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Incidents
Re: [benbarclay] Fatality France 23/6/12
Google translate of the article: A 51 year old from the Paris area, died Saturday morning in the mountains of Obiou while he was "base jump", the sport that involves jumping off of a point high before activating a parachute. This "base-jumper" was equipped with a particular combination, called a "wing suit", which allows practitioners who are literally relying on air and fly longer.
The Obiou has several departures of flights to the "base jumper". It is unclear which man apparently experienced very rushed. Nevertheless it seems that he and his friends have hovered for a long while passing near the passes. These are two climbers who were climbing the normal route of Obiou, who raised the alarm shortly before 11 hours after attending the accident: "base jumper" had struck terrain near the place called Stoup , at 2000 meters altitude.
Two CRS des Alpes and a doctor of the SAMU 38 went up on board the helicopter Civil Security but could only confirm the death of the victim. His body was winched on board the aircraft and brought on the town Pellafol where agents the funeral took charge.
Re: [MBA-PATTO] Fatality France 23/6/12
I will sadly report the events that took place on Saturday. Five of us jumped from Obiou in the Dévoluy as reported in the article. The approach took us approximately two and a half hours at a moderate pace and as usual Hervé Le Gallou had us laughing and joking throughout sections of the hike. Not having spent much time in the mountains this year he complained of fatigue and cramping in his quads as we reached the summit. After a sufficient food and rest break we made our way down to the exit. Conditions were favorable. Hervé jumped third, each jumper on a solo flight. For those unfamiliar with the site, this is a rather technical jump, requiring passage of two ridges un-viewable from the exit with a variety of different lines available. As one of the remaining two jumpers I watched him have a solid exit with a very quick start and turned right, very high on the protruding ridge. Unfortunately, for reasons we can only speculate, he was unable to outfly the plateau. Hervé was found with his parachute out, toggles stowed, slider still up and still attached to the direct control rubber band. This has been a very difficult year for his family. My heart goes out to them and to the many friends he leaves behind. He is a humble legend and although now painful I feel thankful to have known him.
Fly free my friend.
- Laurent