First off I want to make sure everyone that helped on the cliff or just offered a smile in the days following that I did not mention in my thank you before, THANK YOU. It meant so much to me.
Its long but you got through the replies so here's my story.
Ok, I had arrived in Moab the day before and made two jumps at the competition site with my own gear and fresh pack jobs. The latter jump was at 1:30am. I went to the new cliff in the morning unpacked. After much frustration of following someone, whom received bad directions, on over an hour's worth of detour, we found we had already been through and stopped right next to the site.
After all this, being the jump hungry person I am I was anxious to jump. After hooking up with those already making use of the site I was presented with two packed team rigs. These were team rigs I would be asked to fly in the competition the next day. The only time I had ever jumped someone else's pack job was on my second base jump. Since then I had made over sixty jumps of which I had packed for every one of them and used my own rigs.
Back to the team rigs. I was unfamiliar with this gear and wanted to jump it a couple times before my landings were to be judged. I wasn't worried about the openings as I have a similar though older Mojo myself and I've never had a problem with it. I watched the owner pack one of these rigs and was confident it would open close to on heading, factors other than the pack job aside. When handed the rigs I said to the owner something along the lines of,"Two free jumps and I don't even need to pack!" He nodded and smiled as he handed me the first rig. He started to put the second rig back in the car and I asked him if he was still going to leave it. He agreed and I set it aside and covered it up next to my rig. I pulled the pilot chute out and questioned him on the size as it seemed a bit small. He assured me it was a 42" ZP and both rigs were slider down. After waving goodbye to him I peeled the shrivel flap off about half way and checked the tail pocket and slider. Satisfied, I closed it up checked the bridle on the shrivel flap for freedom of travel. I checked the connection of the shrivel flap to the canopy and checked the bridle attachment. I waited another hour for the person I arrived with who was waiting for Mick to finish his interview. I was anxious to jump but I wanted to wait for him as it is more fun to jump with friends than by ones self.
Finally, it was time to go. I donned my camera and hiked out with the others. At the exit pt. I checked my pilotchute and someone volunteered a gear check. I turned on my camera and was waiting for someone to wave before I exited as I have a color monitor on my helmet instead of a sighted monacle. Finally, I got some response out of the people I was filming behind me and ran off. Everything went perfect! I did about a second and a half delay and had an awesome canopy ride. Ten minutes later I was at the top again with the second team rig in hand and giving it a quick once over. I checked the connection from the shrivel flap to the canopy and retucked it away but did not open it up any further to check the actual pack job. The pilot chute was packed with the bridle forming a handle and the bridle velcro mated to the rig and yes it was attached. On the outside, cosmetically, it looked excellent. No bulges or sags. It "LOOKED" very jumpable. While I am not a follower of looks over functionality, in this case, having just jumped the rig's identical twin without a problem, I made an assumption. This was the mistake. At work and in previous jumps, my making an assumption won't cut it. For some unknown reason I had "jumpitis" so bad I made my first assumption to go on appearances and rush off a cliff.
I put the rig on my back walked to the exit pt. with nothing but confidence.
I put on my half shell and pads. Pulled out my pilot chute tucked the folded bridle into my cupped hand, folded the pc on top of it, rapped my fingers around the clump and stretched my arm out above my head (the normal base jumper's pose).
I walked right past the crowd of about twenty people playing with there pilot chutes trying to make the whole exit area into a mass social gathering platform. No one was jumping. The punk had just gone a few seconds ago and as I looked over the edge I could see him flying over the talis. I stepped back and waited for him to land. I checked out my pilot chute again and someone realizing I wasn't on a cliff to stand around and b.s. offered me a gear check. The rig passed of course because cosmetically it was sweet and the pieces all matched any other funtional rig. By external appearances, that is without disassembly, it was golden.
I looked back at Mick and the others of the crowd I was with, said cya with an enormous smile, turned and ran off the cliff. I took a 1 1/2 or 2 and tossed. I could feel the velcro pop off and the canopy lift away. The pilot chute was enough to place me up right as I tried to kick out of the line twist and pull the slider down with the toggles as I was thinking I was given a slider up rig with linetwists to the mistake of the lender. The image before my eyes the couple seconds I looked up was lines slightly interwoven as they twisted up to the canopy which looked from my position to be no more the size and even the shape of, as the punk put it in another posting, than a 52" pilot chute. None of it was inflated but maybe two cells worth bowing to provide my rapid descent with a small bit of drag. I was spinning counter-clockwise and went through a complete rotation before hitting. I continued to pull my risers apart and pull down on the toggles as I looked down and my eyes flooded with the most extreme and scariest groundrush I hope I never see again. I've freefallen objects over water around 160' and never have I been so afraid. The ground was clear as it rushed up at me between 60 and 80 miles per hour. I recall very distinctly the landing area below as I approached. I may have only seen it for two seconds or less but I cannot forget it. Directly below me was friendly looking sand and what I found to be loose dirt with greater than 45 degrees of slope. To my left and right and the objects that filled me with the most fear were the boulders not more than a few feet to my left and right. These rocks the size of cars appeared to be hurled at me like fast balls out of some enormous pitcher's hand from his mound. This is all I remember for as the boulders reached knee high I blacked out only a foot or two before impact.
By witness account, I bounced and slid down about sixty feet of 450' tallis striking numerous rocks being flung from each like a rag doll until I came to rest face down on another of these rocks bleeding from my forehead.
One person drove to town to call air rescue as cell phones could not reach a tower in this area. I don't remember seeing anything from this point until I had been in the hospital for a couple hours and I remember little else by way of specifics during this time also. Although, I can remember Joe W. and Anne H. I even think The Punk asked me if I was all right. These first responders of the base community were probably more capable of a self rescue than any others but moved me little becuase as did I they thought I had broken legs, back, neck and possibly a fractured skull and chose to wait for the helicopter. I vaguely recall throwing up on someone and the vibrations of the helicopter rotors through the talis, the back board and to my back as it approached but it was a very welcome pain. I remember while on the helicopter the vibrations through the back board were also very painful. Another thing I remember in the helicopter was when the EMT's tried repeatedly to spray the sand out of my eyes so I could open them. A very lengthy process but, eventually, a while after arriving in the hospital they were successful. Lastly, as you are probably getting tired with me, I remember much restriction to my breathing because the back board straps across my chest and my neck were so tight. I found this unusual the strap over my neck brace being so tight. Anyways, this is what I recall. Its long I know but it is filled with the details I can recall and I wanted to share them all.
Please, learn from this. I don't think anyone including me could survive this again. Please check your gear! Open it up and look at it. Pack it again if its set a while. Many have said this couldn't happen to them. It can! And most of all if you have pads wear them!!! If you don't, get them before you approach another object. I didn't think I needed them but wore them anyway. My doctor told me with out my knee pads I would not have a right knee cap and showed me the damage. He told me without my elbow pad I would have crushed my right elbow and showed me the damage. He also told me without my helmet I wouldn't have a I life. I had thirty-one stitches removed from my forehead yesterday and can still feel the effects of my major concussion. If you could see the damage to my helmet and scars on my face you would never go unprotected on a jump again. I pray you don't need these reminders presented to you in the clean up of one of your mistakes to learn your lessons. Hopefully, this posting will be enough and I can jump safely with each of you in the future. I was lucky I am alive, I can thank those who helped me and I am able to hug my fiance again.
Take care,
CYA
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