D-dog

A few months ago, I offered to post trip reports for some upcoming BASE trips to the North Cascades after many folks were really helpful in providing leads on new backcountry jumps. Well, here goes. I suspect that this TR would normally end up in a separate forum, but since it is more humorous than useful as a TR per se, I've posted it here. Hope that's kosher. Our objective on this trip was Baring. While it has been jumped twice before, our Portland crew has been weathered out on two attempts last year and is still in the hunt for this one. One member of our crew, freshly-returned from Switzerland, has his eye on "out-tracking" (i.e. using body position in freefall to generate horizontal movement away from the cliff) a ledge system about 900 feet down Baring, and thus potentially capturing 2500-3000 feet of freefall. This amount of freefall (probably 20+ seconds) would be rivalled only by jumps in the Valley in the continental U.S. Weather reports for last weekend looked good, so we drove up on Sunday and stayed in Gold Bar for the night. Monday morning early (well, 11:30 or so which is plenty early for us), we met up with our Seattle buddies at the Baring parking lot. Not surprisingly, 2 of 3 Portland jumpers weren't packed and were thus hazed mercilessly as we scrambled to throw together our canopies for the jump. While we were packing, a friendly forest ranger stopped by to give us tickets due to missing NW Forest Passes. Screw that - when we stop subsidizing logging on our National Forests, then I'll gladly pay to use them. Packed, caffeinated, motivated (well, mostly), and rarin' to go, we set off up the trail. The "trail" quickly devolves into a 1/2 mile, 2,000 foot scramble up a steep hillside. After much grumbling and wheezing, our intrepid crew made the ridgeline and set out for the couple mile hike to Baring proper. The trail here truly is beautiful, and the overall setting is majestic. We told old BASE stories, swapped childhood memories, and generally had fun on the mostly-level trail for a few hours. By mid-afternoon, we charged up 1,000 more feet of off-trail hillside and emerged on the rockslide leading up the backside of Baring proper. What a view! After a snack and rest in the sun, we picked our way up about 700 feet of loose rocks (and past a few really tempting boulder problems), and rested for a bit at the saddle between Baring's twin peaks. Still a bit of snow up there, but nothing to impede progress. An hour more of traversing, and we were just behind the known exit point for Baring. Here, we stopped to gear up for the jump. Personally, my greatest fear in BASE is tumbling off an object before I put my rig on - it happened to a German jumper in Switzerland last winter. He slipped and fell off a 1700 foot cliff with his parachute still in his backpack, on his back. That would really, really, REALLY suck - 17 seconds of freefall. Anyway, I am a big nag about rigging up early so we all got prepped a ways back from the exit point proper. By now, a few wispy clouds were moving through the valleys and we were hoping for a visually exciting mix of light clouds on the cliff face proper. A few comments about "how much it would suck to be clouded in now" were heard, with much laughter following. Safety gear was donned, rigs double-checked, video cameras loaded, and the obligatory group pre-jump photos taken. We then downclimbed the scary, mossy section to the exit point proper. Moss scrambling = scary! I would NOT want to scope out this exit point without a rope, as it slopes off at just enough angle to ensure a good tumble before freefall. At about this time, the clouds are thickeing up a bit more - it is 5:30 exactly. By the time we get to exit and get our lineup organized, the landing area is being obscured by a band of low-lying clouds coming in from the WSW at 20+ mph. Not optimal winds for jumping, but with a good track that's not an insurmountable problem. However, clouds at opening height (about 1000 feet down) ARE a big problem. One of the world's best jumpers, Thor Alex, was killed in Norway in 1999 when he jumped into a cloud layer, lost orientation, and flew his canopy into the cliff face. Our nervous laughter about "how much it would suck to be clouded out now" is not laughter anymore. The cloud band appears to be thickening - only 20 minutes ago it was all but clear. We sit down and ruminate; I think on the fact that this will be my first jump since my friend Dr. Nik died jumping in Switzerland a few weeks ago. Not having jumped in nearly a month, I'm feeling more trepidation than usual at exit. After 20 minutes of waiting, the clouds are only worse. While it is tempting to jump and hope for the best, we're all very leery of cliff strike and decide to back off. I know each of us thinks of rolling the dice and jumping anyway; however, having just returned from the funeral for a fellow jumper, none of us is willing to put our mates in a potentially sad position of dealing with another fatality and we make the safe choice. We gear down as the clouds continue to thicken. I scramble over to a rock outcrop, and watch the cloud band as it forms at the base of Baring. Apparently, the moisture content of the air is high enough that the winds striking Baring are self-generating these clouds out of nowhere. They then slide up the ridge of Baring and right into me at 25+ mph, completely silent. Standing there, feeling the clouds split around my body as they continue up and over Baring, I am overwhelmed. It is one of the most magical things I've ever seen, or experienced. The fact that these same clouds will thwart our jump is not to be forgotten, however. By now, it is nearly 7pm and we know we can't make the hike out before nightfall. While I propose we bivy on the summit ridge, wait for clearing, and jump by moonlight, several of my mates have real-world obligations on Tuesday and must get back down. We start the scramble back down, out of water and mostly out of food. We make good time until we hit the final 2000-foot, 1/2 mile, off-trail section back to the cars. By then, it is almost 9pm and what light is in the sky from the nearly-full moon is barely penetrating the forest cover. Our light sources consist of 1 (one) cheap lighter, and the flash from a 35 mm camera. I used to always bring a flashlight on jumps, but I got stuck 90 feet up in a tree over the winter, and left my flashlight hooked to a limb up there and never replaced it. So much for the ten essentials. The "hike" down this section involves mostly sliding from tree to tree in near-total blackness, checking for cliff bands by taking flash-photos with the camera. When the flash dies, we are left with using the lighter to check our progress down the steep hillside. A few near-misses involving steep drop-offs see us about 2-3 of the way down (according to GPS altitude readings). It is about 10:30. For the rest of the way, the brush is so thick that downwards progress is basically a wrestling match with vine maple and devil's claw. Most of the time, we close our eyes to prevent damage from loose branches - it is too dark to see, anyway. Near the bottom, we merge with a small stream and basically slide down the stream on our butts for several hundred feet. At long last, we reach the trail and then the cars. Our ground crew has long since left, but they did leave behind some drinks and a nice note. Dehydrated from 6 hours on the trail without water, we guzzle the drinks and head out. A 2am breakfast at Denny's in Monroe, and we are on the road back to Portland. One rest stop on the way, and 7:30 sees us rolling into town to cloudy skies and a full workday ahead of us. Ah, they joys of BASE. This weekend, weather permitting, we'll be back up at Baring for Round 4. Might even get to make a jump this time! Peace, D-d0g

That stuff is dangerous, man. Skip the gliding and go to BASE. All you have to do is stick to really steep routes, and it's all good. Seriously, though, paragliding IS a dangerous sport and I know several folks who have been injured or killed doing it. Scott Franklin was, though it was 'cause he was clipped by another flyer I believe. Thermals and air in general are complex - particularly in the mountains. I've been under canopy on many a BASE jump on relatively non-windy days and been kicked around enought to cause partial canopy collapse. BASE canopies are designed to re-inflate consistently and quickly, so our margin for error under canopy is bigger. Carrying a BASE rig up a route and then jumping down is really neat - no long slog back down! But, as another poster noted, the jump ends up being the focus of the climb - not the reverse. Wind conditions, exit point location, landing area considerations. . . all are non-climbing issues you'd have to face with paragliding, as well. It actually adds complexity to a climb, versus just hiking/rapping down. Best of luck, and be safe. Peace, D-d0g ps: the NPS is wildly inconsistent with their application of the "fixed wing" category in NPs and National Monuments. They let hang gliders in Yosemite, but BASE is heavily prosecuted there. The difference? Only the NPS knows. At Lake Powell (under NPS jurisdiction), it is illegal to jump a parachute into the water, but legal to jump off the same cliff into the water without a parachute. Actually, they are on record as saying they'd bust you if you jumped off a cliff into the water while holding a bedsheet over your head - that is, if the sheet inflated enough to slow you down. No, I am not making this up.

He is one of my all-time heroes, a balls-out pioneer who did so many amazing things with so little fanfare relative to the rest of the sporting world. I have a framed photo of him free soloing a multi-pitch .13b in the Verdon Gorge in the late 1980s. It hangs above my bed - I see it first thing in the morning, every morning when I awake. Inspirational. Most importantly, he has always followed his own path. At times, the climbing world has come in his direction. At other times, it has veered away into other dead-end corners. All along, Alain has been pushing his own personal boundaries in ways that truly frighten me. I don't really frighten that easily, so I love it that there's someone out there who is simply off the end of my "how crazy is that" meter. Also, candidly, he has pretty much silenced his detractors from back in the '80s who claimed he was simply a nut-case with a death wish. Almost twenty years later, he's still going strong. That's not luck - it is otherworldly skill combined with unparalleled courage. He, Peter Croft, Wolfie Gullich, and Fred Rouhling are way up there on my climbing list as incredible inspirations - all for their own reasons, but all amazing nonetheless. Peace, D-d0g

http://www.blincmagazine.com/cms/article_284.shtml Nik was a good man and a special friend to many of us in the Pacific Northwest, and around the world. He will be sorely missed by those who knew and loved him. We will carry his memory in our hearts and bring the wisdom he shared with us to others along our journey. Be at peace, my friend. You gave so much more to the world than you took away from it. It is a duller and sadder place in your absence. Words cannot convey our feelings of your loss. If I could trade a year of my life to give you another year of yours, I would without hesitation. I know you would do the same for me, and for all of your friends around the world. I cherish the memories of our jumps together, our late-night talks, or commiserations and consolations, and even your scolding when this friskly young dog got out of line and you had to set down the law to keep peace within the community. I will never forget the lessons you taught me, and the good times we shared. "Cheers mate, good on you!" D-d0g

Saw this last night at the premiere - it was really fun! Lots of folks in attendance, 300+ and standing-room only. Hooray for local folks who share their passion for climbing, in whatever form. Peace, D-d0g

Woah. . . yeah, I know that 100 foot bridge on the way to the Hoffstadt (which it, itself, only about 330 to impact from the steel - not very big and not a beginner jump AT ALL as it has a sketch landing area, etc.). I am shocked (and happily surprised, in this case) that someone could survive a jump off that other bridge. There was one time a few years ago when someone almost made that mistake and was saved by his mates at the last minute. Still, I've looked over it and, cripes, the trees are bloody CLOSE! Whoever would jump into that visual is either blessed with massive cojones, or cursed with no brain. Anyway, glad whoever it is came out alive. Rumor is he had a punctured lung and. . . ? BASE gear on Ebay? Whoo. . . that's got good idea written all over it. Peace, D-d0g

Sorry to be sorta off-topic from climbing, but did any sharp-eyed Washington natives see something on the TeeVee news on Sunday about a BASE jumper in your state getting stuck in a tree, or on a cliff? I got not one but two calls from concerned friends who thought the Dog himself was hung up out there, apparently because someone thought the news reports mentioned a "big" jumper (knowing my masculine endowmnent, they naturally thought of me). No, it wasn't me if in fact it was anybody - I was at home recovering from a surfing-induced shoulder meltdown. I searched the Seattle TeeVee affiliate websites, to no avail. Was this just a community hallucination, or did the accident really happen and get reported? If anyone is up at Mt. Baring this coming weekend, don't be surprised to see a big (and enormously well-endowed) Dog whipping by and freefall with a big grin on his face. Peace, D-d0g

quote: Originally posted by klenke: D-dog, Look here in David Parker's Goode photo album: http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b301e9a7c4d5 The picture he posted above is #51 of 87 in the album. There is a better picture for ascertaining the verticality of the wall (#62). This picture more definitively shows that it's not vertical. We wouldn't want to have to rename the face "D-dog's Folly". Thanks for all of your advice, gang. This one really doesn't seem like a prime BASE objective. Yeah, paragliding would be one option to get off all these "sorta almost vertical" faces, but man don't you know? That paragliding crap is dangerous! Sheesh, I'll stick to BASE - much safer. Peace, D-d0g

quote: Originally posted by Dru: quote:Originally posted by David Parker: Sounds like if you switched from BASE jumping to parapenting, the whole Cascade range would open up for you! Ya but parapenting is not as EXXXXXXXTREME!!! . . . and it's all about being EXTREME, dude! Remember, it ain't worth doing if there ain't a camera there to record the coolness Peace, D-d0g

Anyone have beta on this objective? Rumor has it there is a 3000+ foot face, maybe jumpable, but I can't even find it in Becky unless I'm just too stupid to use the index properly. Heaps 'o thanks in advance. Peace, D-d0g

High Mountain Sports has the best, useful route description info. It rocks! Peace, D-d0g

PM me if you know who that 80s jumper was on Thor. That's interesting information, for sure, and I'd love to give proper credit. Peace, D-d0g

quote: Originally posted by Dru: ? people have been base jumping baffin for like 20 years... thor got done in the 80s i do believe.... d-dog have you base jumped steins pillar? I am not sure that Mt. Thor was jumped that early, though yes Baffin has seen a number of BASE visitors. I believe that Will Oxx was one of the earliest to jump up there. Even so, there are many formations on Baffin that have never been climbed, let alone jumped. See: http://www.leadingedgebase.com/about/le_baffin.htm Check out The Fin. Still, to my knowledge, never jumped nor even climbed. Holy crap! Not yet gotten off Stein's - I don't know anyone who has, but not 100% sure on this. This winter had pretty bad weather for jumping in central Oregon - more wind than usual, and unpredictable winds. I was up on Monkey Face at one point this spring, with only one rope, in the afternoon, everyone else had gone home. A calm afternoon turned into a windy afternoon at about the exact minute we bid farewell to the last party rapping off, and rigged up. We waited several hours for the winds to calm, without much luck. Finally, running out of day, we waited for a momentary lapse and made the best of it. All worked out ok in the end - not even a scuffed knee on landing. Wind is not your friend in BASE. Being under canopy is like being a piece of toilet paper in a gusty valley - you do have some control, but if the winds are strong (10+ mph) or erratic, you are basically at the mercy of random chance. Not good when dealing with bad landing areas, trees, whitewater, etc. Peace, D-d0g

[ 06-25-2002, 03:39 AM: Message edited by: D-dog ]

Photo courtesy the Russian Extreme Project. Wingsuit jump, fyi.

A cliff down by Mt. Rainier, from last fall.

quote: Originally posted by MysticNacho: Some dude BASE jumped pretty much over our heads on the monkey face last fall. First he chucked his backpack (not his 'chute backpack, his other backpack) off to test the wind, which gave us a start considering we heard him call "rock!" only after it passed by. Then a few minutes later, with no warning at all, a body flew by accompanied by loud "whump" noise of the 'chute opening. Really fun to watch, especially from our perspective. He told us his plans at the base, was very polite and informative, etc. I don't think there is much chance for the jumpers themselves to impact a climber, but chucking backpacks kind of gave me the willies. And I don't want to take a rock in the teeth, either. That flying Dog was yours truly. I really do apologize if the backpack startled anyone. It was actually all but empty (had in it only a pair of blown out Anasazis, empty water bottle, sweater, and harness) and I swear I yelled rock a couple of times but you aren't the only person who heard me yell only after the pack was airborne. From previous experience, I knew I could throw the empty pack over the trail and in the talus, but folks on the ground might not have been so sure about my tossing accuracy Anyway, thanks for the feedback. Us Oregon jumpers work really hard to partner well with climbers. As a climber of 17 years myself, I try to let other BASE jumpers (who, for the most part, have no climbing background) know about climber ethics re falling objects, etc. Hopefully we are doing a good job - particularly at places such as Smith where there are lots more climbers than jumpers. Glad to hear from Tommy that Index upper has been opened - been on my list for a while. Baring I've not yet jumped, though I have driven all the way there only to be turned back by dangerous fog conditions. I've had only a few climbers get really mad when we jumped near them, due to the surprise factor of seeing a body fall through the air I guess. Yelling "rock!" doesn't really prepare someone on a multi-pitch route for a big old Dog whizzing by at terminal (head-down, of course), but I don't know what else to yell. Perhaps "Doooooog!" would work? Seriously, any other climber feedback on BASE jumper etiquette is always really appreciated. We do want to be good partners in the mountains, so do tell us when we aren't doing a good job ok? Peace, D-d0g ps: Tommy, I got a good chuckle out of your characteristics for jumpable objects. No disrespect intended, but down here in PDX our list would read more like: 1. Higher than 150 feet or so unless PCA, in which case 125 or more is just fine; 2. Not too underhung, depending on how big a running exit you can get (e.g. CP in the Gorge); 3. Landing area optional, but preferred. Steep, anklebreaker talus does not technically qualify as a "landing area," but can be used in a pinch. Trees less than 20 feet high ARE considered a "landing area." Generally, "landing areas" are reserved for newbie jumpers unless the winds exceed 20 mph at exit. 4. If landing in water, it is required that the jumper smoke the crap out of the jump. If the canopy is fully inflated before hitting the water, the jumper dumped too high and must repeat the jump. That's how we do it down here - credit the undue influence of Aussie jumpers for our warped sense of perspective

It may be totally illogical, but I'll gladly pay to help keep our trails in good shape in so forth. . . . . . just as soon as my tax dollars stop being used to subsidize the logging of MY National Forests in the Tongass and elsewhere. If we took 1/10th of the annual logging subsidy and put it into backcountry maintenance, we'd be scratching our heads trying to think of new trails to build once all the old ones were spruced up and runnin' smoothly in a year or two tops. And while we're at it, how about killing the AMD ethanol subsidy? That one was supposed to be "temporary" and it's been around, what, 20 years? How many billions out of the treasury coffers and into that company's pockets? Conceptually I'm generally inclined to "pay to play." We value what we pay for, sad but often true. However, practically, it chaps my ass to be one of the only "payees" while alot of other slaker groups who have no legitimate claim to government largesse are ridin' the pork pony. Finally, I think that every person who gets out and walks a backcountry trail comes back healthier, wiser, and saner. And THAT is something that a truly useful government would be bending over backwards to encourage. Fee systems, as others have said, will unquestionably drive down usage. This is a Bad Thing. <end rant> Peace, D-d0g

quote: Originally posted by Lambone: [QB]Base jumping is rad...right on D-dog! You're the first I've seen bring it up seriously in here. Give us some trip reports next time, cause I'm too much of a pussy to go out and experience it myself. Then again, how do you put jumping off a mountain into words.... ooooooooooooohhhhhhhsssshhhhhiiiiitttttt.....QB] Thanks! You guys are being really helpful for sure. There's lots of nuggets out there in the backcountry and it is very nice to have some firsthand beta versus staring at grainy photos in Becky, driving many hours, hiking many miles, and finding a slabby nightmare. It's funny how often what is to a climber "steep" is to a BASE jumper "a slab." I often write up trip reports that are posted at www.baselogic.com, which is the general stop for the ornery community of BASE jumpers in the U.S. I'll be happy to post synopses here too, if folks find them interesting. Cliff jumping is a really wonderful, aesthetic process - from the hiking and climbing to the jump itself and just the process of being out in the mountains. It is a way to experience steep rock that is totally different from - and complimentary to - climbing. I've been climbing for 16 years now (damn I'm gettin' to be an old, grey-muzzled Dog), and it's great to get to know some of my favorite pieces of rock from the other direction, like meeting old friends for the first time all over again. . . sorta. Anyway, thanks again. Peace, D-d0g

quote: Originally posted by Big Wave Dave: Well D-dog you obvously like the steeps. Although you are hard pressed to outdo Liberty Bell, here's a couple of ideas: They may not be BIG big but at least there are some overhanging features, which obvously might interest you in your downward bound journeys. Squamish of course N Face Bear Mountain. Serious backcountry trip. 2 days in. E Face Mt. Triumph. May not be that BIG but at least it overhangs N. Peak Mt Index. Back at the pub in 10 minutes. Man, you guys ROCK! Ok, Bear Mtn. seems to me like the most spectacular line so far. Triumph looks good. Index. . . aaah, Index. North Peak - which face do you think is steepest? Hard to tell from the photos in Becky. Norwegian Buttress. . . ok, that's a serious objective. How tall do you think it is from where the buttress ends to the glacier? It is plastered in snow in the Becky photo, which would normally mean it's less than vertical but I'm not so sure. Peace, D-d0g [ 06-03-2002, 10:43 PM: Message edited by: D-dog ]

quote: Originally posted by highclimb: Jump that bitch! true deep words cavey another idea is to buy a plane ticket to the alps and walk up the back side of the eiger and take one of those bat suit things and jump that bitch. what is it like a minute and half in the air just flyin! 6000ft! that seems like the ultimate jump. another idea although i dont know how good it is. would a jump off willis wall work....i mean if you had one of those bat suits that make you glide. or is it way not steep enough? just thinking of big walls. Aidan The Eiger's main Nordwand proper is not really steep enough to freefall from the top (despite the reputation, it averages abou 83 degrees to the lower slabs). However, there is a jump from a feature on the face called the mushroom. I've not done it, but a friend has. It is accessed via the railcar, and one has to hop over a chasm to get on the mushroom proper. Once on, there's no way to back off. It is a spectacular feature, but I think it only gets like 1200 feet of freefall proper before the talus rears out (only 1200 feet - ha!). With a wingsuit it is a very long ride - like 40 seconds of flying time and several thousand feet I think. There are heaps of 3000+ foot walls in Norway that get jumped plenty. They are far away and the weather's crap even in summer so that's a drag. Finding stuff like that on our backyard is my thing - plus it's an excuse to get my fat butt out and do some alpine climbing again. Been too long that I've succombed to the siren song of bouldering in the warm sun 300 yards from the car - gotta get out in the backcountry. I am pretty sure Willis itself isn't steep enough to jump. One needs about 450 feet at a minimum to start tracking in freefall, or to get a wingsuit flying properly (most sane folks want 550-600). So that first 450 has to be vertical or damned near it. Jumping even 87 degree stuff is rather. . . interesting, if not fatal. Which reminds me of Liberty Bell. . . However, there is that 300 foot serac overhanging part of the top of Willis. That's high enough to jump, and if there's a 200 foot vertical section immediately below that, that's enough to get a wingsuit going if all goes well. And that, in turn, could be a 6000+ foot wingsuit ride. That'd be a world record, I believe, and would translate into almost two MINUTES of flying time on the suit. Anyone been up on Willis and can remember the details of the top 500 feet or so under the serac? Peace, D-d0g

quote: Originally posted by Dru: The Diamond on Bear Mountain is the overhanging 2000 foot headwall above the ice couloir and east of the North Buttress, not some silly 1000 foot wall on some Colorado rubble heap <flips frantically through Beckey. . . > AHA! Page 122. . . "The mountain's North Face has a wide reputation: the direct wall is c. 2,500 ft in height, with the final portion overhanging." BINGO! <wags tail wildly> Peace + love, D-d0g

quote: Originally posted by Dru: Bear North Face, The Diamond, overhanging.... Chief was BASEd jumping off the Prow wall above S gully.... you glide out over the Apron when your chute opens... Whatabout the Crooked River bridge near Smith Rocks? Yes, I believe the Chief has been jumped a number of times. The power lines down at the bottom are an obstacle that prevents anyone from doing a long delay. I wonder if the University Wall (as someone else mentioned) might not be a good jump. Been years since I was up there back before Croft's spectacular line was put up. The Crooked River bridge down by Terrebone has been jumped. Pretty bad landing area, unless you are willing to get wet in the river. Money Face has been jumped, as has Picnic Lunch wall. The Diamond (on Long's Peak, in Colorado) has been jumped numerous times, and looks like a beautiful one with a long canopy ride at the bottom. I think it will be a spectacular wingsuit jump for sure. Peace, D-d0g

quote: Originally posted by slothrop: Do you mean Mt. Baring on Hwy 2 on the way to Stevens Pass? I'm pretty sure access is completely open by now, don't know about snow conditions in the south side gully or anything...? Yep, that's the one. Thanks for the tip! Uh, nice sig. Why do you include your bouldering/jumping resume? Well, if it really were a resume then it would have a long list of not-so-impressive problems and pages and pages of stuff about jumps I've done that nobody would want to read, least of all me. As it is, it's there 'cause it makes me smile to remember those two problems. And my BASE #, well, that was a lifetime dream of mine and it makes me smile too! Besides, I keep my .sig the same wherever I go so in some places it seems appropriate, in others less so. Guess I never did fit in so well anyway. Peace, D-d0g

Merci, et toujours! D-d0g