Recently-married BASE jumper dies after crashing into mountain: Daredevil made last phone call to his wife pleading for help... but when help arrived 30 minutes later he was dead
Walden Grindle, who married nine months ago, leapt from a peak north of San Francisco called Mount St. Helena on Sunday but collided with the sheer rock face He was able to make one last call to his wife, telling her that he had a broken hip He had previously been hospitalized after a head injury he incurred during a skiing stunt in January 2012By Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press ReporterPUBLISHED: 02:14 GMT, 24 September 2013 | UPDATED: 09:36 GMT, 24 September 2013 A veteran BASE jumper has died after crashing into amountain in California when his stunt went disastrously wrong.Walden Grindle, who married nine months ago, leapt from apeak north of San Francisco on Sunday in an attempt at speed-parachuting. Speed-parachuting differs from BASE jumping as it involves using a parachute to take off from a mountain rather than leaping off a vertical cliff.But Grindle's flight went failed and he collided with sheer rock face.Grindle was able to make one last call to his wife, telling her that he had a broken hip, but when help arrived 30 minutes later he haddied.
Walden Grindle, 35, left, is pictured with his wife, Danielle, on their wedding day
Grindle died after hiking up a mountain with a parachute on Sunday and jumping off the top. Here, he is pictured in a YouTube video posted in 2009 as he is about to go BASE jumping
Base jumper Walden Grindle caught on camera in 2009
Grindle, 35, had also activated an emergency beacon. Authorities were dispatched at 12:40 p.m and they found Grindle dead at about 1:10 p.m.The avid BASE jumper and thrill-seeker had hiked up a fire trail with a parachute on Sunday to the top of Mount St. Helena and jumped off. 'You stand there with your chute open and the wind pulls you up like a kite,' Capt. Tracey Stuart explained. Grindle earned dual degrees from the University of California at Davis in electrical and computer engineering. He was once arrested for jumping off El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He had also previously been hospitalized after a head injury he incurred during a skiing stunt in January 2012. On his Facebook page, he said he was trying a double back flip when he hit his head. About a week later, he had a seizure and went to the hospital, where he stayed for a couple days.
Grindle, left, had previously been hospitalized after a head injury he incurred during a skiing stunt in January 2012. Pictured center is professional snowboarder Travis rice
Grindle, who married nine months ago, leapt from a peak north of San Francisco called Mount St. Helena About a month after the accident, he proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Danielle. They were married in December 2012. According to a website for the couple's wedding, Grindle's hobbies included skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, skydiving, wingsuiting, BASE jumping and speed-flying, many of which he often enjoyed with Danielle. BASE jumpers leap fromhigh places including buildings, cliffs or other perches, and parachutedown. The acronym stands for 'Buildings, Antennas, Spans and Earth.'Grindle also loved to travel, with his most recent destinations including Switzerland, Japan and Alaska.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks