Yosemite - the future

[d-dog]

Hey all, Dog here. I've been thinking about the public relations side of the Yosemite situation, specifically related to the Jan situation. What follows are simply my own thoughts on the matter - I was not there, I am no expert, I don't have all the facts, blah, blah. . .

By any account, what happened with Jan was a worst-case scenario in terms of publicity. Perhaps not with the NPS, but certainly with the general public. A nice woman went in with her husband - and media and onlookers - watching the whole thing. This has had enormous resonance with non-jumpers; about 50% of the time when I mention my BASE activities, folks will say "oh, like that woman who died in Yosemite trying to prove BASE is safe? I saw that on the TeeVee!"

What's done is done, and the damage done to BASE by her death is a tiny fraction of the pain her friends and family have surely suffered. Everything in perspective.

That said, what's next? We've left the public with a worst-case scenario view of our sport: adrenaline-addled death junkies throwning themselves willy nilly off big cliffs with death a high likelihood, if not a certainty. The NPS in this scenario is rightly concerned that the grisly task of cleaning up after these death wishers who jump off cliffs isn't what they signed up for. In this scenario, NPS legalizing BASE would be like legalizing suicide. In fact, for many whuffos I suspect Jan's death cemented a strong relationship of BASE = suicide in their minds.

Several jumpers I know look on that incident as an almost unrecoverable blow to efforts to get legal access to NPS objects. I can see their point, however here's another angle: the worst-case scenario (or close to it) has happened. Now, what's to lose by trying something else? Honestly, how much worse could it get? Well, I guess a BASE jumper could blow up a building or something, but other than that the nationally-TeeVeeized footage of a pretty BASE jumper hitting the talus while protesting for easy access is pretty close to bottom.

By this logic, doing SOMETHING now to turn the public's mind away from BASE = death can't help but be better than doing nothing. What people remember about BASE is what they last saw: death. We need to change that perception and not let Jan's death linger further in the minds of the public (insofar as "the public" can really be said to have a mind).

Here's an hypothesis: stage another El Cap jump in memoriam of Jan and others who have died directly because of the NPS discrimination against jumpers. Organize press kits, statistical data, talking points, etc. beforehand. ##### coordinating with the NPS - they are the murderers who caused Jan to use crappy old gear and thus go in, among many other deaths they have caused to BASE jumpers.

The best defense is a good offense. Go on the offensive with the NPS. Paint them as the CAUSE of BASE deaths on their lands through their single-minded prosecution of jumpers. Point out the # of deaths of climbers in an average year in the Valley, and how the NPS actually organizes a Search and Rescue team for climber recovery (and hikers too.), manned by climbers and supported by climbers. Point out that a BASE advisory committee in the Valley (and other NPS lands) could set policy and coordinate safety measures to help GUIDE jumpers to safe jumps, not force them to do so.

Beat the drum over and over that Jan died because the NPS confiscates gear from jumpers. Frank Jr. died. Others have died. The NPS sure doesn't confiscate climbing gear, or arrest climbers, or make climbers sneak around and nail scary A5 aid lines at night to avoid fines and potential jail time.

Frankly, there is precedent in the moves in the western U.S. to allow more free use of public resources in our effort to get BASE opened in the Valley. There are more than a few libertarian lawmakers in Congress nowadays, from the left and right. The era of "big brother government protecting us from ourselves" is pretty much over, at least intellectually. The libertarians are both from the left and the right politically, but they are there and they won't like to hear that the NPS has a stiffie for a tiny segment of folks that like to use publicly-owned lands to do silly stuff - while harming NOBODY in the process save, perhaps, themselves which is unlikely but a reality of being alive.

I'm not suggesting we run into the arms of the Wise Use movement. Still, the NPS is loathe to be painted as an insensitive, bureaucratic, policy-setting blob in today's political climate. Heck, if BASE jumpers would be willing to voluntarily pay $50 a jump to help fund rescue operations and safety/educational materials in the Valley, that generates cash for the NPS and helps to support our costs instead of the average Joe Taxpayer indirectly funding BASE on NPS land.

Anyway, I ramble. My hypothesis is to get back out in the public eye and make a stand. Don't crawl into the shadows and lick our wounds re Jan. Beat the drum that Jan died needlessly, because of the NPS not because of BASE. Have a protest jump every friggin' month off El Cap. Make it a media circus. Have some crazy Aussie fly a wingsuit in circles around the valley, amazing everyone and dumping at 200 feet. Ok, nix that last part, but keep the flowing, blonde locks of hair.

Christ, 200,000 people come to watch jumpers make a boring 900 foot bridge jump in West Virginia. The public is obsessed with BASE when it is presented the right way. How many folks really think it is totally cool that folks jump OFF of El Cap, the most impressive piece of rock in the country? Perhaps the prettiest cliff in the world, in the eyes of many? Lots of people think this is rad, if we can dispel the miasma of death that clings to BASE in the U.S.

Oh, also we should coordinate with the climbing community on this one. Natural allies, but not much bridge-building on the Valley issue that I can see. In fact there is bad blood from the Frank tragedy, from what I hear. Let's build that bridge and have climbers support us in our efforts to have equal treatment. But that's a different thread entirely, I suspect.

Thoughts? Criticism? Alternative hypotheses?

Peace,

D-d0g
ddog@wrinko.com
www.wrinko.com

[guest]

Perhaps an international effort that focuses on the success of the walls in Norway would open the eyes of the NPS. Other examples could include expedition sites such as Angel Falls, Cave of the Swallows, etc., that have been jumped with some semblance of organization. Pressure from international press may have an effect.

I am reaching here a bit, I know. There are just not too many ideas that will have an impact (no pun intended) on the NPS. Did I mention a boycott of BD...?

[guest]

not to be negative here, or anything, but these threads come and go. people vent people leave. A spectrum of ideas flare across the post, ultimately negating eachother and stifling forward movement. Particularly once Robin shows up. Those with short attention spans, poor reading skills, or non tactical minds wont get 2 inches into the post. All talk, no action. So I'll challenge you, d-dog. Do something. You cant find a solution to something unless you have experience in that field or realm. You try and you fail, you try again. I believe that there is a path to opening np access, a line of steps taken in the right order, learning from past mistakes. I believe we can do something, but that would need to be discussed face to face; nothing much is accomplished online--people just vent and rage, razz and argue, not strategize and institute. All the big names in this sport from Mick to manufacturers to organizers seem to be, demonstrably, in it for the money, or the ego, or the like. They do nothing, they hide much.There is no "council of base". We're not sharing information, we're not organized. We are all individuals, sharply delineated who cooperate poorly with society and eachother. We are searchers, but we are seeking answers for ourselves, looking for that door to inner peace or for acceptance. or whatever. We spend far more energy thinking in the short term, to get one jump off a single object, right now, even if it burns the object, than we do slowing down and thinking long term.

But now I digress. It takes but one person to do. Some may follow, some may not. But progress is made. Do something. Anything. If its not the right way, youll know it, youll try something else. Stay away from the money part of base. Tell others what you have learned. If you need help, let me know. Talk to people face to face if you can. Do something. Jump.

Yes, I'm aware of the hypocrisy of my own post. thanks. ;-)

[guest]

I definitely think that memorial jumps at Yosemite would be great, if we can convince people to risk their gear and time to make the statement. Also though, I think Bridge Day is still our greatest pr event worldwide and boycotting it would be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. :+

[d-dog]

I hear you, and I accept your concerns and wisdom regarding online collaboration. And, yes, BASE jumpers are a deeply individualistic lot. We aren't much inclined to public (or private) shows of unity. If we were, honestly, don't you think we'd be playing soccer or some other team sport? Talk about self-selection bias towards rugged individualism: our sport rewards those who can't take care of themselves with a quick and messy death, so those who survive tend to be very meticulous, very self-confident, and driven by a very deep need to explore new personal spaces in a high-committment manner.

I take that as axiomatic; it is what it is, and I can't change BASE nor the aggregate of attitudes or actions of BASE jumpers. Nor do I want to - despite the factionalism, BASE is a (new) home for me just as climbing has been a home for almost 20 years. And I do believe there are ways to coordinate fractuous, individualistic, strong-willed folks like BASE jumpers (or climbers). Not "organize," not "manage," not "lead," but rather "coordinate." And I do see some evidence of the Aussies having a degree of coordination on their home turf that transcends the situation in the States (ditto Northern Europe perhaps). That's neither better nor worse, but rather an interesting data point suggesting more space on the possiblity map than the States' scenario alone.

Anyway, I'm simply noodling on this right now. If it strikes me that action I could initiate might help to move the NPS/Valley situation forward, I'll take the action. I'm a thinker, like to ponder things and have others poke holes in my ideas. Then, when I make a decision I'm a fairly good to excellent action guy, to boot. Others who know me (in BASE and elsewhere) could probably better attest to my "actions speak louder than words" approach to most things in my life (ask DW about trips to Seattle, for example :P ).

I'm pretty convinced action is going to be productive here, almost ANY action better than none. But I'm rather new to the BASE game and I'd like to see more old hands poke holes in my ideas. If there still seems to be some internal logical consistency to the thing, then maybe it is worth the time and effort investment to put something in motion.

I'd think that we would plan for an early-spring protest jump, and encourage folks to come even though gear loss is a real possiblility. Plan followup jumps all summer until the ban is lifted. Essentially, this'll boil down to a pain threshold issue: if we can get enough jumpers to show up and jump enough times, garnering enough media attention, the NPS will buckle. Perhaps the gear manufacturers could help with some cut-rate (but high quality) gear to fuel the effort.

When does the weather allow for a reasonably good chance of photogenic jumping conditions off El Cap? I've climbed down there in early May and had beautiful skies for weeks, but that was about 15 years ago and it may well have been an anomoly.

Any other feedback, good/bad/otherwise? I know there's a number of old hands on the Valley situation out there and they've got more data on this than I do, but degrees of magnitude.

Peace,

D-d0g
ddog@wrinko.com

[Skypuppy]

I've got a rig I don't mind losing for a while.

Skypuppy BASE92:+

[guest]

I love the direction you are going in. It is exactly what we were trying to do 2 years ago in Yosemite.

Just wanted to point out that part of the penalty for jumping in the park is PERMANENT gear confiscation, and a $2000 fine. That is one of the reasons that there have not been more demonstration jumps. We all have gear we could sacrifice, its the 2 grand that gets painful. Once a person gets one aerial delivery charge on there record the subsequent penalties become much stiffer.

Money is the main reason we did not have more people two years ago during the 99 demo.

Just food for thought.

Brian Choppin

[d-dog]

Brian (and others):

Were you folks working with a local attorney in 99 to handle group representation, and/or does anyone have a good lead on a local defense attorney that can work to mitigate the fine expense and generally coordinate the defense of any demo jumpers?

My experience in, ahem, such matters is that a high-powered attorney can mitigate the cost via clever plea management and overall defense savvy. This might be particularly true if resources are pooled to retain studly counsel so the cost of representation can be spread over many jumpers, whereas the potential benefit of reduced fines could be shared by all.

Another idea is to set up a charity fund where folks can donate to help cover fines for those who demo jump. That way, even those BASE brothers and sisters who can't participate firsthand can provide financial support, and we can increase our overall representation by tapping the broad spectrum of BASE supporters and not just those who can both get to a demo jump and afford the financial burden of fine and confiscation individually.

As a side note, I wonder what the heck the NPS does with all that confiscated gear? Burn it? I doubt they sell it back to jumpers. Does it all just sit in a warehouse somewhere? I am of course not advocating this, but a Mission Impossible effort to liberate a warehouse full of BASE gear would be funny as hell, at least in my twisted mind.

This whole concept has my tail a-waggin'! Maybe the summer of 2002 is when we can break the logjam on NPS lands if we all do our part. I was also thinking that folks should jump Bridge Day with protest banners or protest t-shirts or something to draw public attention to NPS nastiness. I mean, if 295 of 300 Bridge Day jumpers hucked with signs reading "the NPS murders BASE jumpers - why?" we'd get media coverage of the issue 100x more than just sending press releases. Every whuffo on the bridge would have the injustice of NPS policy brought to their attention, at least for a few minutes.

Just a thought.

Peace,

D-d0g
ddog@wrinko.com
www.wrinko.com

[guest]

D-Dog,

While your enthusiasm and ideas toward civil disobedience are admirable, I'd like to make a couple of points concerning your comments as you have solicited people to do so.

First, a "Mission Impossible" attempt to liberate confiscated gear would be anything but funny for anyone caught trying to do so. Breaking and entering and theft of property, both felonies, under federal statutes carry heavy sentences. You are, of course, welcome to try yourself. You'll be five to ten years older when you make your next BASE jump.

Second, The NPS did not kill Frank Gambalie or Jan Davis. Both died from their own poor judgement. Frank was a talented BASE jumper, but made a foolish CHOICE to jump into a paralyzingly cold mountain river in early June. Anyone with mountain experience would know better. Jan didn't want to have her nice gear confiscated so CHOSE to use borrowed gear, thinking El Cap was no big deal. Any experienced skydiver/BASE jumper worth their salt knows better, or at least would have made some familiarization jumps before doing something so critical in the public eye.

I'm not saying you are on the wrong track regarding protest at Bridge Day or even a protest jump in the park again. You are, however, a classic example of how some BASE jumpers do not accept responsibility for their own actions. BASE as a sport demands competence and good judgement to survive. Failure to do so brings the obvious consequences. Taking a leadership role toward public protest also requires competence and good judgment to advance a cause, not distort it. The consequences of not doing so are already evidenced by the Yosemite protest in '99. Let's not hand the NPS another public relations victory on a platter.

[guest]

I like that t-shirt on every bridge day jumper, thing. Nice. A real embarrassment to the nps trying to keep media relations happy at their own event, and explaining why the rangers can persue misdeamenor perpetrators to their death or endangerment but the police cannot. (its against the law). Or why the fines for strewing a 55 gallon glad bag full of trash in yosemite is a fine of like 3-4,000 dollars less than parachuting. And what exactly is the difference between basejumping and hanggliding exactly? What, about 23 pounds of aluminum? And my personal favorite nps question; Rather than ambiguity; what exactly is inappropriate about basejumping in the park?

A few thoughts. Bridgeday occurs because the local community, chamber of commerce, mayor, and governor say so, not because the nps is a wonderful institution that gladly grants access to the public to its own park. The park service was formed to moderate legitimate park activities, not restrict and prohibit them. They're our parks, and the nps is payed out of our taxes. Rangers and parks both belong to us, they are accountable to us taxpayers for their actions. If the local community and government have a financial incentive to back us, they will, and I think more could happen then just staging protest jumps. Its a waste of taxpayers money to have nps activities and resources committed against our non-crime, and legal cliff jumping in yosemite is big money for the local economies (bd, moab, twin falls, etc).

3) anyone wanna call jesse jackson? he seems to like solving conflicts, and is need of good pr. Or we could, like, stage a sit-in with martin sheen in the secretary of the interiors office. Seriously, though, my unimportant input is to gather more information. Anyone ever call the department of the interior and ask why its illegal or what would need to be done to gain the access? The NPS are just police, criminals put to a socially useful end to keep them from doing worse crimes in public. Giving them the opportunity to enforce policy and take our rigs and money may be less effective than calling the political arm of the institution, or higher to seek redress.

1) what would happen if the governor of California or Arizona supported the access issue? anybody ever ask? We're a constituency. Works in WV.

2) How exactly is a "protest jump" supposed to bring legality? Media attention. People informed. But would people really care, or do anything? Only people in power, and there are likely less expensive ways of bringing things to their attention.

Are there any analogous situations in History to help show the way. Thanks for listening and thinking. Appreciate.

[d-dog]

First off, my comments about forcibly liberating all those confiscated BASE rigs were made with tongue firmly in cheek. I thougt this was fairly obvious, but perhaps not. It was included as a rhetorical trope, an attempt to bring levity to an otherwise meaty subject.

Second, I'm deeply aware of the need for personal responsiblity in BASE. I BASE jump; I am alive. Ergo, I know firsthand a bit about how to watch out for myself as a jumper as in the rest of my life. And, yes, we can blame almost any fatality on the jumper. For that matter, since we all CHOOSE when to jump (or not to jump) then any time we die jumping it is, in an ontological sense, "our fault." We could have not jumped.

Still, causality is multi-pronged. At the extreme, say the NPS had snipers that would shoot anyone seen jumping in the Valley. I jump anyway even though I know about the snipers but I take the risk; I get shot and die. Who caused this? Well, I did since I chose to jump even knowing the risk of sniper fire. But can't one also say that the NPS also had a large hand in causing my death, since they are the ones with snipers picking off jumpers? From a factor analysis perspective, take the sniper factor out of the picture and there's a 99% chance I would not have died. Ergo, from a statistical standpoint the sniper "caused" my death at least in the boundaries of the incident itself and not stepping back to consider the "no action" course of refraining from the jump altogether.

Interesting (to me at least) intellectual discursions on causality, but not my main point here. Rather, my point is that perception = reality. If the public perceives the NPS as responsible for jumper deaths because of an arbitrary and capricious enforcement program that cannot help but cause jumpers to jump in a less safe manner than if said enforcement program were not arbitrarily pursued, then that's reality. If the public thinks that the NPS is right for keeping those kooky suicide BASE jumpers out of the park, then that's reality. . . in terms of public opinion and public pressure.

I believe public opinion could sway the NPS because (my hypothesis states) that the NPS ITSELF BELIEVES PUBLIC OPINION IS IMPORTANT. The NPS indirectly (through Interior) answers to congress and, indirectly, the public at large. As bureaucrats, they don't want to bring negative attention to themselves unless there is a tangible organizational reward. Otherwise, they'd rather stay out of the line of fire and thus stay in good graces with the public, and by extension congress which sets budgets and, in some abstract sense, policy.

The NPS does not want bad publicity in the mass media. I take this as hypothesis bordering on axiom. If we can make them squirm by painting them as capricious in causing jumpers to die, then that's something they must respond to. They could dig their heels in and fight public opinion, or they can roll. Put enough pressure on, and they'll roll. The question is what kinds of pressure, and how much.

I see such an effort as complimentary to letter writing and so forth. Direct contact with the bureaucracy, I believe, is not going to do it alone. It is only when outside heat is brought to bear that bureaucrats suddenly decide they're all about public feedback and playing nice. If they can pick on a small, nearly-voiceless constituency like BASE jumpers, they will. If we hit back via public actions that garner press, then the bully reflex to pick on the weak and defenseless is noticeably mitigated.

To summarize, there's a difference between "spinning" NPS actions as having caused (and likely to cause in the future) jumper deaths, and me as an individual jumper not taking responsiblity for my own actions. There's a fine line between aggressive spin and distortion, and I personally think that we need to get closer to that line than where we're at right now in order to have any chance of changing policy in this regard. But that's just me.

Peace,

D-d0g
ddog@wrinko.com
www.wrinko.com

[guest]

Hey D-Dog, don't let this NPS RANGER get to you.
That's right, another NPS troll bust.

[base428]

I really like the idea of 300 jumpers wearing "Equal Rights for BASE Jumpers in National Parks" (or similar phrase) T-shirts at Bridge Day next year. Perhaps we can have 100 jumpers flying flags that state similar phrases. Now THAT would get some attention and it would be done legally.

Here's an interesting comparison for you all. Think about the deaths at both Yosemite and Moab over the years. Moab has had many more jumps made and there have been 0 deaths. Yosemite has had perhaps 5 or 6 at least? The bottom line is that when it's legal, it's safer.

My original post on obtaining a permit to jump in Yosemite was mainly to spur ideas and actions such as those presented in this thread. I'm happy to see that many of you are contributing. We also need to focus on all the other Parks and obtaining permits for those also. Hopefully, we can gather some more detailed info and post to the baseboard soon.

base428
jbell@vertical-visions.com

[guest]

Hmmm....

Quite funny that Stinko thinks I'm an NPS ranger. Apparently no BASE jumper would dare argue that we are in the situation we're in with the NPS by the poor judgement of various BASE jumpers in the past.

If anyone isn't aware, Mick has a good idea of who anyone is that posts to the board, anonymously or not. Your IP address is tied to your post, and depending on how much information you have wittingly or purposefully provided by registering, emailing Mick - or in your posts themselves - in many cases he know exactly who you are. He's not an idiot Stinko, you are.

There are many good ideas on how to move forward with our fight to access the parks again. As someone who was issued a permit to BASE jump in the park system (not Yosemite or New River), I have seen that some superintendents in the system are not adverse to us practicing our sport in their domain. Unfortunately, things have now changed after the Yosemite protest jump in '99. There is now a blanket prohibition, in writing, precluding our activities. This is our fault! We f-ed up the best chance we've had in a long time to advance our cause.

Before anyone says, "Hey, it wasn't me," I'm speaking of us as a community perceived by the NPS and the public. Further public protest needs to be carefully designed and tailored to have the correct effect on our image. Ideas like D-dog's, insights like Wooden Indian and moderation like BASE 428's need to combined to fight what is going to be a long uphill battle. The worst thing we can do is to continue to sit back while people who claim to represent "us" make amaturish, disasterous attempts to make a difference. They've only made things worse.

Let's start a fund, hire a part-time PR manager (someone in the BASE community has to be one), use Fred Morrelli's legal advice, organize a responsible association (the USPA manages to keep the FAA off of our back at the Dz) and treat the issue with the seriousness that it deserves. That's what it will take if we're ever going to win.