Basejumper.com - archive

Does anyone know who will be running the event this year, and when registration will begin ?

Jason Bell, BASE 428, is running the event. I know that he was only selected within the last week or so, so I'd bet he has lots of work to do just now. Try contacting him directly at jbell@vertical-visions.com.

Official info can be found at the Bridge Day Web Site which does not appear to be updated yet.

Here is my latest "grapevine" info on the current status:


Personally, I've long thought that Jason was the right choice to be running things under the new rules from the Bridge Day Commission. He lives in West Virginia, so he's fairly close for attending the (mandatory) BDC meetings, he's been going to Bridge Day for years, he's extremely conscientious, and he has a good appreciation for the "spirit" of Bridge Day. Did I mention that he's West Virginia's most current and experienced local jumper?

thanks for the info Tom

Thanks Tom.

Registration starts on July 1st at www.bridgeday.info. More details will be posted when available. We are working every day on some exciting new things, such as a diving board and cash prizes for an accuracy contest. Not to steal Tom or Mick's thunder, but I've also implemented a Bridge Day Forum

So much work, so little time.

Feel free to email me if anyone has questions. Cya!

For us European types, which international airport would be the easiest to fly into and what carriers flying to where would get us to within driveable distance of the bridge?

cheers, Jules

Yo!

Washington is probably the closest big city, about 4.5h drive away. Pittsburg gets some international flights, it's 3h away. You can get a few local connecting flights into Charleston, about 1h away.

I will be driving from Washington, drop me a line if you need a ride.

bsbd!

Yuri.

I live in Austin, Texas. I'm planning to go to WV to watch the event. Do I need to register? or just come early? And where all the spectators usually are? on the bridge or on the hills, on the ground, etc.? I want to get a good view on what's happening, so how close can I get to the action if im not on the bridge itself?

<edit> nevermind, Jason already answered it.

What is the deal with registration? I remember hearing that there are limited spots, and that they are all gone within minutes of them opening the list... Or can everyone that wants to jump have a good 6 hours, or is it extremely limited registration?

well i read that the limit is 400jumpers,and that the tickets will be gone whithin weeks

You still need to have the acsept of your periviliged and the rigt gear,but else whith in these 400 jumpers yes

if i rember correct there were 392 jumpers last year,meaning leaving 8 spots(what a waste..),but i wouldnt count on it this year

Registration starts July 1st until all 400 slots are filled. Then I'll take a "waiting list" of about 40-50 more jumpers because there are always cancellations. It took about 2 weeks to sell all 400 slots last year....then we had several cancellations due to injuries and work issues, so we opened it back up for a week or so. The first day last year sold about 150-200 slots. Keep in mind that your online order position determines your jump slot. If you are one of the first 100 to register online, then you're part of the first 100 jumpers who can jump the bridge. That means you'll get off the bridge within the first 1.5 hours (weather dependent).
Last year, many people got 4 jumps and one energetic jumper made 6 jumps in the 6 hour window.
Your best bet is to register on July 1st.......now if I can only keep from crashing Mick's server this year. I think there were about 100-150 people all trying to register at the same time last year.....!!!

Hi Jason, i have a few questions for you if you don't mind.
As a BASE virgin looking for my first jump, would you reccomend bridge day as a starting point ?
i have 66 jumps to date, and i noticed on the website that 50 jumps are needed to qualify.
I was under the impression that 200 jumps were the unofficial requirement for BASE,
although that may just be advice i have picked up from here somewhere.

I have no gear of my own yet, and i have read the FAQ's on the website, which lead me to believe that rentals are available.
Would it be possible to register, turn up, rent gear, do the FJC, and jump ?
The only 7cell canopy i have flown and landed was my reserve, and i don't think that really counts now does it ?

Like i said, i'm looking for that first jump (maybe only jump if my balls don't hold out) and don't yet want to have to shell out all that cash,
perhaps i'm being picky or naive, but not having my own rig of any kind yet, its a lot of outlay for a 3 second ride.

I'm not Jason, and this isn't the official word, but let me take a stab at a few of those, since Jason isn't on this forum all that much. You might try emailing him directly.


Tons of people have made their first jump at Bridge Day. While the carnival like atmosphere can be distracting, Bridge Day has quite a few positives as a first jump (First Jump Seminars at the Holiday Inn, on hand rescue personnel, lots of experienced jumpers around to keep an eye on you).


Historically, Bridge Day has quite a bit of "anything goes" feel. For BASE, most gear manufacturers recommend 200 skydives. The requirements are a bit lower for Bridge Day, partly for historical reasons, I'd imagine, and partly because a huge bridge over water is just about the safest first jump you could contrive. If you just want to do _a_ BASE jump, you're probably ok with a handful of skydives. If you're looking to use Bridge Day as a first step to more BASE, you may as well wait until you're ready to start the rest of your BASE career. If it's a year or two before you're ready to jump again, then Bridge Day, while fun and exciting, won't really have helped you to launch a BASE career. I guess it really depends on what you're looking for--a first BASE jump, or an only BASE jump.



Gear rentals have historically been very hard to come by. If you need to rent gear, you'll need to arrange it before hand, and confirm that it will really turn up for you, before you commit to all the travel costs.


Not if you've only flown it once.


For a first jump, I'd wait until you're ready to make some more and stay current. Currency is very important when you are learning.

For an only jump, my advice would be to be absolutely certain that a rig with your name on it is showing up.

Good luck with that. You might try emailing Jason directly with questions.

Thanks Tom, i guess your right, i think its probably an ego thing at the moment,
i think i'm trying to experience as much as possible, and thus stretching my resources too thin,
bridge day 2004 will be more likely at the present moment.

Thanks Tom for answering this question. I don't get to this forum everyday, so others who help with questions such as this are appreciated.
The 50 jump rule is something we talked about this year after analyzing the jump stats last year. I found that people with less than 15 jumps were registering for Bridge Day 2002 and we had no rules in place to deal with that. In my opinion, 15 jumps is NOT enough to make your first BASE jump, even at Bridge Day. While the current minimum established by the BASE gear manufacturers and other experienced jumpers ranges from 100-200 jumps, we realize that Bridge Day is a bit different and more forgiving to the newbie. That's why we have a 50 jump minimum. We can't afford to have a jumper with 10 jumps hooking one into the rocks in front of 100,000 people. Plus, it just makes a lot of sense for "you" as the jumper to be somewhat experienced in the art of parachuting before you make a BASE jump. As I always say...."you can't go off the ski jump until you've learned how to ski".

As for renting gear, you must call companies like Vertigo BASE Outfitters quickly as their rental rigs get snatched up quick.

The bottom line in BASE is that you must be trained for the jump, prepared to make the jump with the proper equipment, and willing to accept the enormous benefits and possible disasters that may occur.

Hope this helps.