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Hi!

Is it a good place to start at or it would be better to start with a brige kind of fjc?

I'd like to your opinion on starting on big terminal cliffs like kjerag...

thanks!

R.

as always, the best advice will be customized for your particular situation. thus, you might wish to introduce yourself by providing more information.

you might start with things like:
experience
backgroune
location
goals
objects available at home
have you met your "locals"
etc.

here's my infos:

So far I'm building up my skydiving experience.This summer I will concentrate on canopy piloting as it is my favorite discipline . (I'll take care of the freefall this winter at the tunnel ;) ). I should meet the 250 skydives by next spring if everything goes as planned.

not too sure what you mean by background...I've been rock climbing for 12 years or so and do lots of other sports like DH mtb and surfing...

As futur goals I would see wingsuit base jumps but since I've never done any its hard to tell. terminal cliffs is what attract me to the discipline.

I havnt met anyone around here...I dont really hang out that much at the DZ...

I'm in Quebec. Travelling is not an issue, If nobody comes up with safety related arguments I would definitly prefer going to norway...

Hope this helps!!!

thanks!

R.

Are you planning on jumping in Quebec? Or only doing the big wall stuff on trips away from home?

If you're going to do lower stuff at home, I'd suggest a more well-rounded FJC than the one at Kjerag. If you're just looking at terminal cliffs, though, I think that one will serve you very well.

any information you provide makes it easier for others to assist you. in general, the more, the better. (and experience in outdoor sports, parachute sports, aviation, etc. can be beneficial.)

Norway is fine, just as long as you don't expect it to teach you how to be a base jumper. The FJC at Kjerag is strictly a first jump course for Kjerag, nothing more. You'll have to find other ways to build up the knowledge for jumping other stuff.

Not related to the selection of your FJC but you have major problem in your approach. You say you are interested in terminal cliffs and wingsuit base but in Skydiving you want to learn canopy piloting (I´m guessing actually that is hop´n´pops to save money to rack up enough jumps to qualify for FJC) and later go to the tunnel and take care of the mandatory "freefall thing". The problem is that the tunnel will not teach you how to track which is THE crucial survival skill in big wall jumping. And also later on while thinking about WS base the tunnel experience (while all experience in air is beneficial of course) will not really help you to fly the wingsuit. So if you say you want to lean towards big wall jumping (regardless if it is with WS or not) you need to practise your FF skills out of an airplane with tracking as your main goal.

this is no offense against the FJC at kjerag nor the people behind it, but the above statement is 100% true. i spent the whole last summer at kjerag and saw a lot of things going on. once i was at the exit (#6) earlier than other jumpers. 2nd jumper which arrived came up to me and asked me: "you look like an experienced jumper. can you help me making a gear check?!" it was a "student" and he had a rented rig from SBK. i was a little wondering but showed him how to do a gear check and at the end i told him, while putting his PC outside the BOC, that i allways repack my PC before jumping, no matter what. he said :"can you show me how to pack a PC?"

this was the point when i really got confused and asked him, how the fuck he can throw himself off a 3000´cliff and not knowing anything basic about the sport. this was also the point, when i realized what is really going on there.

definitely no advice for somebody who wants to be a basejumper.

a.

thank you all for posting


I know it sounded a bit like that, but I'm not trying to "rack up " jumps...I'm trying to build up experience...I sold my ducati and keep my shitty car just so money is not getting in the way of my learning...Here's my plan, tell me what you think:

-this summer, ff with my friends, having fun, and getting canopy skills coaching.thanks to you, I'll add regular track jumps ( that should take me to 200 jumps)

-this winter, spend as much that as I can afford in the tunnel, getting confortable flying in every position and "racking up " ;) another 100 jumps in california learning to fly wingsuit...

next spring, going to norway and start proximity flying... just kidding...

the intent of this post was to make sure going straight to norway wasnt cutting corners...I read some people think terminals should come later I wanted to know why exactly...

thanks again!!

R.

Unless you're planning on freeflying off kjerag (which I wouldn't recommend), forget the tunnel and spend that money instead on getting dead air jumps from anything that is available to you, such as balloons and helicopters.

That's just my humble advice.

+1

actual jumping leads to better gear knowledge and better canopy control.

you also increase the chances of having something go wrong with the parachute. knowing how you function under that stress can be critical. if you fail at that, then do NOT BASE!

tunnel skills are not critical survival skills.
(but I expect disagreement! )

Im an aircraft maintenance engineer on helicopters...its a real shame i've never jumped from one...I'm already trying to figure something out so I can try it soon.

I really enjoy vrw stuff...that's the main reason I want to fly the tunnel this winter...I have no idea if I'll ever start base jumping regulary, but i know for sure I'll be skydiving for a while...

I had a great time on the FJC at Kjerag but it is what you make it. You can turn up hire a rig get it packed for you and jump off a cliff just to say you have done a BASE jump. Or like myself and a few friends we turned up with our own kit knowing how to pack and eager to learn as much as possible. We stayed for 2 weeks did 15 jumps and had an awesome time. I did learn a lot from the instructors and other experienced jumpers but it does not teach you anything about the LOW stuff and you will need a mentor back in your country to sort that out for you. I thought I would only do the terminal walls but when they are not around trust me the Low stuff calls to you and before you know it you will be hucking yourself off the local power tower. Please just make sure you do it your locals.

Enjoy it all and try not to die

Hi roam82,
I had my FJC in Kjerag in 2009, it was a really good time for me, I had 255 skydives before with good tracking abilities and I learned what you can learn in Kjerag, jumps from high cliffs (exits 5 and 6) and tracking exit 4. Later on I've done jumps on much smaller cliffs in France, Switzerland, Italy and it was ok, however I'm still a beginner with 55 jumps including 19 in Kjerag. I'm not claiming I'm an accomplished base jumper, but simply a beginner learning as much as I can with each jump.
Many jumpers in my area learned with bridges, overhanging cliffs and so on (classical progression) we jump together with great pleasure! Clearly for me the FJC was good to start, nothing more but nothing less.
good future jumps!