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PD Factory Team Swiss Alps Expedition: Day 7

Let's start by first looking at the photos from yesterday that Bobo was referring to...classic!

Alright, now on to reports of day 7 by Shannon Pilcher and Pablo Hernandez...

From Shannon-

"We woke up this morning knowing we would be blown out. As expected, winds at the peaks had reached record-highs durin g the night, and were steady at nearly 100 kph. Not to worry, as Switzerland is a 
parachutist's playground. Having satisfied our BASE cravings yesterday, we set out today on a speed flying mission, with intentions of launching from a common launch point atop Niesen, at about 2300 meters MSL. Moderate easterly winds allowed us to get a few people in the air, but the day became mostly a kiting session with a spectacular view. Other highlights included an ascent (and descent for some) aboard one of the world's steepest and longest cable-drawn railways, the Niesenbahn, and a delicious meal on the peak at the Berghaus Niesen-Kulm.
High winds are expected again for tomorrow, but should move out by mid week, leaving just enough time for the Eiger! Stay tuned…"

 

 

From Pablo-

"What a trip! Today conditions were not OK for mountain flying, very strong winds at the peaks so we
decided to try some speedflying from the Niesen Mountain. The 2,362 mts high Niesen Mountain at Lake Thun is striking because it is nearly perfectly shaped like a pyramid. The steep slopes are not climbed on foot, but are traversed by cable car. The world's longest staircase was built to parallel the course of the cable car so that maintenance work can be carried out on the cable car when needed.

At the top of the mountain there is a very nice restaurant where we had lunch. After the lunch, we walked a few hundred meters to the launch point and we practiced some kitting with JC as a coach, who is very experienced in that field. Bruno was the first to take off, it's the first time I saw Bruno running and have to say that he was quite fast. Just after Bruno, Brian, JT, our guide Pascal, and JC launched. Stay tuned for more."

PD Factory Team Swiss Alps Expedition: Day 6

Today we hear from the Ians of the PD Factory Team about some BASE and wingsuit activities due to 'bad weather' (doesn't look too shabby to me!). Let's see how it went for them...

From Ian Bobo-

"Today was a transition day due to weather, with a big front moving in with high warm winds from the south. The locals call it the “Föhn” (pronounced like “fern”), which literally means “hairdryer”. The Alps are so big and wide that winds from that direction make the turbulence in the region insane, today they were peaking at 90 km/h at the peak of Jungfrau. Not a good place to be for any of us, under canopy.
Instead, we spent the day in one of the steepest, most scenic valleys of the region, Lauterbrunnen...tucked away and mildly protected from the ripping winds up at the peaks that we’ve been targeting. World famous for BASE jumping sites, it was an opportunity for us to shift gears, do some hikes in the mountains and make some jumps together. Jessica and Pablo got off a few, and it was super cool to see their excitement shine through... I could hear Pablo screaming super loud during his track away from the “Low Nose” site. His excitement is infectious. The rest of us got our feathers on and warmed up with some super sweet wing suit flights out into the beautiful fall colors of this valley. Forecast is still a bit sketchy for tomorrow, but we’re all ready for whatever the day brings. Hitting our stride here as a unit, I am really proud of the way the team is communicating, flowing, and performing through some scary moments. The challenges are really syncing the way that we approach everything.
Excited for the 2^nd half of this trip...Bobo out.
P.S. – Brian better watch his back here, he’s the prime target for most of us in the next snowball fight :’)"

From Ian Drennan-

"Not too much happening today, unfortunately, in the mountain flying arena. There is a weather front moving through and we woke up to clouds and building winds… a good thing too since some people (Names withheld to protect the guilty) went out drinking until 4am in the morning because of the expected bad weather :) The team rallied, sleepily, at 8:30am and decided to head off for a day of BASE jumping off of "The High Nose" and "The Low Nose".
Tommy D and myself worked the ground crew for everyone helping establish communications, as well as media capture with Bruno. Not being a BASE jumper, it's always impressive to see it in action. Jay, Shannon, Bobo, and Jonathan all doing wingsuit jumps, while Jessica and Pablo did more traditional style launches. It was pretty impressive seeing JT fly his wingsuit clear across the valley - serious distance!  Anyway, tomorrow's weather is looking crummy as well, but we'll hope the forecast is wrong and we can get a few mountain runs in and get some more exciting media for all of you out there. Thanks for all your support.  Drennan - out." 

Sorry, photos delayed due to technical difficulties. Check back in a little while!

PD Factory Team Swiss Alps Expedition: Day 3

Time to hear from Jonathan Tagle and Ian Drennan about their experiences on the 3rd day of the Swiss expedition...

From JT -

"From my bedroom window, I could see mostly clear skies with just a few lenticular clouds looming over the peak of the Eiger. Lenticular clouds are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes in mountainous terrain and are usually associated with high winds. So I was concerned that we might have to wait out the winds. 

We decided to start the day by walking the intended landing areas at the bottom of Wetterhorn and the Eiger. It's hard not to look up at these amazing rock formations and not get excited... It's like arriving at the playground when I was kid. You just want to jump right in and get dirty. Unfortunately, the winds continued to blow strong for most of the day.

We did, however, make another run at the same location we jumped yesterday near Reichenbach. This time we switched up the roles with our partners. Yesterday I got to lead some great runs, but this time I would be following Jessica Edgeington. As we circled around for the second pass, the clouds started to obscure the peaks and ground references. I followed Jessica out the door. We managed to find our way to the peak and started our run about a quarter of the way down. Jessica stayed conservative on her first lead, but I knew if she got another chance she'd be more aggressive on the next one. Unfortunately, the clouds and high winds remained and shut us down for the day. 

Not to worry though because there is always something to do around this area. We decided to go speedflying and BASE jumping in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. A few of us took some speed wings up to the Murren launch point, while Jay decided to do a couple wingsuit BASE jumps.
Although many of us purchased one-way tickets, all but Jay rode the tram back down. There was a tail wind at the launch site, so we looked across the valley at Jungfrau and the endless possible routes to fly with our mouths wide open. If we get to jump over Jungfrau on this trip, it will be the longest runs any of has ever done. The weather looks promising for tomorrow, but one never knows. We'll just have to wait and see. -JT"

From Ian -

"Day 2 of the expedition started with and early morning, and a trip to the Wenterhorn landing area.  The spirits of the team members were good, and the weather was looking promising. However, as we arrived at the destination it became apparent that the upper winds were significant, lessening our chances of making a jump along the new run. The team took the time to familiarize ourselves with the landing area (which had some pretty wild rolling hills). The approach looks like it's going to be an interesting one!
Since the weather wasn't playing too nice, we took some more time to evaluate another landing area nearby for future jumps, this one for a run along the North face of Eiger. Fortunately this landing area was far flatter. There were some cable obstacles that would dictate the approach needed into the landing area, but all were manageable. While evaluating the landing area, we got word that the run we'd done previously (the Fici region) was looking good and we all decided to go and take another crack at it, this time with the new PD Factory Team members leading.
In no time we were back at the dropzone, suited up in our cold weather gear, and ready to jump.  Conditions were looking great, no clouds and low wind. After our 20 minute climb, while on jump run it became apparent that the conditions had turned less than ideal, but still jumpable. The winds were moderate but a layer of cloud was moving in over the peaks creating some visibility issues. After careful evaluation it was decided to go ahead and do the run.
I'd had the opportunity to do somewhat of a solo run on day 1 so I felt comfortable, even though I had some difficulty stowing my RDS due to my hands being so cold from so many go-arounds, and my Gatorz had some ice caked on them from the condensation! Because of the clouds, visibility issues, and the run being the first of the day, I played the run a little more cautiously than I otherwise would have, opting for a later entry lower down on the mountain ensuring that I had enough to make it back to the landing area. There's a particular part of the run that involves flying through a crevice, or notch, and I decided to take the opportunity to work on that even if it meant a little sacrifice on the earlier parts of the flight. The results were simply beyond explanation. I got the closest I've ever been to the face while flying through the notch into the descending tree line below - absolutely amazing visuals. 
The team all landed safely, excited, and headed back to the dz for lunch. After much deliberation we decided that we did not want to repeat the jump in the conditions we had, and called it for the day.  Since it was only 2pm at this stage, we headed over to Jungfrau where some members went BASE jumping, and others evaluated what has to be one of the most insane Speed Flying/Groundlaunching exits I've ever seen. The guides, as well as the team members, opted not to do the speed flying runs, even though the locals were having a blast doing them. The risk of slipping on launch was too high, and the 60 foot tree right at the end of the drop off didn't help either (one of the locals had to abort at the last second).
Since we were at the top of the mountain we evaluated yet another run, this one down Jungfrau, which would put us landing near the parking lot area we were already at. Of all the potential runs, this monster one caught my attention and I'm REALLY excited to do it. Hopefully soon!
Anyway, a short snowball fight later, and one yodel from the top of the mountain (yes I did that....after all, why not?) we headed to the local tavern for a quick beer and then home for dinner.
It's been an exciting 2 days so far, the team is getting stronger, the runs are getting tighter, and we're having a blast. Good things are happening. Watch out world, here we come! -Ian"
 

Extreme Week

Extreme Week took place last week in Voss, Norway. This was the 11th year of extreme week and once again it was a great success despite some slightly dubious weather at times. There were a whole variety of sports happening such as longboarding, BASE jumping, climbing, big air, kayaking, kiting, rafting and paragliding. Each evening there was a skydiving demo jump into the centre of town followed by a prize giving, a 30 minute video of the day and then a variety of famous bands and DJs rocked the party tent. With it being held so far North it didn't get dark and the parties always continued on.

There was load organizing at the dropzone and the Nordic Meet were pulling some sick freeflying moves. Mountain flying was high on the agenda and a number of PD sponsored jumpers from a variety of different nations were in town. Some of the other highlights included some neat speed riding, featured for the first time, and some great ski stunts. The top moves must have been the ski jump over the swooping canopy with another swooper right behind the skier. This was then followed with the skier flipping over a hovering helicopter!

Much of the action was shown on both National and International TV as well as a variety of other media. If you haven't been to Norway or hung out with Norwegians before then you should think about going next year- they're super friendly and it's a beautiful country. Here's a short video of some of the fun that I had at Extreme Week.

Rappa Rappin, we like!

This being the PD Blog, we are usually all about PD's products and services.  But once in a while, something so cool comes along that we feel compelled to share it - even if it is a product we don't make or have anything to do with!  This is one such instance.
Sonic at the Ranch Pro Shop (one of PD's top dealers mind you, one that we can highly recommend) recently came out with his own product: the Baser.
Agent Lead, Sonic's friend and fellow Ranch-hand, then put together this brilliant music video/advertisement to help Sonic spread the word. 

- and now before we can go and enjoy the video, please note the general disclaimer that we here at PD know nothing about BASE jumping except that it is highly dangerous and best left to the pros.  Also, we have nothing to do with the Baser except for digging their video.  Any Baser questions should go directly to Sonic, he's more than happy to talk your ear off about the product :)

And now, let the show begin....