Earl Redfern wrote an extremely good article on dealing with crosswind situations on low cliffs, especially Moab.

........and the self-evaluation process. I have made some observations
in the last few months. After careful consideration of my
observations, coupled with high quality digital video of many jumps, I
have a few opinions I would like to put up for discussion. During
canopy openings in any appreciable amount of wind I have noticed that
as long as the lines are in order and straight, the pack job does not
have nearly as great an effect on the direction or quality of the
opening as the wind. On every occasion where there was more than a 90
degree off heading opening, wind seemed to be the main controlling
factor. All changes in heading occurred immediately after the canopy
left the container and before line stretch at the locking
stow. Consider that this is the time of initial pressurization and
that the canopy is particularly susceptible to wind-induced turn. My
conclusion to this is that since we do not, at this time have a gear
related solution to this, we will always have wind-induced off
-heading openings. WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE OFF-HEADING OPENINGS ! Your
canopy is at some point going to open at 180 degrees and you will need
to turn it before you hit the wall. Let's discuss the factors involved
in turning the canopy. My observations and personal experience with
several wind-induced off heading openings has been that a lightly
wing-loaded canopy with anywhere near a 180 and wind on the tail can
not turn effectively and consistently with riser input only. Only the
toggles and, if 180, the proper direction of turn (into the wind) will
work. If the jumper wastes time in an attempt to turn the canopy with
the risers, then the toggles are not an option and the jumper WILL
STRIKE THE WALL if there is any wind on the tail. And now a brief
discussion of wind and rotors is in order: whenever you have wind you
are going to have rotors created by the objects that you are jumping
from. There are many rock fingers in Moab and the bottoms of the
canyons are filled with talus. Wind on rocks creates rotors and the
slope of the talus coupled with the thermal effects cause the winds to
rise at angles to the rocks. If the wind is coming from your left and
you have as much as a 20 left, the canopy will have a tendency to turn
into the wind. If the wind that induced this left turn is part of a
rotor, the canopy will most likely turn left to 180 or more. At this
point, if there is also laminar (straight) wind from behind, you will
be pinned against the wall and any further attempt to turn with risers
will result in a turn accompanied by a collapse of the side now facing
the wall and the jumper hitting the wall again and again. It is
therefore my opinion that in even light wind, immediate toggle input
is indicated. Turn into the wind by burying the toggle on the side
you want to turn towards and slowly release the opposite toggle until
the turn is completing. Then confront the wind with toggles full up
and front risers pulled down if necessary (usually not).

Speaking of toggles. I have seen several ideas and designs. I feel
that all the ones I have seen are basically OK if the person is clued
in on how to stow them properly. I saw one person who didn't know how
to stow their toggles blame someone else when they lost both toggles
on opening and almost had a serious problem. My advice to everyone is
to learn as much as you can about your equipment. It's there to save
your life. This is not a game and this is not the drop zone.

Now some advise for low timers and their instructors. More ground
school please. If you want to BASE jump, buy your own gear and don't
jump junk. . Learn your gear. Talk to the manufacturers. Read the
manuals. Do not depend on others. They can't hold your hand in
freefall. This is not AFF ! When you jump, you are alone. You must be
SURE that you can deal with anything that happens after opening. Your
accuracy needs to be top notch.

Let's discuss the exit. Body position is very important at
opening. You need to do everything possible to get a good launch. Run
if you can. It's not so important what position you use as long as
you are getting yourself as far as possible away from the wall. There
is great benefit in getting a clean exit and in getting as far away
from the rock as possible. That makes it more likely that you will
have an on-heading opening and that if you don't, you'll be a little
farther away from the wall and have more time to turn away. Taking the
longest possible delay (within reason) has multiple benefits. It gets
you farther away; it increases your speed, which makes for better
openings with less potential for wind-induced off-heading openings.
And it's more fun. Remember, rocks are usually very unforgiving.

Concerning landing; if possible, check out the landing area. Put a
wind drift indicator out. Check for rocks. Check for alternate
landing areas closer to exit in case of a short glide caused by
problems or delays. Let a more experienced jumper go first and give
you some help on a radio if possible. Learn from other people's
mishaps and avoid having your own if possible. New BASE jumpers
should realize that YOU ARE NOT AT THE DROP ZONE. You are in hostile
territory and unless you are sure of your landing area and your
skills, you will be considerably more likely to get hurt. Almost all
the injuries I have seen in Moab are the result of a poorly planned or
poorly executed landing. Full body armor is in order unless you are
really sure of your landings. And even then, lineovers, off-heading
openings and other things will occur and put you into a bad landing
area occasionally. Plan for the worst. Learn to think under canopy
and do the smart thing without delay. Build your canopy skills by
skydiving your BASE canopy, even if you have to buy a separate TSO'ed
container to use your BASE canopy at the local DZ. Talk to hang
glider pilots and paraglider pilots to learn about wind and
rotors. Read all you can about hang gliding and paragliding from
cliffs and in wind. These groups have been doing their thing a long
time and have learned a lot; most of it the hard way with injuries and
fatalities. I would like to close by reminding everyone to ask
yourself before every jump "am I ready for this site in these
conditions?" Are you in control of your destiny? If you are not sure
about a jump, don't jump. Go somewhere safe and easy until you get
better. Think for yourself. Think about the details. STAY ALIVE -
DON'T GET HURT.

Earl Redfern