Basejumper.com - archive

http://www.sltrib.com/...ng-fatality.html.csp

http://www.climbing.com/...ed-in-base-accident/

Super bummer...... he will be missed dearly. He was such a motivated dude. :(

holy crap, i'm about to piss a shit load of people off, but I don't really care...

this man's wife is expecting their first child.

how fucking selfish do you have to be to continue to BASE jump knowing that with each jump you've placed your child at risk of growing up without one of their parents or placing a new mother in the situation of raising a child on her own.

at what point do you admit that there is someone else on this planet more important than you getting your fix.

I've been there, I put my needs before my daughters for a long time but then one day something snapped in my mind and I came to the realization that her future was more important than my need to jump and that she REALLY needs me to be around.

think about it people, the odds aren't really in your favor when the expectation is that you could go in on your next jump. if you don't believe this, then you have no business jumping in the first place.

my heart goes out to sean's widow. I am so fucking sorry.

teresa

You have been there so you should know what it's like. He just didn't have that realization before this accident... you did. No need to pour salt in the wound so soon.


This makes little sense to me... maybe it's the sentence structure but I certainly don't feel the odds are not in my favor when I jump. That would be absurd. The odds of making a successful BASE jump in my eyes are pretty good especially if you are a level headed somewhat competent jumper. So should I not be jumping because I don't think my chances are high for injury or death?

Far from selfish. Sean was one of the most genuine, kind-hearted human beings I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Why don't you go make stupid, tasteless, ill-timed comments on saltlaketribune.com or something.

My deepest condolences for the loss of your friend. I know how it is, all too well. I didn´t know Sean but after 10+ years in the sport, I know the sport and the jumpers. And every jumper (including Sean) is selfish. It is a selfish sport and it is a selfish choice to put your personal things above all others in life and take such enormous risks while doing so. It is indeed the nature of the sport that we are all making selfish choices every single time we jump and prioritizing the need to perform this jump (very well knowing that it could be our last) above everything else.

Again, my condolences for all loved ones of Sean, especially his wife. I did not know Sean but based on all what I have heard, he must have been truly a great guy.

No selfish, self-centered.

And yes, we are all like that, be it good or bad. Go talk to climbers to put it into perspective.

Sad you feel you have to leave your comments here...

I lost a lot of respect for you... A good man has passed and you leave selfish remarks about your own life.

BSBD.

how about this :

yes, BASE jumping is fairly egotistical. But it's also super-personal, and many of us do it for some very different reasons.

Let's not judge each other, but rather respect each other (except for blatant assholes) and enjoy the jumps we do together.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, just like everyone is entitled to disagree with others.

blah, being sentimental is tough.

RIP, tough month...

Hi Lttlestranger.
Try looking at the bigger picture. Should one stop being one's self because of the possibilty of having a family? "Ok, playtime is over, time to don the generic uniform of parent.". Be unexceptional for the sake of the family?
What if one has the gift of inspiring and helping others and quit doing it for the family. Could that not be construed as selfish?
I am not saying your limitations are wrong. They are evidently right (for YOU).
What I want to know is "What gives you the right to try to force your limitations on others?".

That is the wonderful thing about this world. We can co-exist with our own personal limitations without trying to force them on others and life will go on. There is room for us all. IT is not the end of civilization. A tragedy, yes. but not the end.
take care,
space

I have four children and have been basejumping 13 years. It is not about "getting my Fix" or "look at me". It is about my relationship with Nature as I understand it. I explore my relationship with nature and share my passions around nature with those closest to me. In time my children will understand their relationship with nature in the terms that Nature has laid out for them. I have seen several fathers over the years pass away Jumping and some of these guys were incredible inspirations to the world around them. How can someone who is SO Selfish have inspired SO MANY people to take a breathe of freshness and want to explore their relationship with nature .... SM comes to mind for one and many others. Sure, I feel a loss for the loved ones left behind and I am certain these men would feel the same of another Jumper and their Family.

I am not debating that this is a sad event. By no means do I expect a widow and child to be any less sad by this event thinking great things in this time of darkness. My heart is with the widow and soon to be new child in this world. Hopefully, what is affirmed here is that this man was a great man doing really amazing and inspiring things. Nature laid out the terms of the relationship and if anyone thinks they control that by not doing anything risky then their life is somewhat lost anyway.

Simply put, I will not condemn a man to eternal selfishness because he was genuinely exploring and growing his relationship with Nature in the only terms that HE himself understood.

Kris

No, it would be selfless...there's a difference.

How selfish does one need to be to continue to (BASE jump/skydive/ride a motorcycle/drive a car/swim in the open ocean/surf/SCUBA dive/fly in an airplane/rock climb/drink alcohol/ride a road bike along a busy street/clean the gutters on a tall ladder/go on safari...)

How about you let us know what's acceptable behavior, in your view, once a person becomes a parent.

The line is different for everyone. Be more respectful and understand that your standards are not universal.

shit!!, i just found out i am the most selfish person in the world as i do every thing you just mentioned

oh well

[quote "littlestranger"
think about it people, the odds aren't really in your favor when the expectation is that you could go in on your next jump. if you don't believe this, then you have no business jumping in the first place/quote

I didn't realize that it's a game of odds that I had no business playing these past 25 yrs? Oh well, now that should change everything.

Sean and Kevin, if it weren't for this passion we shared I would never have had the pleasure of meeting either of you, it saddens me greatly that the BASE community lost two of it's nicest people this last weekend, you will both be missed by so many,...

R.I.P. , B.

While I in principle agree with your sentiment I'd have probably put it a little more "nicely".

Being a new dad is the main reason I no longer skydive. I don't BASE jump anymore cuz I sucked at it.

Regardless of the reason you BASE jump/skydive (ego, adrenaline, one with nature, job, "human flight", whatever) I personally can not square the image in my head of my little guy asking my wife "where is daddy?" and my wife having to deal with that for the next few months with any of those reasons. Basically, to my 23 month old kid, he just wants me around regardless of if I sit in a cube or am a friggen astronaut.

I can't do anything to risk that.

That's me. Your mileage may vary.

I try to stay away from here as much as I can.

I'm reading the thread just because I want to see if there is any news, developments regarding this, something we can learn.

The conversation about "selfishness" and all those moral questions are completely irrelevant. In case you guys didn't know those things are completely subjective and different from person to person.

I suggest you guys open a different thread and dive into those pointless (I only say pointless because is subjective so no one is going to agree) conversations and while your at it please also answer what is the most beautiful color, or which is the true religion.

hi huck! awesome post. didn't realize I was in danger of losing your respect, i'm crushed. maybe you should unfriend me.

teresa

I feel your opinion here has about as much validity as any of those who comment on articles about people dying BASE jumping. Your negative, self righteous attitude is so VERY similar to what the arm chair BASE jumpers write every time one of us goes in. "How stupid", "what a waste of life", etc. You really, truly, have no clue. Unless your profile is inaccurate and you are backing your comments here with upwards of 1000 wingsuit jumps, god knows how many being terrain flights, you have about as much experience as my pinky finger when it comes to BASE, let alone wingsuit BASE. I imagine this man could risk assess in his sleep better than you can at your very best. Who are you to even question his decisions? Who are you to say he did something reckless when you honestly have no idea, and never will have any idea, of what reckless even means when it comes to such things. Keep your comments to yourself Wuffo.

This thread should be used as a tool to learn from concrete evidence and to make our sport safer. To throw around banter like this shows how communities fail with precedence of one's own ego involved in speculating about another person's character.

Why make ourselves more divided than we have to be? The media does enough of a good job making us look like terrible scars on society while we live on the fringes, jumping scraps of legal areas we have in this country that's supposed to be a representation of individual freedom.

I don't have the experience to dictate anything, but I know I'm committed to give back to the sport that has given me so much happiness. How about you guys? We lost a great person and to completely jettison all the positive contributions this person made to society because of an event we know little about is wrong. We need to start looking at each other as respectfully but responsibly as we can, not simply because we want to justify our own feelings on the matter. If you're not critiquing to better our sport why bother? It's your freedom to do so but it makes us all look bad.

Parenthood and BASE or climbing is a tough topic that should not be brought up when one of our best has just died. It is very disrespectful and if you feel like you need to post it, do it on another thread.

I went through it myself, and when my son was about 3, I quit jumping and big walling. It was a personal choice, and in the grand scheme of things, nobody's business. Judging others is stupid period. Hopefully the guy who posted this shit will mellow out a little as he gets old. Judging others is one of the worst aspects of human personality.

The selfish argument aside, does anyone know what happened before he went in?

Teresa. Why don't you go jump off a cliff and fuck yourself

C U Next Tuesday

Also, interested in the technical discussion and potentially the merit of Visual Judgement in that environment later in the Jumping Day. Can I possibly conclude from reading of this incident and January's Incident that potentially judging those types of rocks and altitude later in the day requires a little more attention? I have jumped Moab a lot but predominantly slider down. What advice is there for people who want to wingsuit that type of environment? I am not sure I will ever have the currency/experience in my suits, but perhaps that is the nagging question for me. All height being equal, what would be the technical differences to Wingsuiting MOAB area vs let's Say the Swiss valley?

I doubt a lot can be concluded in this particular incident where no one else was present. However, Losing Dr.Dave here in Calgary has been a tough thing to overcome for me and I want to focus on information and experience from others to understand this Dry desert type environment.

Steph's Blog about Sean was amazing and revealing of a fascinating person who by all means was incredibly engaged with life and people and emotion, a true inspiration to how I could possibly live with my heart and be there so genuinely for others.

kris

This is the only comment I will make about this incident. If people need to know more or have any questions, I will respond via PM.

First of all, Sean was an incredibly experienced wingsuit jumper. He wasnt the type of guy to keep a log book, and he pretty much only shot video when a job called for it, but I wouldnt be surprised is his total number of wingsuit base jumps was >1000 with many openings of new exits in the US and abroad. We had actually spoken a lot recently about his child on the way, and how his wife felt about his jumping both now and into the future as a father. She was fully supportive of his continued climbing and jumping, as this is literally what he has done for a living for the last 15+ years. I was the first person she called when he went missing, and traveled with her from her home to zion, and me and Dean were the first people to the body. Not once during this entire time did she every say "I wish he had stopped jumping" or "he was selfish". She is also an amazing climber, and an amazing person, and and she understood the risks involved. I agree that base is a selfish sport, but to make broad sweeping statements about the character of a person you have never met, and infer feelings on his wife, whom you also never met, is quite disrespectful and idiotic.

As far as the actual incident is concerned. The most information we can gather is that he probably arrived at the exit a little later than intended, and probably waited for the moon to come up to jump. From the position we found him, he likely either misjudged a turn, or couldnt see an outcropping in the shadows while making a turn. I think it was most likely the later. Sean impacted with nothing out, and was killed instantly.

I have never met a more humble and talented guy than Stanley. Ill never forget the time I got to spend with him in the valley, and all over the world. My selfishness makes me sad that we had so many plans that will go unfinished. I still cant believe hes gone.

Charley

Thank you and strong work you guys getting to Sean first. It's yet another addition to what is the inspirational story of Sean Leary.

Thanks Chuck, for all of it.

hi mystery man, is your identity so wrapped up in your BASE number that you don't even have a name? this just gets better and better...apparently i've got your panties all twisted up. get over it. i have.

for all you lovely individuals that find my post offensive, i'm happy to be of service. it means you're thinking.

btw asshat 1361, what's happening on tuesday? i didn't get the memo.

maybe look a little closer. check the first letter of each word in the tuesday statement, and youll find a sweet surprise!

LOL! I've never been good at acronyms, thanks, post makes so much more sense now.

Well said and thank you for sharing.

Thanks...

It angers me to see off topic arguments in an incident thread. This is not the place for it IMO.

Well,.. I guess this is basejumper.com, The reason that I spend time and energy here is that I am an avid BASE jumper and this is one of the best mediums for me to stay in touch with what is going on in an activity that I am passionate about.
At times I become judgmental, (a very weak personal attribute), so I understand how threads like this can get off course, especially when someone attempts to come to terms with their emotions when we lose our friends.
I am guilty and I see friends of mine being guilty of becoming emotional and a little vindictive about opinions that cut close to the bone.
This is BASE jumping fer Fucks sake!!!
Does anyone on this thread have any illusions about what this activity entails?
I learn a lot from this site, about jumping, about the people who participate, about what happened when things went wrong,....
When all is said and done, when all emotions have been subdued, we will learn from the mistakes that Kevin, and Sean, (Stanley), made recently.
Emotions aside, when what is known is analyzed we will find bad judgement to be the root cause of the tragedies, as anyone that analyzes the BFL will find in 99.9% of cases.
As much respect as I have for my two friends that are the most recent statistics in this sport, they are at the moment, in my opinion, victims of bad decision making.
This doesn't ease the pain of their loss, far from it, they were both exceptionally intelligent, as nice as you ever want to meet, people,...
I really am sick of losing good friends to this sport, check it out,.. the BFL, it's not necessary people!!! You can do this safely without killing yourself!!!
Regards,B.

Are you suggesting this was a night time proximity flight accident? If so it sounds pretty crazy to me.

There is a certain amount of proximity required to make this particular flight, but no, there was no intention to fly closer to anything than needed.

Nothing clever to say about that comment other then. Your a cunt!
Go fuck yourself!
I didnt know the guy BSBD!
He didnt die on purpose base jumpers generally have more love for life than anyone.
thoughts are with all of you that knew him and his family.

MrLCJ,
Cut the lady some slack it is just that some of us cany be jailed by a white picket fence and 2 childs,
take care,
space

Well said Charley. We are all lucky for every moment we got to spend with Sean. Thank you for putting the facts out there. You and Dean honored him in a big way by getting to him so quickly and are truly amazing friends and people.

I heard there was a lot of friction with the Parkies...anything come of it?

Minimal issues w/ rangers, once we talked to them and explained our position and motives. Sometimes it just takes making a human connection, and all friction is easily diffused. It ended up being a solid effort from all directions with a fairly cohesive recovery. The climbers rallied brilliantly, and the GC heli guys are legend, IMO.

Shit ............Sean....... i havent seen you for 4 years.... I sold you your first BASE rig.. with my Nirvana "x" eyes smiley face patch on it.... that was my first BASE rig as well......... I wish i would of had that pizza with you the last time i was with you at curry village after our "hike" ...... man have'nt been on the internet or even paid attention to the online forum/ media in a few years since my accident... until today when i woke up and heard about Dean and then i read the article where it mentioned you........... i crack up the time s i would run into u or dean at the park and have to hear u guys say "you by yourself again".... i now realize jumping by myself all the time isn't cool....... shit i wish i didnt have to rush back to LA and wake up early the next morning and had that Pizza with you..... it was nice to have met and jumped those times Sean and i hope you jumped the Shit out my rig ,, i know you did... I guess I'm gonna never run into you again on top any monoliths ....i guess ill see you in the other place........hopefully not to soon!

later

1106

BSBD