Legal base in Yosemite??

[guest]

Does anybody remember who Dan Osmann was? I'm sure the NPS in yosemite does. He was a creative rock climber. Well, in the end I guess he only climbed to get a good launch. He invented the sport of rope freefall. He had many jumps about 50 foot drops over water and then the rope would catch. Well, just with the nature of things, he wanted to go bigger and bigger. He ended up doing a 1000 ft rope freefall off the "Leaning Tower" in yosemite. His second attempt three weeks later--well, same as if a chute fails. Of course the rangers didn't like the extreme nature of his sport but hey--- it was "rock climbing" He was using ropes and gear like rock climbing only he was base jumping minus the chute. So this leads me to a moral question. If I found a way to rig something like he had, would it then be legal for me to do a rope freefall- deploy a parachute at about 5 sec, then fly back and forth til the rope catches?? And my second quesiton. Anyone heard of Lynn Hill? She's the woman who made the first free climb of El Cap in one day. So my question is-- If I was a rock climber free climbing with a parachute for a safety instead of a rope and I fell, would the NPS rather have me deploy my parachute and make a BASE out of it and live or just fall to the ground without "illegal aerial delivery" of myself safely to the ground?
Just a few questions for thought.............
And if the rangers who read this board have an answer, I'd like to hear it.

[BASE359]

I posed that same question to a major BASE gear manufacturer about 2 years ago, sure that I was on to something. They hemmed and hawed for a few minutes and then...nothing...now it's 2 years later and still nada.
If the NPS has a choice of letting climbers fall to their death or have them deploy a canopy, what do you think they will reply with? And where will that leave us?
I hope that it evolves into something.

BASE359

[guest]

The question of climbing and falling and using a parachute was posed on this board before...the resulting thread developed the theory that they (the rangers) might be glad they don't have to scrape you up but you still broke the aerial delivery law and were subject to the fines, etc...

As far as Dan's (RIP) idea of roped free fall...The NPS were going to look into that activity and decide if it was in keeping with the Park...never heard anything else...

BTW why would you want to deploy a parachute with a rope tied to you and then to the rock...Base jumps are tricky enough without the potential to deploy your chute into a rope and then slam into the wall cause your chute is all fouled up...

Just my thoughts...

[Micke N]

Well, no matter how the NPS wants to define BASE-jumping or other activities in Yosemite, according to Jean Boenish they once actually DID offer an exitpoint in Yosemite for legal jumping: Glacier Point. If this IS true, maybe it's worth using in the case of getting ALL exipoints legal.

/Micke

[guest]

Here's a reason why climbers wearing parachutes might not be a good idea. You aren't giving enough credit to the skill level required to deploy, fly, and land either a square or round parachute.

To take this one step further, it also shows the folly of using a parachute as a life saving device with no previous experience. This is a mistake the military has always made (they believe an actual jump is too dangerous to practice) and it's what has given us the Hollywood perception of make a jump, break a leg.

Although, I'm sorry to say the present generation (young males and fast canopies) are turning this perception into reality.

Another reason, and a real obvious one, is after taking their first fall with a parachute, it would be, "Climbing gear for sale! I've found a new sport!"

However, if you are qualified in both sports, and there are many who are, you can practice something that's already been around for many many years. It's called "Cliffing" where you climb to the top and BASE jump back down.

Nick_BR

[imported_Tom Aiello]

If anyone is really serious about trying this madness, give me an email/call [tbaiello@ucdavis.edu/(530) 750-3491].

I'm proficient in the setup for rope jumps, and have rigged and made more than one multiple hundred foot jump off a popular S object in Northern California.

Please don't try to set up the jump without talking to someone who has experience rigging them. There are a lot of considerations that you wouldn't expect from pure climbing experience, as well as a few that you wouldn't come up with from either BASE or climbing.

At any rate, before you hurt yourself trying this out, give me a call.

--Tom Aiello

[guest]

Yes, we remember Dan. He was involved in one of the most wildly exciting and intimidating sports going. Just ask one of the many friends he set up for a Rostrum jump. After his death the NPS immediately deemed what he was doing an "inappropriate use of the resource". I think that gives them the same lattitude to ticket you as feeding wildlife but I imagine the hammer would fall somewhat harder. Is there anybody with the guts DanO had?
Lynn Hill, to be more correct, was the first person male or female to freeclimb the Nose of El Cap. She did it over several days to free each pitch cleanly. She followed the feat with a one day ascent of the route in the same style. Both are climbing feats of the century.
Ever talk to a wall climber? Ever seen one in action? Fun hypotheticals but get real.
What we need is to be recognized as an appropriate use of the resource. It will take maturity as a group and dedication to the goal. Otherwise we are doomed to vilification and having the thought of being busted and persecuted as the first and foremost thing in our minds when we are standing on top rather than safety.