Basejumper.com - archive

Dear Jumpers,

although we have a lot of snow currently here in Switzerland, the high wingsuit season is hopefully coming closer every day. Due to the huge popularity of the now well known wingsuit jump called Sputnik which has the world famous line through the crack, we were approached this spring by the local paragliding community and they wanted to discuss their concern for mutual safety as we share the same airspace with them. The paragliders were obviously concerned of the fact that jumpers fly the line through the crack without being able to see if there are paragliders soaring on the thermal lift on the end of the gorge. The end of the gorge (and the forests surrounding it) are places of very good lift on hot summer afternoons and paragliders fly there a lot.

To solve this situation we have agreed with the paraglider community that due to the fact that you cannot see what´s behind the hill if you commit to fly through the gorge, it is now NOT ALLOWED to fly the line through the crack AFTER 1pm CET. So in other words, you can fly through the gorge all you want in the morning as there is no lift and paragliders will not be flying around that area. We found this solution acceptable as :
1) If you start early and you want to fly through the gorge, you can make 2 jumps before 1pm so that gives you plenty of time to get that rad footage to youtube that you so desperately need
2) In afternoon it is normally quite windy so maybe it is not the best idea to go to close proximity anyway

We will also post this information to the information sign on the exit and to the landing area. Please respect this rule and enjoy the other lines on the mountain in the afternoon jumps. With this agreement we are still welcome on the mountain and we have good relationships with our fellow flying friends sharing the airspace with us.

I wish you all a safe wingsuiting season 2013!

Try the far left line over the house. It's far more awesome anyway. (That is until that home owner gets pissed off with all the wingsuits buzzing his sweet spot)
(Please note: It's a really long flight to get there)

Tom, can you make this a sticky?

To make the long text short:
Concerning the Jump Sputnik, also known as Hinterrugg or the Crack

If you jump this jump, only jump the crack until 1pm. After 1pm the crack is closed, the jump however if you fly another line is still open.
It is still possible to do 2 jumps into the crack per day if you get up early.

This is, as explained by Markus, because the paraglieders like to soar at the end of the crack as the thermals are very nice there in the afternoon.

In case people don’t follow this rule we seriously risk that the cable car will not carry basejumpers anymore. The paragliders where there before us and they have a much better relation to the cable car company than us.

Peace

I just got a phone call from the mayor of Walenstadt.
The situation there has been getting worse. We had 2 accidents last weekend.
There are some things to remember:
1) I would like to remind you all that this jump is not for beginners. Please only jump this jump if you are an advanced wingsuit pilot
2) Barn line: Please do not buzz by the barn only a couple of meters above the roof. There are people and animals living there, respect them and don’t invade their home!!
3) Only land on the top landing near to the farm. Do not land in Walenstadt. The people of Walenstadt get scared if you do this.
4) Pay the CHF 5.— for your day jumping at the exit.
5) Act as normal and responsible people.
I just want to remind everyone, even jumping is legal in Switzerland, the local authorities in Switzerland can stop jumping if they want. At Sputnik (and also Lauterbrunnen) it is very easy for them to ban jumpers with rigs from using the public transportation to the exits. This is a very real scenario that can happen any time.