BASE Week: Rick Simenc

Well, this is the last day of BASE Week, and after an interview with Miles D, how can it get much better?

Let me tell you how…with an interview from my freefly partner! He’s also a former BASE jumper so it ties in .

*Photo by Ashley Mead

Y’all have heard so much about Rick in the past 9 months or so, it’s only fitting that you have a chance to hear the facts straight from him. Some of you may have read the article in the Jan/Feb issue of Blue Skies Mag that discusses diabetes in the world of adrenaline sports – this interview is nothing like that. We’re keeping the topics on the lighter side today.

I struggled with these questions, Rick, as the regular readers pretty much know the basics about your current skydiving career – aside from those days you sneak off to jump without me

That aside, I think I’ve come up with some compelling questions to get your wheels turning and keep the readers entertained. So, here goes nothing!

SDC: Let’s start with the standard question – how did you get your start in skydiving?

RS: To make a very long story short, from day one on this planet I’ve been the epitome of spontaneity and this was one of those last minute choices .  I told myself I was going to go skydiving. So I did a static line jump for my 18th birthday.

SDC: Obviously we know your favorite discipline is freefly, but tell us why.

RS: I guess because I’m the black sheep.

SDC: Ah, “dark side” – black sheep. Makes sense. Regular readers know that we travel a lot, tell us about your favorite trip, dropzone, experience – whatever.

RS: Here comes the cheese….I will have to say that my first date with Beans (aka SkydiveChick, aka Ashley) is my most memorable skydiving trip. We went to the Work Stinks boogie last September. Too much fun! All beer has already been drunk! Our first 2-way head-down, first Heli-jump, Ashley’s first sit-fly, my first otter and our first boogie.

SDC: Aw, that’s sweet! Y’all remember this picture I assume!

*Photo by Norman Kent

SDC: You were once a regular BASE jumper. What triggered the switch to skydiving?

RS: I wanted the dirt to look smaller.

SDC: Alright, now I’m really going to put you on the spot…what’s your favorite part about being my freefly partner? (yep, I’m making this one about me…I know you can respect that )

RS: Reverse cowgirl.. LOL! I love when you ride me out the door!!

SDC: Hahaha! For those who are unaware of what he’s talking about, see the video below!

SDC: We’ve had a lot of great opportunities over the past year, what are some of the things you’re looking forward / hoping to accomplish to this season?

RS: My 500th, D license, coach and pro-rating

SDC: Jump for Diabetes is fast approaching! Tell us a little about where the idea came from and how you made it work last year.

RS: The idea came from another fundraiser that was held at a DZ in Omro,Wi while was still a student. It involved jumping out of planes, raising funds and promoting awareness for Lupus. It was fun for all and it was a good cause. I told myself, when I’m able to stay on my feet when landing, I will coordinate an event like that one and try to do the same as them. And I gave it a shot…WTF, ya know?

I’m really looking forward to this years event. I’m very lucky to have Beans and Apt3 Studios on the Jump for Diabetes team. This years event would not be happening if you guys didn’t step up.. PROPS!!

SDC: What is your most memorable skydiving experience so far?

RS: Probably sit’n relative with you.

SDC: So as one of those freeflyers who falls into that oh-so-subjective “intermediate” category, and the person who taught me how to sitfly, let’s hear your advice to all those aspiring freeflyers out there.

RS: Challenge yourself and don’t give up. When you think you’ve done everything you can to get it.. and don’t, push yourself to keep going and achieve your goal. Once you get it, you get it.

SDC: Anything you’d like to add?

RS: It’s been 3 days and I’m jones’n for some ff (freefall).

Thanks, Rick. This was fun.

For anyone who was curious about something and didn’t find out in this interview, feel free to send questions my way. After all, we do live under the same roof.

Blue skies!

Ashley

BASE WEEK with Miles Daisher

Welcome back to BASE week! Today we’re going to hear from one of the most visible characters in BASE jumping.

If you’rve heard of BASE, you’ve heard of this guy. That’s right kids, it’s Miles Daisher!

*Photo credit unavailable as I borrowed this from his Facebook page. Hope that’s alright. But this is one wicked picture!

I feel so honored to have the chance to chat with Miles and find out more about what makes him tick. So let’s have at it shall we?

SDC: So let’s dive right in with the standard first question: how and when did you get your start in skydiving? Tell us your story…

MD: I became addicted to skydiving September 6, 1995.  I’d always wanted to try it and when my roommate Frank “The Gambler” Gambalie (skydiver, BASE jumper and hero) told me where to go, I booked an AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) course at Skydance Skydiving center in Davis, California. Three days of classroom and coached jumping while passing all of my 7 level jumps to begin hucking my monkey from scareplanes on my own.  Since then I’ve quit all previous jobs I’ve had (a variety of all types) and focused on keeping myself in the parachuting world.

SDC: That’s pretty incredible! I’m a huge believer in following your passions and doing what you love, all the time. Your story is a great example of that. I’m sure a lot of people out there envy that – and I’m sure you hear that all the time

SDC: So when and how did you transition to BASE?

MD: Watching Frank’s BASE videos was always really cool.  When I saw one in particular of a jump from the Troll Spire on the Great Troll wall in Norway where Frank jumped and tracked away from the wall for 26 second before pulling his pilot chute to open his parachute.  He was flying his body away from the wall and this sparked my interest to get involved with fixed object parachuting.  From the EARTH!  I’ve lived my dream and have had the opportunity to jump the Troll wall from Frank’s exit point, the Troll Spire.  This was one of the pinnacle jumps that I’ve ever done!

I started on bridges that were the safest things to jump in case your opening faces a direction other than the heading that you choose.  If you have a 180 degree off heading opening on a cliff or a building you will have only an instant to correct the direction your parachute is flying before you strike or hit the object you jumped from.  With a 20 MPH forward speed on these canopies we fly, things can happen fast and usually do.  Bridges are the safest way to start.  I take baby steps with every goal I have so I may enjoy the ride to conquer each challenge as safe as possible.

SDC: Do you frequently get to skydive these days or are you all BASE all the time?

MD: I still Skydive quite a bit.  I LOVE it.  Compared to BASE jumping, Skydiving is a fun time, walk in the park where you get to dance in the sky with your friends.  Also you can train to do many things for BASE jumping while having a safe amount of time in the air as well as more time to dial in tricks and ways to fly your body more proficiently while skydiving.  I also perform Demonstration jumps with the Red Bull Air Force from aircraft.  I’ve even started a new sport called Skyaking (see picture above) that involves skydiving while in a kayak.  The freefall can be tricky but I think I’ve got a good handle on this now and the landings are really fun.  Swooping into a lake, river or even a ditch while strapped in a Skayak is always a great time!

SDC: That’s incredible – I’ve seen some of the videos of this and you can’t help but smile while watching you having a blast up there, in a kayak! Where do you do most of your skydiving these days – where do you consider your “home DZ” I suppose?

MD: I’ve had a few different home DZs.  I started in Skydance Skydiving then moved to Lodi for years.  Then I learned to do tandems and packed a bunch at Skydive Lake Tahoe when I became a professional parachutist. It is hard for me to call one place my home DZ.  Nowadays I’ll call the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls Idaho my home DZ as I do more BASE jumps than anything else.  Or anyone else, because I can here in this BASE jumping friendly environment.  At 2,669 BASE jumps I’m catching up to the 3,100 skydives I’ve done. Last spring I’d call Sebastian Florida my home DZ.  I must say that I’ve been SUPER fortunate to be able to call Lauterbrunnen Switzerland my home DZ last summer as we’ve (Red Bull Air Force) been shooting a 3D movie called Human Flight for a few months.  Check out humanflight3dmovie.com to see some of what we were up to.  Mostly big wall proximity flying with squirrel suits. I’d have to say it is tough to point a finger at one DZ to call home when I love to visit them all.

SDC: We’ve all seen at least one Miles D video and there’s always one common denominator – you are very high energy! What’s your secret?

MD: The secret to the high energy I have while skydiving and BASE jumping is this . . . When you do things you are passionate about, you do them 115%, or put everything into them.  When you love what you do, you get excited about it.  For me and this instance, I find it really easy to get excited about flying parachutes and my body through the air.  It is super sensory overload for me.  I love it!  Then there is the rest of my life where my mom would always tell me to settle down and stay still which I’m still not truly understanding why and what she really means by this.  As well as the fact that I love the Red Bull energy drink that keeps my vitamin B levels up to where I enjoy them.  Caffeine is good for you too if you like to get after stuff.  I guess the ADD in me is a good thing and I’ve harnessed the power of it and sustained for life with some help drinking the right stuff.

SDC: What is one of the most memorable experiences you’ve had in this sport?

MD: I’ve had many super memorable moments in the air with my friends.  One that really let’s me feel that I can conquer anything and do anything if I put my mind to it as well as enjoy each moment to the fullest, is when I did a 2 way with Shane McConkey (my best friend and BASE partner) from the Troll wall in our squirrel suits to actually live the dream and experience the reason I’ve been driving so hard and learning so much to safely get to where I am today.  We jumped together at sunset after our Norwegian friends showed us the way to the top and flew for what seemed like forever.  Shane shot video of me and I just looked around and soaked it all in.  I didn’t even fly well and wasn’t really trying to.  I was enjoying the moment the entire day!  Shane was yelling at me to Go man Go! and was buzzing around me like a bee trying to get me to fly faster but I just smiled and thought about The Gambler and the good times we’ve all had together.  Then after we landed in a field by the road, I hid behind a hay stack because the jump we did wasn’t exactly legal.  Shane made fun of me and did the most hilarious John Belushi impersonation while in the wide open field, running side to side and diving on the ground to hide.  Then he’d get up again and run side to side and dive on the ground to make fun of how stupidly paranoid I was of getting caught. We laughed for hours on this while we had pizza in the landing area with our Norwegian BASE tour guides toasting a few beers as the sun disappeared on us.

Ahhhhhh the stuff dreams are made of. That’s for sure.

SDC: That sounds amazing. That’s one thing about parachuting I’ve come to love the most – experiencing these moments with good friends. There’s nothing quite like it! Aside from Bridge Day, what are some of the must-attend boogies and events in the skydiving and BASE world?

MD: If you ever get a chance to go to Malaysia to jump the KL Tower, DO IT!  To me this event is the funnest.  That is a word too. It’s a multi day BASE boogie with cultural celebrations and all the jumps you can handle off the 1,000 ft tower.  There is an organized multi week tour that travels the country and has demonstration jumps at many different buildings.  I’d like to have enough time to do this someday but the KL Tower is the crowned jewel of the trip from what I hear.  I’m trying to get myself organized up on this adventure again this year.

SDC: Malaysia has always been a place I’ve wanted to visit. Maybe now there’s another reason…What’s the best piece of advice (related to skydiving/BASE jumping or not) that you’ve ever been given?

MD: The best advice I’ve gotten in my life is “Pay Attention!”  You can learn a lot by observing.  Keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.  Unless you have a question of course.  Many people want to get into BASE and start hucking flips and do cool tricks right away.  Best thing you can do is to get your FUNdamentals dialed in and perfected before starting to get rad.  When you do want to learn something new, break it down into pieces and practice each part so that your motor muscle memory can save you when your brain doesn’t.  Baby steps take longer to do but will get you to your goals safer than going full tilt taking chances and missing out on the Journey that is ever so important and a big part of the whole big picture.

SDC: With the amount you have on your plate you must have a very supportive family?

MD: I gotta give huge props to my wife Nikki and children.  I don’t know where I’d be without their support and trust and faith in me and what I do.  My lifestyle is kinda crazy in the (not so) real world of normalcy.  I have a crazy schedule that is subject to change at a few days notice.  Hard to make every soccer game, gymnastics meet and even birthday party.  We all support each other like a team.  I’m super blessed to have such an understanding and helpful family who has my back no matter what.  The same thing said for me to them.  I don’t take unnecessary risks even when I’m doing the “crazy” stuff I do. There is a method to my madness. I plan on sticking around for years and years to be able to brag up the good times with great friends and give my kids as much grief as possible unless they remain the almost perfect angels that they are for the rest of their lives.  I try to surround myself with good people and abide by the great words of Bill and Ted on their adventures “Be excellent to each other.”  This would be the one moment where my wife would not support me in my cheesiness as she thinks I’m a dork sometimes.  The thing is, she is right and I’m glad she can keep it real too.  I can handle it when I’m right and she can’t seem to appreciate the goodness of a quality movie I believe in.

SDC: So for all those aspiring BASE jumpers out there here’s one you’ll appreciate: If you could give one piece of advice to newbie BASE jumpers, what would it be?

MD: If you would like to learn to BASE jump, come check me out at Miles D’s BASE Camp and learn a safe approach to a dangerous sport. Or at least take your time while you PAY ATTENTION to the do’s more than the don’ts of the sport.  Know what can go wrong and be ready for anything but plant the super positive seed in your head to ready yourself for the perfect outcome of every jump.  Not false confidence but know what you have to do to make the perfect landing happen every time you step off the Earth.  The biggest thing is to know your gear, it’s tendencies and how to make it do the right thing . . . land safe.

Blue skies!  Rock On!

Thanks Miles! This was a treat!

I highly recommend checking out any and all of Miles’ videos – it’s some good stuff.

Blue ones!

Ashley

BASE Week: Marko Markovich

I’ve deemed this week “BASE Week” here at SDC.

Why? Well let me tell you – I’ve done some incredible interviews the last few weeks and all of them are / were BASE jumpers. So I’m dedicating this week to the experts out there who know what they’re talking about. Because let’s be honest, if you’ve been here before, you know I clearly don’t have a clue .

So on with the show!

Today we’re talking to a BASE jumper that I met at the Everglades Boogie this January. I turned to him on the first Otter load and asked him his name…he looked really familiar. Turns out, we didn’t know each other, but had some BASE friends in common.

So we kept in touch (oh the powers of social media) and after reading about his BASE trips in Blue Skies Mag, I was excited to chat with him about all this.  Today we’re talking to Marko Markovich!

*Photo credit unknown. I borrowed this from his Facebook page

So let’s start out with a few generic skydiving questions to get the ball rolling, shall we?

SDC: How long have you been skydiving?

MM: Since 2007

SDC: Tell us a “your story.” What brought you into the sport and what has kept you here?

MM: Well I always wanted to go skydiving, once I finally said screw waiting for a bunch of people to go with me I went with 2 buddies. And when I landed I was back in less then a week! So much fun, so many places to jump and so many people to meet! I love how challenging it is!

SDC: What’s your favorite skydiving discipline and why?

MM: My favorite skydiving discipline has been freeflying but since this winter and all the boogies I have been to Luis Prinetto turned me onto tracking a lot! It is by far my most favorite in the sky! There are so many types of track dives you can do and constantly switching up the dive in the sky!

SDC: Moving on to BASE…when we met at the Everglades boogie, I quickly found out that we have some mutual friends in the BASE world. What turned you on to BASE?

MM: BASE is a totally different world and thats why I love it. When I first took the APEX course I took a year off since it scared me up pretty good. Then I got back into it and love it more then anything. Every BASE jump is like my first skydive, so scared that I can’t really enjoy it yet, and when I do start to enjoy it I always see myself pushing the boundaries and trying harder and harder things on base jumps. I would like to take a step back and just enjoy it but love pushing and testing my limits! One thing about it is that I can go do it whenever I want for the most part, and I can go alone and do it for myself!

SDC: So what are you more passionate about, BASE or skydiving. Why?

MM: That’s a tough call, since you have to work for BASE and not pay for the jumps I think it will win for now!

SDC: You recently got back from a couple cool BASE trips, one that was chronicled in Blue Skies Mag… and the more recent trip to Twin Falls. Tell us a little about those experiences.

MM: This winter was the funnest winter I’ve had in my life. Had a blast in Cali and met so many people, same as in Florida and Twin Falls. California definitely has some of the sickest scenery for BASE jumps! Idaho was an amazing trip as me and 2 buddies went and we had a blast jumping non stop for 6 days!

SDC: What’s the best memory you’ve made as a BASE jumper?

MM: The best memory I have is actually from this past weekend at Twin! I taught my buddy how to jump and got him into the sport, we did a nice 2 way with him doing video of me doing a gainer on a sunset load at the bridge. It was by far one of the best jumps I have ever done!

SDC: What’s one of the scariest things you’ve seen in the sport?

MM: Well lucky me I havent seen much carnage in this sport. Just seeing people do some low turns and stab out at the last second…thank god!

SDC: Okay, now back to skydiving. Planning on attending any boogies or traveling anywhere this season. Maybe back to Everglades perhaps?

MM: Yeah this winter that just passed was my first with a lot of traveling, my next winter is getting planned out much differently. I will be at almost every boogie in the US if things go according to plan!

Thanks Marko! It was great chatting with you. Be safe out there on those static objects.

Stick around, we’ve got some more BASE jumpers to hear from this week – and you WON’T be disappointed!

Blue skies!

Ashley

*NOTE: This was my 100th post. Yay!

Hear it from the Expert: Traventure Man

Happy Friday, y’all! You know what that means, it’s time to hear it from the expert.

To celebrate the first week back from the holidays, I asked a friend of mine who’s working on an incredible online adventure project to chat with me about what he’s got going on.

As you’ll see, I reversed the roles a bit and made him the interviewee. It’s a long one this week, but I recommend taking a break on this snowy day, curling up with your cup of joe and diving in head first. You won’t be disappointed.

So let’s get to it. Today we’re talking with John Jurko – the writer, producer and creator of Traventure Man (TM).

*Photo by Sandy Weltman

Hey John!

TM: Hey Ashley, first off I want to thank you for all of the support you have given me on your blog. I’ve been keeping up on your posts ever since we met, and you have a great thing going on here. I’m sure there are a lot of skydivers out there that appreciate your perspective, so keep up the good work!

SDC: Thanks John! I really admire what you’ve got going on over at Traventure Man. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about that.

TM: Where to start… Traventure Man in concept is an online interactive Travel and Adventure show. The finished web site will allow viewers to communicate with me through blog comments, Twitter and Live Ustream video casts. The audience will be able to participate in the making of episodes and the asking of questions in live interviews. Eventually I hope to be travelling around the world visiting cities and natural wonders while shooting episodes with a focus on adventure related sports and activities. I want to bring awareness to adventure lifestyles and world cultures. Using social media I want to make the process as real-time and interactive as possible for the viewer.

The three main goals of Traventure man are to inspire, educate and entertain its viewers and participants. I want to show people that anything is possible, and I want to educate them on how they can restructure their lives with a balance that includes the spirit of discovery and a connection with the world around them. Ambitious maybe, but it’s what keeps me plugging away into the unknown.

Traventure Man is still in its early stages, and most of my recent exploits have been more like experiments and test drives than the making of real episodes.

SDC: This is a great idea – clearly it’s something I’ve become a huge advocate for. What inspired you to start this venture?

TM: I came up with the concept of the web show this past summer as a way to combine my interests of adventure and filmmaking. I was inspired by a couple of blogs that I began following in late ’08 – Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV and Nick Campbell’s Grey Scale Gorilla. I realized that the format of a blog would give me the capability to start my own show and iron out things as I went along. I can produce my own content and put together my own web site, and as it becomes more popular I can seek out sponsors and advertisers to help kick it up a notch.

Right now I’m only a couple of months into making Traventure Man a reality. I have already learned a ton. One thing that I have realized is that it’s not a good idea to try and turn a vacation with family and friends into a Traventure Man episode. It never really works out, due to time constraints and the fact that everyone just wants to relax. I’ve also learned that my current equipment setup is not great for keeping things mobile. I’m planning on selling some of my gear and investing in a smaller video camera in the near future. I’ve also realize that I need other people to collaborate with. I originally got caught up in attempting to put together a website that was out of my league in terms of programming. But now I have a great designer who will be putting the full-featured web site together after the holidays.

Despite any setbacks I have had I am extremely excited for the future of Traventure Man. I have the mindset that there can be no failures in this process, only learning experiences. I’ve finally found a way to combine my passions and put them together in a format that I believe will eventually allow me to support myself and grow.

SDC: Can you tell us some of the things you’ve got your sites set on for future posts or is that top secret?

TM: No secrets here Right now I’m hoping to put together a 3 month tour of the United States this summer. I want to focus on adventure sports such as skydiving, BASE jumping, kayaking, rock climbing, surfing, and everything in between. My goal is to setup some great interviews with beginner, intermediate and professional athletes in each of these areas, and then go out with them into their environment and video tape the experience.

Until then I will probably do a lot of blog posts on climbing, which I recently got into, and general adventure news that I pick up as I research and learn. Once the new website is up I hope to keep up three posts per week. Once I’m on the road I hope to be posting new photos, videos and blog entries every day. Right now it’s just a battle between making enough money to survive, putting together the new web site, learning more about adventure sports, and learning how to get my own sponsors and advertisers.

SDC: So let’s ask the question that all the readers are dying to know (ha!), how did you meet me, Ashley, the Skydive Chick?

TM: Great Question! Our first encounter was through Twitter. My first real Traventure was to Bridge Day in West Virginia this past October – which also happened to have it’s own Twitter handle. So a couple of days before the event I Tweeted that I was looking for people that would be willing to do an interview. You agreed to participate and we met up near the Landing Zone on Bridge Day. You did an awesome job answering my questions, and I’m planning on finishing that little episode when I get home from the holidays.

SDC: On a side note, I’m super excited to see the final episode. What a great experience that was – both Bridge Day and meeting John in person. Here’s the link to a two minute teaser that was put together. The initial footage looks awesome! Okay, now back to the interrogation!

SDC: What first sparked your interest in skydiving?

TM: I lived a bit of a sheltered life growing up, but I loved walking through the woods and dreaming about adventure. I think that I always knew one day I would go skydiving, I just never set a date. After meeting at Bridge Day, I thought about your offer to jump with me at Canton Air Sports and that Rick would video it for my website and I realized, no time is better than now. I emailed you and called CAS to setup my first skydive! Wow, was it an amazing experience!!!

SDC: Is it something you plan to do again?

TM: Heck yeah! I definitely want to skydive again. I really want to get my license now, but I need to save up some cash for that. Maybe I will be able to convince some sponsors to put up for a 3 month Traventure Man show about me learning how to skydive I think it would be interesting to see someone go through the process and be able to ask them questions as they go. Your blog has been a great resource in that respect. I read your posts, get excited about jumping again, and learn a lot at the same time!

SDC: That was definitely one of the goals – glad to hear it’s working on converting someone into a skydiver . So of all the adventures you’ve done so far, what has been the most rewarding?

TM: Well, I don’t feel like I have gone on enough adventures yet, but my skydive was probably the most rewarding so far. There is nothing quite like flying up to 10,000 feet and then jumping out of an airplane into the big blue sky! I also had the pleasure of experiencing a cut-away when my primary chute malfunctioned. So I got two rides in one! The only complaint I have is that it went too fast. So yeah, I think I’m hooked. If you’re interested you can watch the whole jump on my Tumblr site.

*Photo by Sandy Weltman

SDC: Yeah, skydiving is addicting that way. There’s never enough freefall!

TM: I also had a great time bouldering in Chattanooga this past week with a good friend. It was my first time climbing on real rock, and what a difference. I had a blast and everyone in the South was super helpful and friendly! Hopefully one of these days I will be able to combine these two sports so I can climb a mountain and BASE jump back down!

SCD: Is that something you plan to stick with, or are you dabbling in everything at this point?

TM: Right now I’m dabbling in everything, but I think skydiving and climbing will be sports that I will stick with and concentrate on in the future.

SDC: What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t done yet that is on your list of to-dos?

TM: One thing… Hmm, there are so many! Right now making Traventure Man a success is at the top of my list. But if I had to pick an adventure, I would say summiting a big mountain. Of course I could say climb Everest or K2, but any reasonably hard mountain would be a great start. The reward of completing such a physical and mental challenge would alone be well worth the effort, but you also get to enjoy an amazing view at the top.

I recently saw video of Dean S. Potter wingsuit BASE jumping from Mt. Eiger in Switzerland for a 3 minute flight to the valley below. That would be an amazing experience! Maybe that’s the one thing, if I had to pick, that I would most want to do. I have a long way to go before I get there, but I’m up for the challenge!

I know you’re asking the questions in this interview, but I’m curious, what’s one thing that you want to do that you have yet to check off of your list?

SDC: Ah, you’re going to make this truly interactive, aren’t you? Well one sport I’ve always considered trying is snowboarding. As a decent skier it never made much sense for me to switch, but this winter my freefly partner, who also is an avid snowboarder, is insisting I get on a board. Hopefully this weekend will be my first experience with that.

Aside from that I’m excited to travel more and skydive everywhere I can. I’d love to BASE jump in Switzerland on day too.

TM: Thank you so much for this great interview, Ashley. Keep up the great work on your blog. I hope everyone will stop by and check out Traventure Man. Right now I’m at traventureman.tumblr.com, but by the end of January my full-featured site will be up at www.traventureman.com. Happy Traventuring!!!

No, thank you John! What a exciting venture you’ve got going. This is a great example of making your own dreams come true.

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend.

Blue skies and snowy mountains!

Ashley

Back to BASE

Last week I mentioned that I’ve been thinking more and more about my participation in BASE jumping.

Since then, it seems that the universe is tempting me even more by placing BASE videos square in front of my face. The BASE gods are calling me to the dark side (wait, that’s freefly…I’m confusing myself here).

Anyhow, given that it’s the day before Thanksgiving, I thought it appropriate to make a quick post about how thankful I am for the opportunities I have to huck myself out of aircraft, off balloons and one day, static objects.

I’m also extremely thankful for the video technologies available for us narcisistic jumpers to capture all these adventures and show them off to all our whuffo friends.

Here are a few of the videos that have found their way into my life recently. Hope they make your mouth water for BASE as much as they have mine. Enjoy!

A video by Dan Pushies, one of the tandem instructors at Skydive Tecumseh, featuring Ian, another jumper buddy I met in Michigan this year. This is going to be BAD ASS!

Raw footage from Jump Cuts – Rick’s jump at Bridge Day 2009

Click here to see Traventure Man’s Bridge Day Preview video. It’s a fun two minutes – with a snippet of my interview as well!

Blue Skies, turkeys!

Ashley

BASE on the brain

Until recently, BASE jumping was something I saw as too dangerous to even contemplate. I mean seriously? Who in their right mind hurls themselves off an object only hundreds of feet above the LZ, just to see if their one parachute is going to open?

Even as a skydiver who has come to love and trust my canopy as a life-saving device, I still couldn’t wrap my head around this seemingly life-threatening version of parachuting.

*Photo by Sandy Weltman

But since my visit to Bridge Day back in mid-October, and having seen the care taken with safety, packing and preparation, BASE jumping continues to be a regular topic of conversation between Rick and me.

As my trusted freefly partner, and someone who’s done his share of BASE jumping over the years, my considerations to take the plunge from a static object include him standing by my side.

*Photo by Ashley Mead (We’ve talked about doing a 2-way like this at next year’s Bridge Day)

It’s an exciting picture, though not without it’s dangers.

For me, there are a few things that stick in my head when contemplating making my first BASE jump:

• There’s no reserve parachute. You’ve only got one shot. REALLY? But doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?
• With the extremely low altitudes, a reserve would do you no good, anyhow. It also doesn’t give you much chance to toss your pilot. This girl certainly won’t be going stowed for a while.
• On most jumps, your accuracy is critical as landing areas tend to be small. This is why the Perrine looks so desirable for my first.
• The scary stat that 1 in 10 BASE jumpers die doing this. (read: 1 in 10 jumpERS, not 1 in 10 jumps…things like Bridge Day would never take place if that was the case). On the up side, at least they go doing what they love, right?

Most of these things are points of anxiety because they differ from skydiving. And frankly, the prospect of a badly timed flare that could break any number of body parts scares me to no end.

I hear it’s all about the PLF, but my stubborn ass just might decide I need to walk it out. Yep, I’m chick enough to admit that!

As I mentioned, I’d like to make my first jump off the Potato Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho. It’s a legal jump with a landing area that was cleared by parachutists so you’ve got room for error. Though I’ve been told that Bridge Day is by far the best place to make your first BASE, as you have access to a first jump course that teaches you all you need to know about safety, packing, and making the jump.

Personally, I’d rather not go through all that. Some of my skydiving friends are also accomplished BASE jumpers, I should have no trouble finding a mentor to show me the ropes. And it’s something we can do on our own time.

This is definitely still just an idea in the making, but the longer I’m in the sport, the more appealing new experience, like BASE, seem to grab my attention.

Ultimately, I’d love to do this the right way – to find a mentor to walk me through it, have someone to show me the ropes, teach me how to pack, so that when the day comes and I’m standing on the edge of that bridge, or piece of Earth, that I can know just how prepared I am to make this jump.

What are some of the steps that you took for your first BASE jump? Did you have a mentor or did you grab a rig and wing it? Was your first object a bridge, antenna…?

Blue skies!

Ashley

A Taste of B.A.S.E

(*Photo by Ashley Mead)

This weekend was one of my first experiences with BASE jumping. There were a couple other scouting missions I’d been on with fellow skydivers, and a ground crew opportunity here and there, but nothing quite compared to a weekend at the New River Gorge.

This year was the 30th anniversary of Bridge Day - a BASE jumping boogie in Fayetteville, West Virginia. It’s held every year on the 3rd weekend in October and it’s the country’s premier legal BASE event.

(*Photo by Ashley Mead)

For those who may not be fully aware, BASE jumping is an adrenaline sport dedicated to jumping from static objects, rather than from an aircraft as we do in skydiving.

BASE stands for Building, Antenna, Span, Earth – the four categories of objects that jumpers typically throw themselves from when making a BASE jump.

Similar to skydiving, you can get a BASE number by having documented jumps from each of these categories.

Bridge Day is a great experience, not just for the ensuing post-jump parties, but it provides opportunities to participate for all involved.

First time jumpers can take a day-long course to teach them the ins and outs of canopy piloting (F-111, 7-cell canopies can be tricky to flare and land if you’ve never had that experience), packing, and safety. Given that the bridge is 876 ft., this provides first-timers a little comfort knowing they have some altitude to play with.

(*Photo by Ashley Mead)

Experienced BASE jumpers often spend the day jumping multiple times, in two-ways, three-ways and doing some amazing tricks.

The landing area is small, uphill and a little rocky. Even with the cold temperatures, rain and sleet on Saturday, many jumpers still chose to land in the river than to risk pounding in a hard landing. The motto going around that day was, “you dry faster than you heal.”

Very true. In the hour or so I spent down at the LZ, I saw multiple hard landings, including one that ended in a broken leg.

But, with the hundreds of jumps that took place that day, there were very few injuries to report – most were minor.

Let’s move on to the positives, shall we?

This year, Bridge Day was opened up with a jump by my friends Paul and Lonnie. They were providing our friend Dan ‘Danger’ Mathie with his first BASE jump in the form of an ash dive. (They are the first jump in the video below.)

You’ll notice Dan’s ashes puff out as they deploy their ‘chutes. What an amazing jump, guys!

Luckily for that jump, the weather was nice. Chilly, but the sun was starting to peak out for a few minutes. Though it didn’t last long. The afternoon was spent watching jumpers in the rain and sleet.

Well worth it, though, as I got to head to the LZ at the bottom of the bridge and take photos of my freefly partner on his 5th jump off this bridge – his first ever legal BASE jump.

Check out some of the photos of his jump sequence:

(*Photos by Ashley Mead, taken at the base of the New River Gorge Bridge)

After Rick’s jump I was able to meet up with John from TraventureMan so we could do a little interview action. It was great meeting you, John! I’ll be sure to let y’all know when it’s posted.

The rest of the day was spent watching the remaining jumpers from atop the bridge and heading to the HQ for some pizza, beer and partying.

We ended up calling it a night earlier than expected. A day of jumping and photography really takes it out of you.

The next day before heading out of town, we made our way down to the base of the bridge with some of our other friends so they could see the perspective from along the river.

(Happy birthday, Rick! So glad I got to share this experience with you.)

Hopefully the weather will be better next year when I return to make my first Bridge Day jump – because you better believe I’m going to be nice to my bones and land in the river.

Blue Skies!

Ashley