guest
November 19th, 1999, 07:28 PM
This story will have for some readers a taste of deja vu, but I hope it will contribute to clear a lot of points about the failure of the Dream-Up Expedition to Angel Falls of 1999.
My name is Francois LIOT. I do BASE Jumping, and like every BASE Jumper for me Angel Falls is an incredible mythic spot. Then in July 98, I gone to Venezuela, I was ready to spent two weeks to jump Angel Falls without any kind of organization. I realized very quickly that there was only one helicopter renter 600 Km around Angel Falls. This Helicopter renter is an affiliated unit of the national Helicopter Company. The name of this guy is Raoul.
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From Caracas, by bus I gone to the South of Venezuela. I gone to Roraima (nearly on the road, and only one walking day), and did 1 jump there (it's the same shape than Angel Falls but only 400 meters high). After, I reached the village of the main heli-station of Raoul, Santa Elenna, I meet him. I explained him my intentions to manage a low cost expedition to Angel Falls (indeed I know little bit Latin America, and I know that the usual price to jump from Angel Falls is incredibly out of proportion). Like me, he said this idea was really easily realizable. We managed some dates. We have a lot of very friendly conversations with him. I did skydive from his helicopter over the city (with his own rig) for free. He was really friendly.
As he promised, a day he was working in the area, he brought me for free to the top of Angel Falls. I slept on the top, as he asked me to be sure that people would not be able to make a link between the helicopter and the jump. The following morning I did an incredible jump that I will never forgive of my life. Then I reached by my own the tourist village of Canaima, and leave the Venezuela.
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In October 98, French friends asked me if it was possible to jump over Angel Falls, to land on the top, and to jump again. I told them that yes, there is indeed a large part of "grass" really easy to land on the top, not really far from the cliff and one of the exit points is pretty easy to find.
They did it in November. But unfortunately something that very few people could expect happened. After landing, because they didn't know the "tourist way" to find a boat to go back to civilization, they walked along the river. Then they arrived to a camp. The helicopter renter uses this camp, as a station, to wait the good weather with client jumpers. When French Friends arrived in saying they had jumped, the helicopter renter was really in trouble with his clients who didn't jump because of the bad weather. Then the helicopter renter denounced the friend jumpers to local authorities (indeed if you don't corrupt the local authorities, BASE Jump from Angel Falls is not really legal, for information the National Park Authorities (the only official institution autorized to do it) have gave the last authorization of jumping in March 82…). Then the jumpers were caught by police, the gears were confiscated and they needed the support of the French Ambassador to save the rigs one week later…
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One week and half, before leaving for the February expedition, Raoul sent me a message to tell me that the helicopter he wanted to use for the expedition fallen and have great damages, because of an engine failure. I asked him if he could have an other one, and he sent me new prices. It was completely out of sense, new price to be effective, reached the price of the expedition up to $5000. Then I decided to cancel the expedition.
Because people have locked their holidays, I proposed them to come in Italy to do some big walls. Yuri, who was more a guide than a tourist, Michael and Jeb came. We did some funny jumps there. At the end of this BASE week, when Yuri and Michael have already left, Jeb asked me if I think if the money he had reserved for the expedition, could be enough for both of us to go there and to do a single jump (in jumping from plane as my friends did in February). And it was.
Then 2 days after we were flying to Caracas. We reached Canaima, we rented a "taxi" plane, jumped from it, jumped from Angel Falls, and came back to civilization.
But, we were very surprised after our jump from Angel Falls, to see an Helicopter in the same valley… Until now, I still don't know if it was an helicopter of Raoul or not.
-------------
The following week, I received E-mails from Slim, who explained me his story that you probably have already read (he was there one week before the expedition, after learning canceling, he gone and saw the helicopter renter, who brought him for free and really friendly to Angel Falls, and as I did, he jumped the following morning).
-------------
Then what is the conclusion ?
Personally, except the fact the Helicopter renter wasn't really honest with me (or with Slim in the explanations he gave) I don't know. I think (pure supposition) that some people use Angel Falls as their private "commercial business", and are not ready to share this business. I think the same people are ready to do all what they can do, to be sure that the price of one jump in Angel Falls, will continue to be incredibly lucrative. The only clear conclusion is, that I spent personally a lot of money in this failure, between renting of camping equipment and food (and as you can imagine, Venezuelan dealers are not the best people to get money back), and now even if I live in Colombia from 2 months and if this failure happened 10 months ago, I still have to work to continue to pay this failure.
Then it was clearly not a good deal for me, for the helicopter renter (who didn't touch any money) and for the participants who were incredibly disappointed.
A big failure….
PS: Even if Angel Falls is possible without organization, take care if you try to do it. Worst than get a ticket by local authorities because you don't corrupt the good person, you can have bad and dangerous surprises with the absence of trials, with the jungle and with the weather. Then if you really expect to do it, don't hesitate to ask information.
My name is Francois LIOT. I do BASE Jumping, and like every BASE Jumper for me Angel Falls is an incredible mythic spot. Then in July 98, I gone to Venezuela, I was ready to spent two weeks to jump Angel Falls without any kind of organization. I realized very quickly that there was only one helicopter renter 600 Km around Angel Falls. This Helicopter renter is an affiliated unit of the national Helicopter Company. The name of this guy is Raoul.
-----------------
From Caracas, by bus I gone to the South of Venezuela. I gone to Roraima (nearly on the road, and only one walking day), and did 1 jump there (it's the same shape than Angel Falls but only 400 meters high). After, I reached the village of the main heli-station of Raoul, Santa Elenna, I meet him. I explained him my intentions to manage a low cost expedition to Angel Falls (indeed I know little bit Latin America, and I know that the usual price to jump from Angel Falls is incredibly out of proportion). Like me, he said this idea was really easily realizable. We managed some dates. We have a lot of very friendly conversations with him. I did skydive from his helicopter over the city (with his own rig) for free. He was really friendly.
As he promised, a day he was working in the area, he brought me for free to the top of Angel Falls. I slept on the top, as he asked me to be sure that people would not be able to make a link between the helicopter and the jump. The following morning I did an incredible jump that I will never forgive of my life. Then I reached by my own the tourist village of Canaima, and leave the Venezuela.
---------------
In October 98, French friends asked me if it was possible to jump over Angel Falls, to land on the top, and to jump again. I told them that yes, there is indeed a large part of "grass" really easy to land on the top, not really far from the cliff and one of the exit points is pretty easy to find.
They did it in November. But unfortunately something that very few people could expect happened. After landing, because they didn't know the "tourist way" to find a boat to go back to civilization, they walked along the river. Then they arrived to a camp. The helicopter renter uses this camp, as a station, to wait the good weather with client jumpers. When French Friends arrived in saying they had jumped, the helicopter renter was really in trouble with his clients who didn't jump because of the bad weather. Then the helicopter renter denounced the friend jumpers to local authorities (indeed if you don't corrupt the local authorities, BASE Jump from Angel Falls is not really legal, for information the National Park Authorities (the only official institution autorized to do it) have gave the last authorization of jumping in March 82…). Then the jumpers were caught by police, the gears were confiscated and they needed the support of the French Ambassador to save the rigs one week later…
-------------
One week and half, before leaving for the February expedition, Raoul sent me a message to tell me that the helicopter he wanted to use for the expedition fallen and have great damages, because of an engine failure. I asked him if he could have an other one, and he sent me new prices. It was completely out of sense, new price to be effective, reached the price of the expedition up to $5000. Then I decided to cancel the expedition.
Because people have locked their holidays, I proposed them to come in Italy to do some big walls. Yuri, who was more a guide than a tourist, Michael and Jeb came. We did some funny jumps there. At the end of this BASE week, when Yuri and Michael have already left, Jeb asked me if I think if the money he had reserved for the expedition, could be enough for both of us to go there and to do a single jump (in jumping from plane as my friends did in February). And it was.
Then 2 days after we were flying to Caracas. We reached Canaima, we rented a "taxi" plane, jumped from it, jumped from Angel Falls, and came back to civilization.
But, we were very surprised after our jump from Angel Falls, to see an Helicopter in the same valley… Until now, I still don't know if it was an helicopter of Raoul or not.
-------------
The following week, I received E-mails from Slim, who explained me his story that you probably have already read (he was there one week before the expedition, after learning canceling, he gone and saw the helicopter renter, who brought him for free and really friendly to Angel Falls, and as I did, he jumped the following morning).
-------------
Then what is the conclusion ?
Personally, except the fact the Helicopter renter wasn't really honest with me (or with Slim in the explanations he gave) I don't know. I think (pure supposition) that some people use Angel Falls as their private "commercial business", and are not ready to share this business. I think the same people are ready to do all what they can do, to be sure that the price of one jump in Angel Falls, will continue to be incredibly lucrative. The only clear conclusion is, that I spent personally a lot of money in this failure, between renting of camping equipment and food (and as you can imagine, Venezuelan dealers are not the best people to get money back), and now even if I live in Colombia from 2 months and if this failure happened 10 months ago, I still have to work to continue to pay this failure.
Then it was clearly not a good deal for me, for the helicopter renter (who didn't touch any money) and for the participants who were incredibly disappointed.
A big failure….
PS: Even if Angel Falls is possible without organization, take care if you try to do it. Worst than get a ticket by local authorities because you don't corrupt the good person, you can have bad and dangerous surprises with the absence of trials, with the jungle and with the weather. Then if you really expect to do it, don't hesitate to ask information.