Basejumper.com - archive

I hope i don't say too much, there is already a early stage project to build a combined tourist / basejumper platform.
Such a thing would be very expensive to build so Basejumpers would have to pay at least part of it.
more expensive landing stickers, donations or other sources.
There are supporters but there will also be opposition against it from several directions.
The process to get the permission, or not, usually takes years.
But is this the way we should go?

Would a lets say 3meter longer ramp make this jump "save"?
I don't really know.
But i think the positive part could be much bigger then it looks.
I have no real data to back that up.

Just a little math.
Lets say a good exit gives you about 2.5 m/s 9kmh forward speed.
that means in the about 4 seconds to clear the positive part you travel 10 meters forward.
plus maybe a couple aerodynamic meters.
at least 10 meters more then with a slip & falloff or lazy student exit.
A 10 or more meters longer ramp is not realistic.

It would be a shame to build a big expensive ugly platform just to realize we still have the same problem. bad exit => freefall cliff strike => fatality

I can be completely wrong here and i am curious for your opinions.

I don't live in Switzerland, and I expect the next time I desire to jump there will be in at least 15 years, so my opinion doesn't really matter. Nonetheless, I will offer it.

I find "improvement" of natural exit points to be distasteful, and not in keeping with the spirit of BASE jumping.

Its a BASE jump. BASE jumps are not safe. No matter what is done, it is still a BASE jump. Have you noticed that the safer a jump appears, the more fatalities it has?
I agree with Tom A. But we are old school.
Take care,
space

I agree completely.

I thought that I read somewhere that there have been more fatalities from people using the ramp than people who do not.. Is the ramp bringing the wrong people?

I don't think anyone has died from the natural (summer) HU exit. Plenty have hit it though, so there has been an element of luck involved.


It's bringing the wrong type of jumps, IMO. People who could handle a running exit but not poised. Has anyone died off HU who wasn't in a wingsuit?

Correct me if I am wrong as I am half asleep but I believe there has only been 4 deaths from high ultimate ALL wingsuits..

High Ultimate, Lauterbrunnnen Mike 'Mercyless' Marko 29 December, 30 2010 Hungarian
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High Ultimate, Lauterbrunnen Gary Harbird 30 January 25, 2011 English
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High Ultimate, Lauterbrunnen Franck Agier 51 October 20, 2012 French
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High ultimate Tron K Torsen 58 May 6, 2013 Norwegian
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But I have seen and heard of many people in tracking gear breaking arms and hands and scraping body parts from hitting the ledge after running exit....

It really says it all When you read the list and things keep popping up...
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I believe there was one other fatality with wingsuit and that was at the ULTIMATE

Ultimate, Lauterbrunnen Earth Simon Jensen (W#15) September 11, 2008 Danish Male

Right on. If you can't read the colour coded list that the SBA provide, or make an objective decision about an exit that has a sloped rock for a runway and a very imposing ledge, then you need to re-evaluate your life decisions, because it's not rocket science. Putting a platform there to stop people getting wrecked is not in the spirit of BASE at all. If you want to jump an exit that is far less dangerous, refer to the exits in the blue column!

+1

Never jumped the HU, and probably never will.

V

....since this is Switzerland, why not build a ramp 3 m longer ( safer for sure as you don't need math to get the clue, just look down from such ramp ), 1 m wider ( allow 2-way ) and install - go through gate ramp with the slip through bar code BASE jumper card. Arrange nice path with stairway from cable to exit, also one ''walk in'' McDonalds and offer day package, week package or month package deal.
90% of the jumps will be made from that spot, meaning that all other exit spots in the valley will be well preserve and littering free.
Put the sticker on gondola PC 6 or Twin Otter and make all possible to manage all in the spirit of BASE.
This spot has potential for profit, as next step is panorama deck ( like Grand canyon - Wow! )
How Awesome , rad & Epic that would be?!

I think that the bigger ramp would be great. And the McDonalds is unnecessary, but as an american, I would eat there regularly and passionately.

'Only' 4 in 4 seasons... But yeah, that's what I thought. All ramp, no rock (at HU) and all wingsuit (HU and LU).

+1

Thank you, spot on. For those that haven't yet bothered spending a bit of time to read what has been put together in a great effort, trying to make the valley safer, here you go: http://www.basejumper.ch/documents/SBA_Valley_Jump_Info.pdf. On this occasion check the colours for High Ultimate and the comment.

The ramp was NOT, I repeat, NOT put there to make the jump easier, period. It was put there to make at least one jump in Stechelberg ACCESSIBLE during winter time. Thus, the ramp will probably soon be removed again.

Since we're on the topic of being able to read: I quote the specific rules for this exit:
Stechelberg airspace rules specifically for this exit:
- No freefall beyond the river (24/7 - all day, everyday).
- November - February: can be jumped all day.
- March - October: Closed from 9am - 4pm, even with ground crew.

Now it simply blows my mind when I'm in the area and the majority of jumpers I encounter either don't know these rules or they give a s***. If you think you are soooooo special and know everything better, then please honor us with your presence next time we have a meeting and negotiations with all the stakeholders (there's MANY!!!) for the airspace in Stechelberg. We are trying hard to get a bigger slice of the cake for BASE, but it takes time. Oh, and the argument of "Why rules? Common sense should do!": We tried it, it DOESN'T work in the Valley.

I wish everybody a safe season with many great jumps.

Mathias Wyss

i think i like you. +1 maybe you should be more direct though ;-)

take care,
space

It's that way everywhere in BASE. BASE jumpers are just that kind of people. Any time you make a request or create a guideline (not even a rule), jumpers basically take it as a challenge to break it, because you're just the man keeping them down. That even applies if the rule was made by a real govenment agency and you're just relaying the information to other jumpers.

Yeah, that's probably part of our nature. Let's be honest ... who hasn't broken a rule occasionally I have no problem with that if done with COMMON SENSE. But what amazes me is the level of ignorance and the lack of common sense amongst many jumpers in the Valley.

Anyway, drifting off-topic here.

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”


Rules are meant to be broken. Most of them are put in place by archaic, corrupt institutions that seek only to enslave and maintain their own power. When it comes to breaking them, be sure to do it properly to avoid punishment. But above all things, make sure you DO in fact break rules. If authority was never questioned, we could be a stagnant civilization.
Dalai Lama XIV.

Take care,
space

'BASE jumpers are just that kind of people. Any time you make a request or create a guideline (not even a rule), jumpers basically take it as a challenge to break it, because you're just the man keeping them down.'

I hereby order all base jumpers to pitch before impact...........