No Limits

Answer for $200: What is the date and time of the leap into BASE jumping history?

Answer for $400: What object did the 1966 jump take place from?

Answer for $600: Which founding father of modern BASE was inspired to follow up with a first BASE jump of his own from the same object?

Answer for $800: What is a skydiving rig with round parachute?

Answer for $1000: What are the names of the two men that made the historic 1966 jump?

(Insert annoying clock ticking game show tune)

Time is up…

The answer is: Brian Schubert and Michael Pelkey.

Michael Pelkey

Age: 69 Marital Status: Married Children: Two per marriage, two marriages Current Location: Simi Valley, California Hometown: Benton Harbor, Michigan Education: Some college, no formal degree Number of Base jumps: 2 Year of first Jump: 1964 (skydiving) 1966 (1st BASE jump) Container: Military backpack and harness Canopy: 28′ TU modified military + 24′ reserve Profession: Electronics /Electromechanical Design Engineer Number of Skydives: 207 Base Number: Not Applicable

In researching B.A.S.E. history, youâ??ll come across the story of an El Capitan jump circa 1966 and the events that transpired 40 years later with the passing of Brian Schubert at Bridge Day. If you are a regular on the forum you might run across a post by Mike, usually he comments in reply to a friendâ??s post here and there. Or in reading through the articles section youâ??ll come across his telling of â??the jumpâ?.

If Carl and Jean Boenish, Phil Smith, Phil Mayfield, Harrison Brothers, and their European counterparts are considered â??Old Schoolâ?, Mike and Brian are classified in an era of their own. They didn’t pioneer B.A.S.E., or lay claim to founding the sport, but what they did was set off a spark with their fortitude.

I have never been snowboarding before but I cannot deny how amazingly cool snowboarding holidays look. It now seems likely that I will get a chance to prove myself on the slopes this coming April. After watching a few videos on the internet, I concluded that good snowboarders really do look fantastic. Less than good snowboarders however, look injured on hospital stretchers, which then prompted me to look up basic snowboard safety.

This, however, did not mean that I am put-off from the impending experience, through the fear of pain. If you never did anything that scared you occasionally, you would never take part in anything. I am in the mood to be a bit reckless and do something exciting for once and snowboarding holidays are always great for raising the adrenalin.

As with all snowboarding holidays, in order to get the most out of the experience, and indeed to get out of the experience itself in one piece, a healthy knowledge of the dangers and the pitfalls is essential for a safe snowboarding trip, for yourself and your fellow boarders.

I was slightly amused to find out that snowboarding injuries are statistically similar to car accidents, there is a tendency to be more accidents among women but injuries in men are often more severe. It is ‘bump in the car park’ vs. ’70mph head on collision’ gender thinking.

Even if you are a strong skier and it is your first time on a snowboarding holiday, take a lesson or two to begin with. Just because you are a good skier, does not automatically mean you will be a good snowboarder as things like body tension and movement are very different from skiing. This means you will need much time to adjust, it also means the injuries you can sustain vary as well.

Professional skateboarders need more than just a great skateboard to succeed. Equally important is the equipment used by professional skateboarders to keep them safe. Skateboarding looks easy when professionals do it, but it actually can be dangerous and can result in serious injury. Professional skateboarders know that the responsible thing to do is to wear protective gear to keep themselves safe when skateboarding.

The most important body part professional skateboarders worry about protecting is their heads. Head protection needs to properly fitted so that it is able to protect all parts of the head including the front, back and sides. In order to avoid sweating and discomfort, head protection often will contain more padding specifically for this purpose. Any helmet or head protection needs to be able to withstand multiple impacts so that a professional skateboarder can do their whole program of tricks with the most protection possible.

Any good skateboarding helmet should provide protection to your whole head including the back of the head. Many newer helmets are able to absorb some of the impact from a fall which will greatly decrease your chances of being seriously injured. If you don’t have the right protective gear, you may not be able to recover from a fall and may be seriously injured.

Elbow and knee pads are also crucial for professional skateboarders. These pads can keep you from seriously injuring yourself in a fall. For professional skateboarders, a serious injury will put them out of the competition. Professional skateboarders will do whatever it takes to protect themselves from injury while performing – they want to be able to do their best every time. Some may go as far as wearing something like an ankle brace if there doctor tells them it will help support their weight and prevent injury.