Basejumper.com - archive

https://youtu.be/reRabh7NwwM

Attached is a tribute to Cam that I have soaked on for a while trying to find the fitting narrative. Cam was a big loss to my heart and the people who enjoyed his spirit the same. It has been a tough few years in the mountains here. Finding Gabe’s mangled Body at the base of a tree after a NP Wingsuit two years ago and then a year later looking over Cam’s pieced together dead body in the funeral home after being retrieved from the cliff he struck with nothing out, makes me wonder about a great many things … What are people seeking in validation, both self and others, that I can understand and why is the perception of failure while participating in base jumping a fantasy which can seem so detached from my reality. I cast no judgement on decisions made, I have made a great many poor decisions that I have survived. I simply am forced to reconcile my own heartache and sadness as my journey with those people in my present comes to a close.

A series of choices leads you to your next few minutes and the choices continue as the hours, days, and years pass - they never stop. Your choices must align with your personal vision for sure, but can be somewhat inclusive of those that you love and who love you.

Jumping Season is starting!! Be safe, fly hard and Fast. Keep an edge that is in line with how you envision your journey, but realize that death is no fantasy … you die, the world forgets you in one generation or less and although your spiritual beliefs may offer you an eternity of hope, there are those who love you that live with a reality long after you have made your last choices … maybe they deserve to be part of the pre-jump assessment along with your experience level, weather, scope of jump, and other factors so that everyone can better understand when they stand over your dead body.

Kris

Credits: Thank s Woody and Kozak for Video. Also, obviously I was very much inspired by Ian's Tribute video and "when we were knights". There is some really amazing video editing going on now with people putting a narrative with jumping as a vehicle for the narrative. Keep that going:)

I commend you on your tribute and dedication to a close friend.

You have a very valid and important message in this post. It's impossible to convey with words what it's like to find your friend dead or lose someone you love in these circumstances if you haven't experienced it. Especially when that person is so tunnel visioned on BASE jumping that nothing else matters. That's a dangerous place to be. Some people have gone there and had their perspective widened, some still are there, and others aren't so lucky to escape that vortex of "passion" with their lives.

I hope people can continue to find balance in all avenues of life. Flying has meant a lot to me in life, but the more people I see disappear over the years, the less I want to join the ranks. Like you, I don't cast judgement on their decisions, just cater to my own perception of what it means to maximize time on this spinning planet called earth. I also find a peacefulness when it comes to the outcome of death now. Sorrow, sure, but the inevitability of our last breath will always be there. The metaphysics of death are ever-changing, and I am not sure I understand it enough to comment on how or when to go.

Again, thanks for your perspective, it's a valuable one. I hope those that need to read this do, and maybe it will affect them in some positive way.