Basejumper.com - archive

Experienced jumper making first trip into the Swiss Valley Aug 9-27. Not looking to impress anyone or strap a bunch GoPros on, just safe jumps with tracking suits in appropriate weather. Looking for train, landing permit, and heli insurance information. Also some current etiquette practices. Yes, I've read "Reminder about jumping in Lauterbrunnen" in the General Forum. Your time is appreciated.

424.. hey man.. i'm in the same boat here.. but I arrive in Zurich on the 26th and will be in the Valley on the 27th. Here is what i've gleamed from the site and other friends that have jumped LB before.

Train... Hell if I know. I'll just figure it out

Landing Permit... I hear these can be picked up in town at Horner Pub...there is also a donation box or sometimes it's cool if you bring a few "local to you" items for the farmers. I'm planing on both.

Insurance... Everyone is saying Ihi bupa. Had a friend get banged up from an off heading on the Eiger 2 years ago and they told me the insurance company was hands down amazing. 100% coverage on Heli rescue, hospital bills, and even flew out a friend to help get them back safe b/c they're leg was so messed up. Ohh.. and bumped them to 1st class on the flight home b/c doctors orders where for the leg to be elevated. CHECK... i'm in!

Etiquette... Again, from what I hear it's pretty much common sense (as much as us BASE people have I guess..) But one of the biggest currently seems to be to make sure to call Air Glacier BEFORE you jump. They will inform you as to if you are clear to fly. 2. Don't trash the place and if you see trash try to pack it out if at all possible. 3. Watch the grass in the LZ's. From what I hear typically the "acceptable" landing fields will have some sort of wind indicator in them... but don't count on it.

I guess in all.. just treat the place like it's your favorite local object and do everything in your power to keep the area pristine and the locals happy. Which i'm sure you will.. :)

Hope that helped a little. Have fun and too bad we couldn't be in the area to share an exit together.

Svin

Train: From Zurich you can take the 2 hour trip to Lauterbrunnen via Bern or the much more scenic 3 hour trip via Lucerne (Luzern). As I recall, the train station is just across the street from the airport terminal.

Landing card: Pre-register for it on the Swiss Base Association (SBA) website, then pay for it at the Horner Pub in Lauterbrunnen. It's actually a sticker, not an actual card.

Heli insurance: either REGA (www.rega.ch) or the above mentioned IHI Bupa.

Air Glacier: 011 41 33 856 05 60 That's actually the number if you're calling from the US. You'll use some subset of that number if you're calling locally.

General: Unlock your phone and get a local SIM card. Bring an extra passport picture to purchase a separate pass that you can use to get on all the Valley trams and buses.

FYI!
REGA is the heli insurance and IHI is international health insurance. Both are needed in my opinion. As far as I understand it, if you land in a tree and are unhurt, REGA will be needed, IHI will not cover this. If you are hurt IHI will cover your injuries but I do not believe REGA has similar coverage. IHI costs around $100 for two weeks of coverage and REGA runs about $30 - $40 and can be purchased in the post office in LB (or could be last year). Both are cheap and worth it compared to the possible alternative of paying hundreds of thousands for medical bills or thousands for a heli rescue.

The REGA card will cover the part of the heli-rescue which your other insurances will not cover. You can also purchase it online. It costs 30CHF for 1 year, which is now about 32 USD.

It should not be considered as an insurance. It is just a supplemental financial protection in case of helirescue/search.

REGA and Air Glaciers both work on membership basis. Air Glaciers have decided not to cover BASE jumping incidents with their card, reason why the SBA (and people close to BASE jumping) recommend affiliation to REGA (even if in the case of the LB Valley, Air Glaciers will most certainly be the organism operating the rescue, the REGA card will cover that)

Thanks for the insurance clarification guys... the info I had was accurate as of 2 season ago, so possibly there has been a change. Thanks again and I'll check out REGA once i'm in the Valley.

Also, thanks for the info on trains and connections! You guys rock!!

Svin