SUPER FREAK FESTIVAL 5-6-7 january

[alkatrope]

A great festival.

[ThunderIdeal]

Surely there is nothing environmentally friendly or responsible about base jumping from a helicopter and most of the punters probably couldn't give a shit about the show.

a bit late but i wanted to post my .2 pesos on this matter, and some other things.

i saw this guy smashing into a car just after his chute opened from about 50 metres, and was nearby when the look on everybodies face changed (when he was definitely dead). my head was pretty straight at the time, i feel sorry for anybody who saw that on a head full of tryptamines, but i still have to say that watching those base jumps was quite a spectacular addition to an already fantastic gig.

facts: the base jumping was not advertised, it came as a complete surprise (i think mesq mentioned this - looking forward to your set at innersight mesq).

just try to picture this.. you are sitting at your base camp trying to cope with a bunch of acid you think maybe you shouldn't have taken, when somebody starts screaming and clawing and pointing to the sky. you look up and a red man seems to be spiralling around like he doesn't know where he's going.. he approaches the earth so fast that you actually think he's a goner, then at the last moment he propels himself forwards and hits the dirt running really fast, and you realise he was never in trouble he was just putting on a great show that nearly made your head implode. i'm glad this jumper went first because he was one amazing lunatic. i don't think the rest of them really came close to beating his performance, but they were still good to watch.

yes, somebody died, but you've gotta factor into consideration that this person died doing something he loved.. he was flown to this country specifically to perform a dangerous jump in front of lots of people. from what i gather, it was an unfortunate case of (his own) human error and while helicopter jumps are illegal in this country (they can't reach the altitude required for skydiving), he was a pro who obviously knew what dangers were involved and agreed to take the risk.

the owner was flying the chopper, and the base jumpers were all experienced experts who must have obviously chosen to do the jump. to my knowledge all six jumps (from three seperate chopper lifts) were different experts from around the world.

one negative comment i do have is that the landing area was not particularly large, and around the outside of the fenced area were cars, stalls and camps. my personal judgment of his velocity is that if he hadn't slammed into a hatchback, he may have miraculously survived, but that's probably a stupid judgment.

the gorge has been sold. there will be no more super-doofs at the gorge, and this is a crying shame. however, rover park (location of earth freq) may be the new alternative and while it isn't as large it is very comfortable and i hope that rover park has open ears for future doofs.

[AndyAmine.]

Thanks for the post, you make some interestng comments.

yes, somebody died, but you've gotta factor into consideration that this person died doing something he loved.. he was flown to this country specifically to perform a dangerous jump in front of lots of people. from what i gather, it was an unfortunate case of (his own) human error and while helicopter jumps are illegal in this country (they can't reach the altitude required for skydiving), he was a pro who obviously knew what dangers were involved and agreed to take the risk.

Sure, this guy died doing what he loved and I have no issues with that as I am also a skydiver (soon to be paraglider) but did the audiance deserve to be exposed to this without prior consent, they were dance/electronic music fans not skydiving/base-jumping fans?

I dont think too many people are concerend with the out come of the jumper more the outcome of the willing and unwilling spectators.

Do you know if there has been any effort made to provide counciling or other forms of help to those exposed to the event?

[ThunderIdeal]

i can't say for sure bloke, honestly it didn't affect me very much. what i can say is that there was a first aid tent, plenty of compassionate people, and the copperdogs and ambos hung around for a good number of hours. if there was any proper, professional counselling it probably took a while to arrive.

for the record i'm not completely disagreeing with you or torsten, it's just my personal opinion that witnessing the jumps was thoroughly awesome, to me it outweighs witnessing the unfortunate accident. you have a good point, in terms of some people being deeply disturbed by it, and i guess you'll be somewhat vindicated by the fact that the person at fault has lost his property. the shitty thing is that we can't enjoy that magnificent site ever again. bat caves and all.

anyway, this really had nothing to do with the organisers. i'm sure they were informed but they couldn't have stopped it if they wanted to. it was between the jumpers and the pilot/property owner. at the very least he had to replace somebodies early 80's model hatchback. perhaps he's been sued for emotional distress? my guess is he owes a lot of money in fines for breaking the law.

maybe you are right and there should have been a serious effort to inform people of what was going to happen, but i'll say once more it's unfair to implicate the organisers.