Basejumper.com - archive

I just recently began reading about BASE jumping and watching many videos. I find it really interesting and want to BASE jump in the near future. What are the most important things I need to do/learn as a beginner? What equipment do I need and which do you suggest as the best? I live in Chicago, Illinois, but I'm currently in Kamloops, British Columbia, because my boyfriend lives here, so I'm going back and forth for now. Any places that anyone knows of around both of those locations? I also enjoy travelling, so if there are any really awesome places to go BASE jumping in the future, tell me about those too. How do I go with practicing? I'm really curious, any answers will be appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome to the rest of your life. BTW...How serious are you and your boyfriend? The best way to start is by posting a recent picture to your profile.

Nude of course.

welcome.

you'll need a thick skin, an eagerness to learn, and a desire to seek out information.

begin by lurking the forums, reading old posts, and exploring other website features. check out the Articles area.

there are no commercial operations to lean on. BASE requires a diy attitude.

*****

for everybody else, remember, this is the "warm and fuzzy," friendly forum. please, no more inappropriate attempts at humor.

I think my attempt was spot on. :)

What wwarped has said is dead on except for my scolding. Those who take their time getting into BASE, and show that they have the discipline to make sure they hit the proper steps on the ladder toward their goal are welcomed warmly. If you have any specific questions you might find the search bar in the upper right to be a handy tool. If that search leads to more unanswered questions, I recommend posting under that thread instead of creating an entirely new thread. Also, there are amazing articles written under the "Articles" section. You'll find many of them helpful even as you get well into your journey. And lastly, if you plan on sticking around, fill out your profile a bit. Nothing personal, but don't be a ninja either.
C-ya

Search before posting?

Do you skydive? If so how many jumps do you have?

read this article by Tom A. and see if you are still intrested. He puts the sport into perspective with the rest of life pretty well.

Though BASE jumping looks really cool and not that hard dont be fooled. It is something that takes years of dedication. Let me know if you have anymore questions. I havent jumped yet but am attending a FJC in august and have been lurking on this site for a little over a year now. BASE is something that demands respect so you will need to take the time and work with a few jumpers to plan out how you will one day be able to get to the exit point in a safe and realistic manner.

http://www.basejumper.com/Articles/Getting_Into_BASE/Getting_into_BASE_8.html

Classic accuracy (involving big slow parachutes like BASE canopies where accuracy is measured in centimeters to the target center, except the rigs have a reserve, a pea gravel pit or accuracy tuffet is softer than the hard ground on a BASE jump, and you don't fly into water/trees/cliff when you miss) and packing/rigging skills (Packing a BASE canopy can be nearly identical to a skydiving reserve pack job until you put it in the container at which point the BASE rig is a lot more pleasant due to the large size and no spring loaded pilot chute).


You make a few hundred skydives including some classic accuracy jumps where you have a reserve parachute to accommodate packing/rigging/opening problems and get to fly your parachute for minutes on each jump and land in wide-open grassy fields on sunny days as opposed to BASE jumps where you have no reserve, get a few seconds, and often have landing areas surrounded by trees/boulders/cliffs with many jumps being after dark.

In addition to the skills people think of as skills (packing parachutes, tracking away from obstacles, landing accuracy) you'll also learn that there's a whole lot you don't know and hopefully learn judgement from seeing other peoples' mistakes (first-hand experience works too, but means an ambulance ride and operations to repair the damage).