Herrrooo from AK!!

Tailgate Alaska 2013; 5 epic days of Speedflying/Skiing/Sled mountaineering from Pryce Brown on Vimeo.

Jeepers guys, thanks! I've found a home!!

@Fluttershy, ummm, yeeeah. I did what's appropriately called a "Death Camp" and hucked my meat with no prior Skydiving experience. Not recommended. There are several different schools of thought on this, and the discussion goes for ages. In my defense, sub-terminal freefall (BASE) has an entirely different skillset that terminal jumping out of planes. Much more focus on body positioning at exit and meticulous packing (you've only got 1 shot). That being said, many of the skydiving skills cross over. Canopy time of some sort is a must. I had a ton of time flying speedwings and paragliders of various types/sizes, and knew these dumb seven cell BASE rigs wouldn't be a problem. I had a good buddy with tons of BASE eperience willing to show me how to pack and do a PCA (Pilot Chute Assist) for me, so most of my opportunities to screw up outside of the actual canopy flight were minimized. Pretty much any meat missle with the slightest bit of aerial awareness can PCA off a bridge. Keeping that canopy controlled and making a safe landing (i.e. not smashing into cliffs, rocks, trees) is an entirely new ball game. Since then, I've stepped back and started skydiving and learned a TON that will help my re-entry into BASE this winter. Doing PCAs are fun, but will not develop the skills I need for more advanced BASE (Ski BASE, wingsuit, ect) that I ultimately plan on doing. In short, I'd recommend getting a bunch of skydives first. Skydiving is super fun and accessible, and really not all that expensive if you're used to blowing your savings on passions. Besides, pretty much no BASE First Jump Instructor is going to touch you without skydiving experience. Death Camping is generally a bad idea, and injuries/fatalities at the bridge bring a BASE ban one step closer and ruin the fun for everyone.

If you're not ready for the long journey of getting into BASE, try Speedflying! It's wicked fun and way cheaper. I've had multiple proximity wingsuiters tell me that Speedflying is the best fun:effort:$$ ratio that can be had. I'd tend to agree. BASE is a dark art in which one will ultimately lose friends.

Haha, yeah, don't live in AK for the urban. Fairbanks is pretty isolated from good riding. I find myself making the 7 hour drive to Thompson Pass and back for weekend trips, probably why I didn't do so well last semester and blew all of my money. Was thinking about moving to Anchorage for next winter to be closer to good riding/flying, but UAA's program sucks and I'm having problems finding cheap housing where I can park the toys. Might have to tough it out up here until I graduate next year.

Speaking of, I'm instructing speedflying if anyone in AK wants to learn. See my thread in the AK section.