Posts tagged ‘BASE jumping’

May 29

Desert Towers, Epic Highlines and BASE Jumping Oh My!

Monkey missions in Moab typically consist of several adventure sports all coming together in beautiful locations and with an amazing group of talented friends. This past week of shenanigans was no different and in typical monkey fashion I’ve stepped away from the experience reviewing the photos, videos and memories with a sense of overwhelming awe and appreciation for all the incredible people and life pursuits we’re collectively creating here in this desert paradise… The privilege of being surround by so many inspiring and gifted people in this outdoor community is a constant reminder that life is continually moving toward new adventurous pursuits that we all get to share with one another.

Andy Lewis finishing up his sunset sends of Demonix and Diabolix. Walking from one desert tower to another and back to the desert rim to finish up the days work.

All in all, four separate desert towers were summited (The Warlock, The Cauldrons and The Witch), two beautiful tower highlines establishhed and four new BASE jumping exits opened. As far as logistics go, it took a solid 3-4 days of hot exposed adventure rigging/climbing to gain access to all these points in order to prepare for the accomplishments ahead. With two new highlines established; Demonix (51 meters/167 feet long) and Diabolix (67 meters/220 feet long) many visiting slackliners saw new personal bests go down. Seeing so many people struggle through fear, apprehension and difficult circumstances, while having success in the end, is always an inspiring note to end on. Scott Rogers, recovering from a very serious tib/fib fracture only six months ago, successfully walked both highlines (setting a new PR) and joined myself on a BASE jump from the summit of The Warlock tower, which hasn’t happened in what seems a long time. Sharing these types of adventures together as a group of friends and athletes always brings us closer and I love seeing the elated smile of my friends after landing a canopy. It’s a precious moment that I lack words to describe its excellence.

Watching my personal heroes overcome huge life obstacles and come out on top as wiser better people reminds me that I’m surrounded by the right crowd and instills pride in my heart. This community has always inspired me to improve my focus and balance and this past adventure helped stoke the fire even more as the summer heat kicks in and the desert adventures continue on. It was a pleasure sharing this experience with everyone involved (Faith Dickey, J.R. Racine, Ray Diaz, Daniel Albrecht, Monica Beck, Parker Gales, Dan Krauss, Aleta Edinger, and Scott Rogers) and I know we’ve all stepped away from the experience as better people with a bigger smile on our face and new stories to someday share with the grandchildren. I hope everyone continues to love life, push themselves in new directions and share amazing experiences with the precious people they’re surrounded by. Slack on!

~ Brian Mosbaugh

Oct 18

Power Your Passion

True commitment to adventure has its undeniable moments of peril and fear, but what it offers in return is an unparalleled sense of contentment and bliss with the world around you. It’s definitely not the luxury life that it’s made out to be, there are still many stresses, doubts and moments of depression to combat, but when it comes down to the important issues I feel incredibly happy to live this way despite the very real dramas and consequences that come up occasionally. For example, losing close friends and acquaintances more regularly is a part of this lifestyle choice, and because of this fact you learn to really appreciate the small things in day to day life which are commonly overlooked. Drinking coffee with your friends in the morning, sharing moments of debauchery and laughter, walking with two functioning legs and feet, these are all amazing things to be thankful for. Because of the inherit risk of injury and death, we experience a profound appreciation for being in good health and staying so active in a beautiful world. What I’m trying to convey is that it’s not always glamorous recreation… It is, however, rewarding in countless other ways which can only be felt in the heat of moment, through a shared smile and glance amongst friends, living life on the edge of risk and reward.

Ever since I began committing myself fully to the elevated adventures of rock climbing, highlining and now BASE jumping, I’ve felt a greater sense of peace and connection with the natural world around me. Its led to some of the closest friendships and relationships I’ve ever had and has certainly been the greatest roller coaster I’ve ever been a part of. There are ups and downs along the ride, balanced between moments of fear and elation, bliss and depression, but ultimately its all been a part of the journey and you eventually learn to appreciate every spectrum of the experience. After spending close to 5 disciplined years living out of a car, traveling along a seasonal migration pattern in pursuit of better weather, rock and higher perspectives, I’ve now come to appreciate having a real home base in Moab, surrounded by some of the most talented and genuinely alive people I’ve ever come to know. We spend our days as self directed adventurers, basically exploring the vast desert which surrounds us and taking on whatever creative outdoor projects comes to mind. Alongside this story, we find ourselves documenting the experience in an attempt to both convey the beauty and focus required to accomplish such feats, which can only be achieved by repeatedly overcoming dangerous scenarios through calculated risk and dedicated training. It goes without saying, that a lot of what we’re doing is conceived of as ‘crazy’ and ‘excessively risky’ by the general populace, and this is true to some extent, but the difference I find in our perspectives stems from an overall miscommunication of life philosophy… I could just as easily make the life choice to spend my days working in an office, making money on a predictable schedule and having insurance policies to pay for annual dental check ups. Or… I could choose to shrug off some of the societal expectations and material wealth to instead LIVE in the moment and in pursuit of a path where risk and bliss exist on a thin line that’s incredibly fun to balance along. These situations aren’t necessarily exclusive to one another, happiness and freedom not being allowed in the office setting that is, but they often lead to different life approaches with different life choices. The reward for regularly pushing past my fears with better honed focus allows me to see the world with new eyes and experience profound levels of happiness with my friends always by my side. It’s hard to explain really, but at the epicenter of this lifestyle is the ability to truly enjoy the fleeting and beautiful moments that pass by during this finite time we all have to share together, here and now.

That being said, it’s alway a pleasure working with other creative and talented artists/companies who find a similar passion of documenting these adventures in a professional manner. Both Daniel Moore and myself, recently had the opportunity to collaborate with the company Jay Bird, who produces some of the nicest and most comfortable wireless ear buds I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Because of the incorporated blue tooth technology, you get to experience a crisp and clean sound without the annoyance of wires getting caught up in your clothing, harness or BASE rig, while still enjoying your favorite tunes to get you pumped up to power your passion. Together, we did a quick evening commercial shoot with these guys jumping one of the most classic Moab BASE exits, known as Tombstone. This incredible rock feature is an astounding sandstone monolith that has over 400 vertical feet to free fall and fly, all while being a short 30 minute hiking approach from the parking lot where you land your parachute. A classic jump by all definitions of the word. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the video which tells a story of friendship and adventure shared between two close friends who pursue a passion of freedom only achieved by letting go of your fears and jumping into the void.

~Brian Mosbaugh

Jun 20

BASE-ic Instincts

SONY DSC

Getting into the world of BASE jumping could easily be considered both the worst and best decision I’ve ever made in life. That being said, I feel extremely happy about the introduction of a new adventure and passion, accepting whatever consequences may come from this choice. One of my defining character traits is that I love and appreciate life for all its dramas, both the ups and downs, and I do my best to fully accept all spectrums of the experience. With this new chapter, I’m hoping to experience unique elevated perspectives and explore greater opportunities for world travel, community bonding and gain a better understanding of my mind and gravity. Although obvious before every jump, there exists the lingering reality of femurs shattering, friends cratering and life expectancies being cut short. As terrible as that may sound, I fully understand there are no guarantees in this sport, which accurately describes the very nature of what ‘living’ has come to mean for me over the years… I wouldn’t define myself as an adrenaline junkie by any means, although I do embrace the natural high from time to time, but the real reward and conquest is in overcoming your fear and celebrating the minds ability to push through hard circumstances. Accepting your potential fate while on the edge of a cliff, bridge, building, etc. and distilling it all down to a fast paced moment of focused flight feels incredibly liberating and freeing from a culture that insists on safety nets, insurance policies and supposed guarantees. The sensation of falling and being saved by your own canopy is all very fleeting and a matter of trust, so it reminds me of a condensed lesson in a greater appreciation for the life experience. To make the best of the adventure and enjoy every passing moment no matter how short or prolonged it can be!

Joey California pulling low for a water landing

What I can say confidently so far about this new reality shift is the over all experience of momentary flight and relaxation is absolutely unparalleled to anything I’ve yet endeavored in my 28 years of living. The free-fall in space is mind blowing, the sound and feeling of air rushing past your body exhilarating, and the quiet canopy flight pure joy; adding to the delicious icing layer of this mouth watering cake. In pondering other methods to get my adventure fix, maybe crack-cocaine would have been a better life choice for a multitude of reasons… I’m sure the the longer high would comparatively outweigh the heavy repercussions of potentially ending your life so quickly, but somehow smoking from a glass pipe and having rotten teeth seems a less glamorous and more dangerous decision at this particular junction… Anyway, I stray from the points at hand so let me bring it back to the present. As a new jumper in this sport, I respect the learning curve and am staying highly aware of my own intuition and comfort levels. This honesty has rarely led me astray in perilous situations so I’m hoping to maintain a consistent ‘on heading performance’ with this mind set throughout the journey.

Scott Rogers and Jill Kuz testing the winds below

Mar 19

Monkeys in Brazil Part 3: Urban Jungle Madness

Week three in Brazil is coming to an end and the Moab Monkeys met up with “Lucky” Luke Chappell and some other Brazilian BASE jumpers to explore the urban jungle of Rio de Janeiro. This week’s episode includes some building BASE jumping adventures and new highlines above downtown Niteroi. The buildings will go unnamed, as frankly we don’t even know what they’re called. The two highlines shown include the “Sweat Shop,” 17m long (established by Allan Pinheiro), and “Sol Opressor,” which is a new line we created in the 45-50m range. Enjoy this week’s episode and keep your eyes out for more. The Monkeys have one more week in Brazil and we’re preparing for our biggest project yet!

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Mar 7

Project 365 with SkySight

Above is a brief trailer of some local Moab BASE jumping and highline footage compiled between Slackline Media, Moab Monkeys and the epic SkySight team for a SONY advertisement. The Monkey team has been working with this professional group to capture some of the most breathe taking and inspiring extreme sports aerial perspectives. I’m excited to be surrounding myself and working with such motivated and talented individuals in life. Every person has contributed something special to this project and I very much look forward to the adventures to come from all our hard work and raging in the cold. As history tends to repeat itself, the continuing cycle of adventure is guaranteed to mature into the next step of what is shaping up to be an amazing year so far!

For more information concerning SkySight and the awesome work they’ve been producing, check out the links listed below. Make sure to “Like” their pages and follow up on continuing projects as they capture life from new unparalleled aerial perspectives never before seen!

SkySight official website CLICK HERE
SkySight Facebook page CLICK HERE

To Check out more of what the Moab Monkeys of extreme athletes are up to around the world, subscribe to our new EpicTV channel under Moab Monkeys and stay up to date with our adventures on Facebook.