Maggie’s The scariest video I have ever watched

Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

I've hung off HRSG stacks only 150feet high and I could have used my arse-hole as a pencil sharpener, nearly 1800feet is insane. Workplace Health & Safety would go nuts here in Australia with free climbing like that. Even with a fall arrest safety wire, you never see me up there. Hats off to those boys.
 
Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bucksquirelly</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: earthtrekker1775</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: doc76251</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What I want to know is how in the hell do you build a 2000' tower?

Cheers,

Doc</div></div>

Probably with guys like that on top waiting to guide in and bolt on each piece lowered by Helo!
I would love that job, down-climbing at the end of a 12 hour day would SUCK. I would much rather float down under canopy.
I wonder how far it sways from side to side at the top. </div></div>


Climbing down would truly be the shitty part. I've climbed up a radio transmission tower a few times that is only 450 feet high and not only is it kinda scary when you start looking around, it's very physically demanding. Getting the ol' sewing machine leg going when your 450 feet off the ground is crap-your-pants scary enough, I can't imagine it at a couple thousand.

On another note, I've always wondered how in the hell they put in telephone poles on top of ridges that are not accessible by conventional machines. I mean you could set the pole in by helo, but how in the hell do you dig the hole to set it in? </div></div>Usually a couple of men, with really long handled shovels! Never got to use a helicopter to set one either, had to drag it up there with man power.
 
Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

Back in about 1977 or 1978 I was down in Z-hills doing some skydiving. There were some word or mouth stories going around about base jumping including jumping off radio towers. There was a tower this size(about 1800') about 1/2 hour drive from the DZ about smack in the middle of Fla.

So after a night of drinking a buddy and I decided that what the hell, lets go do it. We had all kinds of advice from all kinds of sources. "Take a lunch because it will take over four hours to climb". "Wear your harness in case you fall, that ways you can deploy instantly."etc.,etc. Well I thought that there was no way it could take four hours. I figured 2 hours max. I had my should straps on but leg straps undone to allow for free movement. I figured if I fell inside the tower I'd be bouncing off the bracing steel, inside the tower, all the way to the bottom.

I had my good old reliable "UNIT" canopy for which I packed the slider down at the links. As this was before BASE jumping gear i also had a round reserve in my tandem container.

So at about 0430 I set off up the tower.There was just a low 3' fence around the tower and it was a crystal clear December night with visibility unlimited and a wind under 5 kns. After about 20 minutes I was up about 700' and thought that I better take a rest
in case I "powered out' and was too tired to make it to the top. Well to make a long story short it took about 45 minutes to make it to the top. It was quite easy.

So there i was at 1800' in the pitch dark waiting for dawn so I could jump! But that was actually the neatest part. i could see both coasts in the moonlight. There was a continuous show of aircraft, meteors and other neat sights to see. After about an hour and a half the sun finally showed up. As i didn't want to attract attention I didn't yell to the ground to my friend who was to take pictures of the jump, until I left the tower.

It was fairly light when I checked my pilot chute handle for the 50th time, yelled "yee-ha"(or something like that, it was a long time ago) and off i went.

What was most distinctive about the jump was the guy-wires that support the tower at 120 degree corners of the tower. They were braided 11/2 inch steel cables and were spaced about every 300' down the tower in groups of three. As I accelerated during the about 5 second free-fall the support cables were whizzing by in my peripheral vision.

Out with the pilot chute,..whuff a nice soft instantaneous opening, on heading, off with the brakes, now what about the little clearing in among the 3'-4' scrub brush?

I had time for a 360 turn line up for landing and was on the ground. My friend comes running up, i think more excited than me.
He and another guy jumped of the same tower two days later.

My first and only BASE jump.



 
Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: tuckner</div><div class="ubbcode-body">You would think they would design a rail that your safety line would clip into once that would click as you went up, unclamping only to go to the next section. </div></div>

i always assumed that is how they did it. guess not!
 
Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Phil1</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Back in about 1977 or 1978 I was down in Z-hills doing some skydiving. There were some word or mouth stories going around about base jumping including jumping off radio towers. There was a tower this size(about 1800') about 1/2 hour drive from the DZ about smack in the middle of Fla.

So after a night of drinking a buddy and I decided that what the hell, lets go do it. We had all kinds of advice from all kinds of sources. "Take a lunch because it will take over four hours to climb". "Wear your harness in case you fall, that ways you can deploy instantly."etc.,etc. Well I thought that there was no way it could take four hours. I figured 2 hours max. I had my should straps on but leg straps undone to allow for free movement. I figured if I fell inside the tower I'd be bouncing off the bracing steel, inside the tower, all the way to the bottom.

I had my good old reliable "UNIT" canopy for which I packed the slider down at the links. As this was before BASE jumping gear i also had a round reserve in my tandem container.

So at about 0430 I set off up the tower.There was just a low 3' fence around the tower and it was a crystal clear December night with visibility unlimited and a wind under 5 kns. After about 20 minutes I was up about 700' and thought that I better take a rest
in case I "powered out' and was too tired to make it to the top. Well to make a long story short it took about 45 minutes to make it to the top. It was quite easy.

So there i was at 1800' in the pitch dark waiting for dawn so I could jump! But that was actually the neatest part. i could see both coasts in the moonlight. There was a continuous show of aircraft, meteors and other neat sights to see. After about an hour and a half the sun finally showed up. As i didn't want to attract attention I didn't yell to the ground to my friend who was to take pictures of the jump, until I left the tower.

It was fairly light when I checked my pilot chute handle for the 50th time, yelled "yee-ha"(or something like that, it was a long time ago) and off i went.

What was most distinctive about the jump was the guy-wires that support the tower at 120 degree corners of the tower. They were braided 11/2 inch steel cables and were spaced about every 300' down the tower in groups of three. As I accelerated during the about 5 second free-fall the support cables were whizzing by in my peripheral vision.

Out with the pilot chute,..whuff a nice soft instantaneous opening, on heading, off with the brakes, now what about the little clearing in among the 3'-4' scrub brush?

I had time for a 360 turn line up for landing and was on the ground. My friend comes running up, i think more excited than me.
He and another guy jumped of the same tower two days later.

My first and only BASE jump.



</div></div>

That was a truly amazing story bro.
 
Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Lochem158</div><div class="ubbcode-body">one big gust of wind and... ouch! I wonder how long the fall is ? </div></div>

1800 feet, fall would be aprox. just shy of 10 seconds.

1800 feet is just shy of 1/3 of a mile, the average terminal velocity for an adult is 120 miles hour, i.e. 1 mile in 30 seconds, hence a time of about 10 seconds.

Or I could be way off, math was never my strong point.
 
Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

Insane when watching a vid can make your feet tingle. I am an electrician and I am very afraid of heights for some reason. Anything over 8' and I start the tingle feet. Was offered a job working on turbines if I could climb up to the top and get in the nose. Needless to say I don't have that job. I stayed on the ground crew doing the distribution.
 
Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 19Scout77</div><div class="ubbcode-body">He forgot his rifle! </div></div>
exactly!
 
Re: The scariest video I have ever watched

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Phil1</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Back in about 1977 or 1978 I was down in Z-hills doing some skydiving. There were some word or mouth stories going around about base jumping including jumping off radio towers. There was a tower this size(about 1800') about 1/2 hour drive from the DZ about smack in the middle of Fla.

So after a night of drinking a buddy and I decided that what the hell, lets go do it. We had all kinds of advice from all kinds of sources. "Take a lunch because it will take over four hours to climb". "Wear your harness in case you fall, that ways you can deploy instantly."etc.,etc. Well I thought that there was no way it could take four hours. I figured 2 hours max. I had my should straps on but leg straps undone to allow for free movement. I figured if I fell inside the tower I'd be bouncing off the bracing steel, inside the tower, all the way to the bottom.

I had my good old reliable "UNIT" canopy for which I packed the slider down at the links. As this was before BASE jumping gear i also had a round reserve in my tandem container.

So at about 0430 I set off up the tower.There was just a low 3' fence around the tower and it was a crystal clear December night with visibility unlimited and a wind under 5 kns. After about 20 minutes I was up about 700' and thought that I better take a rest
in case I "powered out' and was too tired to make it to the top. Well to make a long story short it took about 45 minutes to make it to the top. It was quite easy.

So there i was at 1800' in the pitch dark waiting for dawn so I could jump! But that was actually the neatest part. i could see both coasts in the moonlight. There was a continuous show of aircraft, meteors and other neat sights to see. After about an hour and a half the sun finally showed up. As i didn't want to attract attention I didn't yell to the ground to my friend who was to take pictures of the jump, until I left the tower.

It was fairly light when I checked my pilot chute handle for the 50th time, yelled "yee-ha"(or something like that, it was a long time ago) and off i went.

What was most distinctive about the jump was the guy-wires that support the tower at 120 degree corners of the tower. They were braided 11/2 inch steel cables and were spaced about every 300' down the tower in groups of three. As I accelerated during the about 5 second free-fall the support cables were whizzing by in my peripheral vision.

Out with the pilot chute,..whuff a nice soft instantaneous opening, on heading, off with the brakes, now what about the little clearing in among the 3'-4' scrub brush?

I had time for a 360 turn line up for landing and was on the ground. My friend comes running up, i think more excited than me.
He and another guy jumped of the same tower two days later.

My first and only BASE jump.



</div></div>
and then a little leprechaun came out and showed me where a secret tunnel was that led to a cave filled with swedish cheerleaders. and then........if you really did this, sorry ..and much respect.but i just cant help doubting..just sayin