantana wrote:
Was this a go and throw?

Looking at the video they released, it looks like he's hanging about 100' below the exit (around 1:00). If I am not mistaken, the exit I've used is off to jumper's right at about the same vertical level as the jumper.
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Re: [StealthyB] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
why are you all sweating "site-naming?" My understanding was that place was legal.
No one would have a problem with me putting up "Cliff Strike at Mary's Gash" would they (Hypothetically speaking)? Plus, we're talking about an incident, everybody knows where it happened.
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Re: [thecount] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
thecount wrote:
why are you all sweating "site-naming?" My understanding was that place was legal.
No one would have a problem with me putting up "Cliff Strike at Mary's Gash" would they (Hypothetically speaking)? Plus, we're talking about an incident, everybody knows where it happened.

We exit from an area where parachute use is prohibited, but the "Lake" (legally the water and something like 20 or 50' from the waterline) is a land designation that permits parachute use. So technically speaking it's not 100% legal, but it is tolerated (so far).
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Re: [thecount] Rescue 3 August 2010 Seattle
Enough bad publicity could ruin any site where BASE is "tolerated". Advertising BASE sites on this forum or just in general will gain nothing but has plenty of negative potential. Even a mellow dog may bite if provoked, don't poke the dog. If you need info on a site contact the locals privately. There are only a very few openly legal sites in the USA, respect is due to the locals who live at all the others.