Go Long, Not Hard

After traveling the world on two BASE trips (and after receiving some comments from a person I hold in high regard), it has come to my attention that while Australian BASE jumpers are usually very well liked by the global community, we are generally not respected.

This is because we are viewed as a culture that takes excessive risks and uses "bravado as justification for playing Russian Roulette with 4 bullets". This has been re-enforced by various video’s circulating the globe (such as the infamous Wallaman Falls meets). We are known for yobbo mentalities, poor technology, not using protective equipment, and jumping difficult sites in questionable conditions and/or with minimal experience.

While we may pat ourselves on the back and declare our BASE community as "Hard Core" we also pay the price of having the highest accident and death rate per jumper in the world. Incidents not only have a detrimental effect on the individuals involved, but also on the entire Australian BASE community and the global BASE community as a whole (for example, the US National Park Service use BASE incidents worldwide to support their stance against the sport).

I therefore ask that the Australian BASE community change it’s focus from one of "Go Hard" to one of "Go Long".

I myself have probably been the biggest offender in this area. It is no secret that over the past 5 years I have pushed the limits hard. Although I train extensively and arm myself with the latest knowledge and technology, I have used these things to "simply survive at the very edge rather than allow myself any margin for error".

There are a lot (and soon will be a lot more) video’s circulating the BASE community showing myself and a few others doing some pretty ‘out there’ stuff. Although it may look spectacular it is not something to be admired or set as a personal goal. These jumps need to be recognized as stunts and separate from the sport of BASE jumping.

I realise that it is wrong to say "Do as I say, not as I do", but the fact remains: if people begin to emulate some of these jumps then the death rate will increase. Admiration and recognition in BASE should not be given to those existing on the cutting edge, but to those with high amounts of knowledge, those who advance the technology we use, and those who demonstrate rock solid ability and sound judgment.

A few pointers:

Freefalls from under 250’ over hard earth: They work most of the time but remember p/c’s sometimes hesitate, canopies sometimes take a little longer to open and pressurize than usual, downdrafts sometimes exist, and offheadings sometimes occur. If you regularly freefall under 250’ two of the above things will eventually occur together and an injury will most likely result. If three or more of the above things occur together then you may die.
It is up to each individual to decide how many times they want to roll the dice and see if they can getaway with it, but it is only a matter of time.

Aerial manoeuvres in freefall (BASE aerobatics): There is no site in Australia really suited for this. Remember (among other things) that being unstable on deployment may result in a malfunction - not favourable with a single parachute system.

Aerial manoeuvres should not be viewed in high regard by any BASE jumper and definitely not viewed as part of the normal progression. If you really want to do aerial manoeuvres from below 1500’ then an absolute minimum prerequisite would be 200 freefall BASE jumps with at least six months of solid platform diving or gymnastics training (with an accredited coach). It’s no good pulling off 10 perfect gainers in a row if your failure rate is 1 in 20. Dive training and gymnastics will help teach you the consistency needed to survive aerial manoeuvres in BASE.

BASE Skysurfing: Don’t even thing about attempting this without at least 100 aerobatic BASE jumps (amongst many other things).

All said and done, things are generally improving in the Australian BASE community. The average gear used is more state of the art, jumpers are more knowledgeable and we are seeing protective equipment being more widely used.

Lets keep up the good work.

BSBD,

Dwain Weston
President, Australian BASE Association.