Re: [John_Scher] Wind Effect vs FF Speed
I don't think anybody knows a scientific answer. We just know, from years of community experience and mishaps, that:
1. at zero or near-zero wind the "extra" risk is negligible
2. Beyond some level, the extra risk is suicidal
3. Somewhere in between 1 & 2, there is some unknown, dynamic amount of extra risk
Without quantitative predictive models, we have only ourselves as test dummies. So the question is how much extra (unknown) risk probability are you willing to accept, for the reward?
i.e., how fucking badly do you want to jump?
I suggest sticking with the conventional wisdom: to have zero or near-zero winds for slider down cliffs. Most of us have pushed that boundary a little bit, right? So we know that < 2-3 mph of crosswind is probably as good as you'll typically get, and maybe up to 5-6mph is OK once in a while if you're feeling good, and can get good separation, and you're feeling on your game, and, you have vents (which hopefully everybody does nowadays), someone cool is watching, etc etc etc.
And I think of risk as cumulative, so I consider the crosswind risk added up with all the other positive and negative factors of that object that day.
And there are also those who will jump in just about any condition, and they do fine... until they don't...
For me personally, it comes down to asking "what kind of jumper do I want to be?" I am patient and want to be safe and jumping when I'm an old man and not live a life of pain and disability, so I wait for good conditions, knowing I have walked away from a lot of jumps that would probably have worked out just fine. But I also absolutely respect people who want to jump their assess off, are highly skilled, and understand + accept the additional risk.