These pictures have something special: they were taken neither from the cliff edge, nor with the help of a telephoto lens. Claud Rémide took them in freefall with a helmet-mounted camera.
Of course, it is no the first time BASE jumpers launch linked exits or film each other, but in this case, shooting angles and distances can be puzzling, especially when one knows that the jumping altitude is only 350 metres and that Claud uses a wide angle, a lens that gives the impression that the subject is further away than it actually is.
Moreover, Erich Beaud does not consider this to be BASE jump anymore but " paraclimbing ", a self-explanatory concept, which we discussed in a previous article (see ParaMag n°131, April 98).
ParaMag interviewed these 2 protagonists of an evolving type of freefall so that you can discover its beginning.
ParaMag : In January 97, during a training period with the French RW 4-way team, you got two broken knees and a broken ankle in a serious landing accident. You are jumping from French cliffs less than two years after: one may say that it is a strange return to the sport!
Claud Rémide : On my hospital bed and during re-education, jumping from a cliff was my motivation for the fastest and best possible recovery. On my convalescence bed, I already imagined the pictures that are published this month. I spent a lot of time designing and building my photo and video helmets during my long re-education period. It helped me going through these difficult times. Then I made my return plane jump in November 97, 10 months after my accident. My return cliff jump was made a little bit later, last June. Since then, I have made 60 of them in a three month time. In view of the damage to my knees, I feel happy that I am able to use my legs correctly, even if I am not a hundred percent like before.
ParaMag: You did not take these pictures by chance: a lot of work and technique was needed in order to have them. When and how did you get the idea?
Claud Rémide : I had these pictures in my mind since 95. At this time, we were beginning to share great times during cliff jumps with Franck Konrad, Jean-Noël Itzstein, Jacques Malnuit, Erich Beaud and François Dufeu. Within the group, we were making the technique evolve towards something new. Our goal was to use the short few seconds of the jump in order to fall together and to move; in a way, these were RW exercises. We were aiming at moving relatively to or falling beside each other, even before the fall speed gives the first aerodynamic support. I wanted to be able to move as soon as the fourth second in freefall, so that I could film somebody's jump and opening. After François's death in 96 and my accident in 97, our research stopped.
ParaMag: Where do you stand today?
Claud Rémide : On this particular kind of jumps, we only make 2-ways with Erich Beaud because we know each other very well and mutual trust is a determining and essential factor for this type of exercise. During the first freefall seconds, there is no airspeed so we are only using our impulse. After 4 seconds, we are able to move the same way as in RW. Of course, our experience in the latter discipline is of great help.
Erich Beaud : Progress in " paraclimbing " comes step by step, for one cannot make 10 jumps a day and working time is very short. For instance, before launching a 2-way star, we first tried lines with a beginning of closing. With about 10 jumps, we progressively managed to launch a star. It is important not to cut corners. It is a bit like the first loops in 93, we did not know whether it was better to start the loop on impulse or to wait for the moment when one was flat. We learned later that both methods work depending on the circumstances and that one has to make the right choice.
ParaMag: What is your current goal?
Claud Rémide : To successfully launch linked " exits " such as a 3-way star and then carry on with other formations. Linked exits with several people have already been done but from higher points such as " Compressed accordian - box " (1) close to the Brento in Italy, in Norway or from El Capitan in Yosemite Park. Generally speaking, they were linked exits, followed by break-off, before a safety staging of the openings. In France, spots are not very high but we try to get the best of them in order to have fun without having to travel thousands of kilometres every weekend. At the same time, each jump is a training jump and when we have the occasion of jumping higher elevations, we will be able to do things one cannot even imagine today. We are progressively moving from an individual state of mind to a teamwork very comparable to RW, with a pre-jump briefing and actual moves and positioning.
ParaMag: Right now, it is a team of two?
Erich Beaud : Yes because one must not cut corners in this case either. We have made a total of about 50 jumps of that kind together. This teamwork demands great understanding, we really have to know and trust each other.
Claud Rémide : When I jump with Erich, each of us has his job to do. I have already a lot to do with the pictures, photo and video. Before the jump, I take care of my cameras. Erich is in charge of the access, the ropes and, more generally speaking, of all the necessary climbing equipment. For instance, some spots present a slightly positive slant which cannot be passed with just momentum or sometimes one cannot even take a run up. In such situations, we go down a few metres on a rope, to reach a more favourable starting point. In freefall, I only think of centering, I do not see the ground so I have no altitude awareness and I do not control my jump. It is Erich who is a hundred percent responsible of the freefall when I take pictures.
ParaMag: In that case, how does the break-off go?
Erich Beaud : It is always specific to each exercise. In this case, I use visual references on the ground or on the relief. We would not make this kind of jumps on new spots or for return jumps on known spots. Of course, using an altimeter or counting is out of question. Counting is for BASE beginners. When the time of break-off arrives, we each perform a 90° turn to get our backs to the wall, I open first on the spot while Claude tracks and goes as low as he can.
Claud Rémide : Even if each movement and action is well planned, one sometimes has to follow one's instinct and act on feelings. For instance, during a jump when I was to open before Erich after a short freefall time, I had difficulty coming back in opening position back to the cliff. Erich could not see me but he felt I was still falling and fortunately he delayed his opening a bit.
ParaMag: Isn't making RW jumps, even from a cliff, a kind of a re-invention of an already existing freefall technique?
Claud Rémide : " Paraclimbing " comes with many things, it is more than just a jump. First, there is the contact with nature: the mountain hike, the small flower found in altitude, box tree odours and so on. Then there is the calculated risk, the management of a perfect movement. We end up with briefings which take every detail into account. I even think that we are taking less risks than before. For me, there is also the pleasure of regaining the sensations I had before my accident. I was not sure I would be able to do all this again one day.
Erich Beaud : It may look easy but the technical difficulty is very high, it has nothing to do with RW from a plane. From the beginning to the end, there is no room for mistake: the least lateral or back slide and we are on the wall. The least forgetting on freefall time and we hit the ground. However, the biggest difficulty is not technical but psychological.
ParaMag: Are there specific difficulties linked to taking pictures in these conditions?
Claud Rémide : Yes, of course. In addition to what we have already talked about, there is the particular opening phase with the weight on my head which can mean trouble in case of a problem, such as, for instance, twists or to correct an off-heading opening. Sometimes the fall rate can also be surprising. It only takes Erich to have a more ample suit and all my positioning has to be corrected. I even consider jumping with weights for some shootings in order to adjust the distances.
ParaMag: Opening pictures are amazing, for you are very close to the canopy and you manage to catch the whole sequence. How do you do it?
Claud Rémide : I have always had a passion for equipment and at the beginning, my goal was to detail and understand what is happening during a BASE jump opening, particularly with the arrival on the market of the " multi " system (2). Then I realised that it made beautiful pictures. From the moment when the pilot chute gets into the relative wind to the rising of the canopy, it is a magnificent movement.For this kind of shooting, positioning is very fussy. For example, if I want to catch the whole sequence, we have to devote the jump exclusively to this exercise. I set myself on Erich's start: about a tenth of a second after him, in order to be 2 metres above him during freefall. After that, I only have a few seconds to refine my positioning and I must not make any mistake. My camera is fixed horizontally and I incline my head to get a vertical centering.
ParaMag: What is the future of " paraclimbing "?
Erich Beaud : Beyond the goals described above by Claude, I think it will evolve towards that and also towards the opening of new spots following the way of " paraclimbing ", that is in high mountains. For instance, there was this jump in the Himalayas which was broadcast on French television a few months ago. Many thought it was a failure since the 2 jumpers were tumbling close to the wall for some long seconds. In my opinion, it is the greatest " paraclimbing " jump ever made. There was a BASE jumper and a climber, each being proficient in his discipline and each had taught the other the necessary basics in order to do the exploit. They jumped at 6 000 metres, therefore in extreme cold conditions and with a lack of lift due to the low atmospheric pressure. Moreover, they were heavily laden and it was of course their first jump on the spot. This is what I call pure " paraclimbing ".
Techniques are developing, equipment is getting better and better, and I think there are still great things to do in the mountains. We are " opening doors ", maybe the younger ones are those who will push the limits further, but for sure it will be done...
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WarningErich Beaud : " Terrible things happen, some want to learn by themselves and do not even think about why something is done or not. On the other hand, there also are very conscientious and meticulous people, such as this young skydiver who gets friends to film him and then sends us the video in order to be debriefed. " |
(2) "multi" : Multi point anchoring system between the extrados and the pilot chute. Packing is more complex but the system ensures a better pressurisation of the extrados.
Warning: the English translations in this text may not all be correct.
Thanks for your comprehension and please address any comment to me Jean-Francois
RIPOCHE.