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couchmaster
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 16, 2009 - 06:28pm PT
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This is total bullsh#t. Same as banning base jumping in Yos.
http://azdailysun.com/articles/2009/07/16/news/20090716_front_199996.txt
Pair sentenced for jump at Grand Canyon
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Two California men were federally sentenced to pay fines and satisfy other requirements in connection with a parachute jumping incident at Grand Canyon National Park.
According to information from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, Christopher C. McNamara, 30, of Marin County, Calif., pleaded guilty to illegally jumping in the Canyon while on a November 2007 river trip. The practice is known as BASE jumping, which stands for jumping from fixed objects such as buildings, antennas, spans or earth with a parachute.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark E. Aspey ordered McNamara to pay a $5,000 fine to be dedicated to protection resource monitoring in the Canyon. McNamara must also serve one year of probation and may only enter Yosemite National Park because of the civic work he does there.
Jonathon Rich, 33, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., pleaded guilty to violating the terms and conditions of his commercial filming river permit because he failed to report McNamara's BASE jump.
He must pay $1,000 in fines to be used for the Canyon's resource protection program. If he uses his work to promote Leave No Trace education and denounce illegal BASE jumping, the charge against him will be dropped.
Rich and McNamara had been on a river rafting trip to film a documentary about river rafting and rock climbing. Rich did not film the BASE jump.
In a prepared statement, Park Superintendent Steve Martin said, "BASE jumping is inherently dangerous; but that's only part of why it's prohibited in the park. BASE jumping here, where the terrain is so intensely rugged and the nearest help can be hours away, increases the inherent risks exponentially, and it puts park rescue personnel resources at risk."
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:31pm PT
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Major Bummer!
Hang in there Chris. Geez, times be hard...
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Anastasia
climber
Not here
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:34pm PT
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What?
Sending him my support!
AF
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Redwreck
Social climber
Echo Parque, Los Angeles, CA
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:34pm PT
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Damn, that's harsh.
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:36pm PT
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So which Park Personnel were *put at risk* here?
Do these "victims" have names? Or do they exist only in The Government's imagination?
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:37pm PT
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if ya can't do the time...
pretty sure he jumped with his eyes open.
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Matt
Trad climber
primordial soup
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:42pm PT
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ya know, i am not necessarily supporting rules, but fvch chaz, how is it that you are just (always?) such a damn dope?
(maybe you few self-labeled liberaterians, those who fancy yerselves to be all about personal liberty, but are in fact anti-government in all cases, might want to sign a waiver against EVER needing or accepting ANY government provided or funded help of any kind, at any time in your life? thanks in advance...)
OBVIOUSLY, the statement is in reference to the risks tp persons who may be called upon to perform a rescue and/or extraction in the event there might be an accident, and everyone knows that in BASE they are quite common.
no silly crocodile tears-
go do whatever you want, where ever you may want, but be aware that if it's illegal and you get caught, there will be consequences. doesn't seem like much more than a slap on the wrist, to be honest. i bet Cmac would agree- just a user fee really, when divided by the # of illegal jumps which carry no fine or consequence...
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:46pm PT
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I think the point is that it's a bogus/BS excuse. The NPS runs the same "risk" for anyone who enters the park to hike, MTB, Raft, etc...
Major Bummer, Chris. Sorry, dude.
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MisterE
Trad climber
One Step Beyond!
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:46pm PT
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Wow, that sucks - at least he can still get into Yosemite!
Banned from other Federal Parks, I presume.
Pretty harsh - but you has your illegal fun, you pays the price if you caught...
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:47pm PT
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Unless there were *park personnel* directly between Cmac and the deck, Cmac put absolutely no one *at risk*.
Park spokes-fool was making up what-ifs that have nothing to do with the crime.
Same type of hysteria that is used to support the *war on drugs*. No surprise Matt goes along with it.
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:48pm PT
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I wonder who the tattle-tell was? Who narced on him?
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Matt
Trad climber
primordial soup
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:48pm PT
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"The NPS runs the same "risk" for anyone who enters the park to hike, MTB, Raft, etc..."
risk is simply not equal for individuals who engage in activities that are demonstrably statistically more dangerous than other activities. that statement is absurd.
khanom-
he wasn't climbing, he was BASE jumping
some of you drks sound like little kids-
"who told on him!?"
"there was no risk!"
"what a jip"
"skateboarding is not a crime"
"anarchy lives"
do what you want to do.
understand the consequences before you choose.
them man up.
i don't hear him whining, just you fools.
(now i remember why i have been scarce around here- so many dumbarse jingos all the time. have at it chaz- and whilst yer at it, reject all the stimulus $ and get yer county to ask mexico to annex ya'll, since you hate america so badly.)
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:55pm PT
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Bullsh#t, Matt. You're said they are implying the "risk" to be in the case of a rescue or extraction. SAR personnel take the same risk to rescue someone who has an MTB accident, climbing accident, etc. as they do for someone who jumps.
The amount of risk the individual takes to get to the point of extraction/rescue is inconsequential to the risk of the actual rescue/extraction. The side of a cliff or bottom of a canyon hours out is the side of a cliff or bottom of a canyon, no matter how the person got there.
edit: Point is, BASE is being singled out from other activities, in which a search or rescue would carry the same risks to personnel. Nothing new.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:55pm PT
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It may be that more information is needed before jumping (so to speak) to conclusions. Clearly there was a witness, or more than one, and no real defence.
Whether the law itself is unjust or unnecessary is a separate issue.
Ready-fire-aim.
Edit: Naturally, I sympathize with Chris. But I'm sure he knew the risks of what he was getting into, and decided accordingly.
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Matt
Trad climber
primordial soup
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Jul 16, 2009 - 06:59pm PT
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wrong randy- way wrong.
likelihood of injury (and therefore need for rescue services) is a factor in the decisions about what activities to allow and where.
further, hikers etc. are significantly more likely to be located in an area accessible by trails (or boaters by water), but a jumper could be hung up in some sick terrain.
you guys are lost in space.
i'm goin home w/ my ball...
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno
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Jul 16, 2009 - 07:00pm PT
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Well, you take your ball and get outta here then, Matt! :)
just teasing, of course.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jul 16, 2009 - 07:03pm PT
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Perhaps Chris should have asked the judge if he could do community service at the FaceLift. :-)
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MarthaP
climber
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Jul 16, 2009 - 07:08pm PT
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Okay, I'm not into making life a bitch for Chris Mac, .....but...if you know something's illegal and you do it anyway, then I guess if you get caught you can't expect to do anything but pay the consequences.
There's no doubt that Chris had the best editorial and environmental concerns in mind. But what if some yahoo (and there are PLENTY of them) sees him jumping and decides to do the same thing himself? This is Grand-flippin'-Canyon, tourismo central of North America! While I wouldn't expect Chris would ever need a rescue, egotistical unskilled dipshits usually do. Therein lies the rescue rub.
So, sorry, Chris. Pay the fine, do the time. Lobby for relaxed regulations for those skilled in something more than drinking beer. Beyond that, no whining allowed.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Jul 16, 2009 - 07:09pm PT
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I'm impressed by the jump. What did he jump off? Where did he land?
$5K is a steep fine. Friggen NPS is so uptight.
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WBraun
climber
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Jul 16, 2009 - 07:11pm PT
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When B.A.S.E. was originally legal in Yosemite we got called out all the time running around looking for jumpers ending up in bizarre places.
Half of em couldn't make it to El Cap meadows. We'd have to hunt em down and make sure they didn't splat.
Then guys would be jumping off places that were off limits.
The Park felt responsible.
It's one of the many reasons they band it. They couldn't control it enough. It used up a lot of resources.
The hang glider guys seem to have only 5 or 6 incidents in 30 years.
Whether it's bullsh'it law or not what are you gonna do? If you jump and get caught you have to pay.
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