Basejumper.com - archive

http://www.nytimes.com/...ight-region&_r=0

I don't know what's sadder. A good man's death or the fact that as a society we give a voice to people like this.

what a clueless fuck the writer is. Pretty sad that some schmuck sitting at his keyboard thinks he has any comprehension of who and what Dean was made of.
Typical these days I guess... just sad.

What's so bad about it? His main point is just that these kinds of extreme sports aren't being marginalized (despite things like Clif Bars refusing sponsorship) because companies like gopro are bringing these spectacular feats into the comfort of our living rooms, and that the average couch potato shouldn't be so smug about him taking all of the risks he took because they are happy to ignore the danger when they get to enjoy the benefits of only seeing the spectacular footage of successful jumps. Seems pretty accurate to me.

Sure, it lists Dean's actions in a way and with a tone that doesn't really quite do justice to his mentality and personality, but it's not overtly disrespectful and realistically, what popular coverage of his death has adequately explained these things? Not many.

If nothing else, I'm glad he included this quote :

"The negative comments come mostly from people that think Super Bowl tickets are an adventure.”

Ok, for those of you who don't know who Freddie Wilkinson is, this guy actually gets it.

That's right. Freddie is fucking legit. He has slept in snow caves on big mountains, in his down jacket, on far more nights than most posters here have number of base jumps.

read that again and think about how how fucking hardcore that is. (Or, maybe it doesn't take much to do that these days??)

In addition to being a professional mountaineer who walks the talk, he is someone who truly knows risks in the wilderness. His sport of high mountaineering is one of the few that is at least as dangerous as BASE jumping and probably moreso. And, he is a really nice & chill dude who would give you the shirt off his back, has lived in a rustic New Hampshire cabin for much of his life and opened it up generously to multitudes of visiting climbers.

Personally, I thought his piece was reflective and honest. If you didn't see that in his writing, do please read it again. And realize where he is coming from. Just my opinion.

If you don't like that one you're not gonna like this one
http://mobile.nytimes.com/.../to-fly-and-die.html

Hold on to your hats kids, the grace for grief by the media is passing. They're going to tear us all to shreds. While I'd like to see change, now is not the time to try and push legalized BASE in National parks.

Critics warned the Wrights’ that "if God wanted man to fly he would have given them wings."

They have always been around.

True, A great and insightful opinion from Freddie Wilkinson who IS the real deal, HOWEVER,.. I think there is some confusion in the piece that Basehoundsam was referring to? I read two pieces in the NY Times Op Ed and there is one by a guy named Timothy Egan and it is a piece of Sophomoric dribble!

Regards,B.

That IS what's so damn bad about it. I'm so sick of these idiot pontificators talking about this shit as if it's some crazy new phenomenon. People have always enjoyed spectacle. This commercial, the best commercial ever made, is about 20 years old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYvYk972hac

Saying that the prevalence of extreme videos on the internet proves a "new" interest in extreme sports is like saying people didn't like cats until icanhazcheeseburger.com was started.

This crap is almost as annoying as people saying that Dean was "pushing the envelope" with WS flying. My ass. High-end wingsuit fliers have been smashing into cliffs for years now. Homeboy needs to come up with something fresh.