Red Bull Aces Wingsuit Race 2014

When I received the invited to compete in the first ever Red Bull Aces wingusit race I was beyond stoked to have to opportunity to jump out of a plane with 4 others and fly around pylons suspended by who knows what! We have been dreaming about an event like this for years, and here it is!!! But quickly my initial excitement was taken over by fear. My terror of wingsuit skydiving became palpable once I seriously started considering the competition.

I know it sounds funny to be afraid of wingsuit skydiving when I am a very active wingsuit BASE jumper. But I know wingsuit BASE, I understand it, and I am in control. When it comes to skydiving, I would be jumping out of a plane with potentially people I do not know or trust. And on top of that, I have Major gear-fear of skydiving equipment. The parachute system is not designed for wingsuit deployments. The parachutes are more sporty than base rigs, and they are pack tightly into a D-bag, and all the lines are strangled into perfect alignment. Yes, it looks pretty to have everything so neatly packed away, but it doesn’t provide for an optimal deployment when flying a wingusit.

I don’t like to have too many new variables at one time when jumping; so when considering the Red Bull Aces race the first variable I needed to eliminate was the fear of skydiving. I booked tickets to arrive a week before the race which would allow me to dust off the skydiving cobwebs.  I also ordered a demo PD Storm 7 cell canopy which is more similar to my base jumping canopy and arranged for some simple modification on my gear to make it more wingsuit friendly.

When I arrived in the Lodi drop zone after months of anticipation I was relieved to see many of my friends there. Few. People whom I know and trust. I can do this. My first wingsuit jump was with a small group of 5 people who I knew. Now I didn’t have to worry about some random person colliding with me in the sky… now I just had to worry about how to get me and my big floppy wingsuit out the side door of the airplane as it travels way faster than what I’m used to. In my mind it is not natural to present my wingsuit more or less sideways to strong wind. I had in my mind that if I make a baby hop out the door and keep everything tight together I should present to the air equally. The first jump went great. I exited cleanly, flew my brand-new Squirrel prototype designed for speed (which flew like a dream from the start) and was able to flock with my friends. Then it was pull time… deep breath…. Sigh… stable on heading opening with no line twists.

The fallowing jumps were mixed with stressful variables. At least 2 or 3 times my exit ended with me clipping my foot on the door sending me into a spectacular tumble – which I learned to recover and it was actually great practice for the Red Bull Aces exits. I hand many openings with line twists, but the Storm canopy was always, in the end, flying flat and stable over my head. I completely trusted my gear. I also learned to trust the other skydivers, and at the end of the week I was jumping out of the plane with 20 other wingsuiters.

Now it was time for the race.

We showed up to a little airport in the middle on nowhere California. My skydiver eyes were pleased to see that I could land anywhere in any direction, no building or grape vines for miles and miles in any direction.  That morning all the athletes lined up, checked in, prepared their gear and sat down for the safety briefing. We would have 1 day of practice jumps before the event started. Yeay!!!

We were organized into groups of 3 to jump out of a Skyvan and race around the course of 4 pylons suspended by helicopters. We exited at 8,000 ft. The first gate was at 6,500 ft then at 5,500 ft, 4,500 ft and the final gate at 3,500 ft giving the athletes plenty of time to separate for a safe deployment.

At first it was extremely difficult to spot the gates. They were difficult to see from the plane, and even more difficult to see when flying. But we quickly became accustomed to what to look for and by the end of the day spotting the gates (i.e. helicopters suspending a long line of flags J ) Because of the initial difficulty of spotting the gates, Luke Aikins, the event organizer, decided to move the gates into a straight line and make the course more similar to a slalom course. Any time there was any hint of a safety concern Luke quickly addressed it and all the athletes felt very comfortable with the race format.

The second day, after one quick morning warm up round, the race began. We were divided into new groups, given GPS devices, which would captures as we flew through the gate to ensure we were on course. The gates were 100 ft high and 1000 ft wide. So if we flew through anywhere in that invisible gate next to the flags the GPS would recognize it.

52 pilots competed in the first round, and then only 32 pilots advanced.  2 people out of each group advanced to the next round. Some people were eliminated because they tumbled on exit and didn’t have a chance to catch up to the group, others missed the gates by typically flying too low, and other were eliminated for simply flying slower. Unfortunately I was eliminated in the first go around by flying too low on a gate. I remember flying around and looking at the very bottom flag of the gate, biting my lip, hoping that I was still within the gate, but in the end I was out. Even though it was disappointing to go out like that I was still so psyched to be at the event –Flying around helis and pylons! (I still can’t get over how awesome that is.)

The next day there was 4 competition rounds. First with 32 pilots, then narrowed down to 16, then 8 and then the final 4. It was incredible to watch! The racers were wearing smoke for some of the rounds and it was incredible to see the different lines and techniques of each flier. The heats became tighter and tighter, truly narrowing it down to the fastest racers. In the end, the top 4 was between Jonathan Florez, Julian Boulle, Noah Bahnson, and Andy Farrington. What an amazing race..  the top athletes in our sport racing head to head around 4 pylons, and it was a tight race. Andy was clearly in the lead, but at the finish line it looked like Noah and Julian passed at the same moment. After reviewing the results, they DID pass the finish gate at the exact same moment! WOW! So the organizers went back and looked at previous results of them and placed the over all fastest times in second place.   In the end Julian took 3rd, Noah took 2nd and Andy took 1st. Well done boys! I also want to give a shout out to Katie Hansen who kicked many guys asses in the race- she is a serious ninja when it comes to flying wingsuit.

Luke Aikins did an amazing job organizing a very complex event. Huge thanks to you and the Red Bull crew for putting on an incredible event! 

Puppy!!! And Winter/Spring Flying :)

 2014 has been turning out to be a spectacular year so far with the newest member added to the family- my little fur face, and great flying conditions! I had been planning to spend my winter season speedriding and skiing non-stop, but with the marginal snow conditions, I have reverted back to my summer sports plan and have been wingsuiting in the Chamonix valley all season!

I am overwhelmed with joy to finally have a little puppy in my life! I have grown up with dogs in the home ever since I was a baby. But since moving to France, I have been without a furry companion for almost 2 years. I was hesitant to get a dog in France because I wasn’t sure if I would be living here for a long time or for just a few years. But after 2 years, it has become clear that this is the place for me. Haute Savoie’s healthy lifestyle, adventurous mentality, and endless mountains to explore have made it near impossible for me to leave this paradise.

We ended up with an Australian Shepherd named Iyssa as our new fur ball. She loves the snow, running in the mountains behind our home, and continues to amaze me with her smarts. I have been told that Australian Shepherds need to have a job or else they get bored. So we have decided to train her to hike with us up to an exit point, and at the top- transfer all of our unwanted gear to her for her to carry back down to the car as we fly down. We have friends who do this with their dogs in Moab, UT so we know it’s possible, the biggest challenge will be having a 2 hour hike instead of a 20 minute hike. 

As for the winter/spring flying conditions in Chamonix right now- magnifique!

We have become spoiled in the last year with 2 amazing jumps being opened in Chamonix. Both are accessible by cable car, both are less than a 1 minutes hike, and both are Very big, beautiful flights.  This winter we have been jumping Brevent non-stop, and Aiguille du Midi when it’s not too cold or windy. (Let me just say here, that both of these jumps are extremely technical, and should not be underestimated due to their easy access.)

I had been training for the Aiguille du Midi for over 6 months, and I finally was able to jump it last week! The start of the jump is the shortest start I have ever done- I only had 120m to get my suit flying.  I have been practicing at Brevent with 145m of vertical to start (which is still pretty short) and with my new Aura wingsuit I knew I could start in 120m, no problem. After that I flew over the Bosson glacier – which was breathtaking.  The exit point is at 3842m and the landing is at 1000m, making it the longest BASE jump I have done to date! The fallowing day my arms were sore from flying for nearly 2 minutes! 

I have really been enjoying this winter season even though it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind- it turned out to be way better! 

World Wingsuit League 2013

Just made it home from the biggest wingsuiting event in the world, the WWL.

Just made it home from the biggest wingsuiting event in the world, the WWL. The event was full of its ups and downs. Sadly, we lost our good friend Vick on a practice round the first day. He was a great guy with amazing energy and a huge heart. He is going to be horribly missed in the BASE community. But we knew that he would want us to continue with the event, so after taking a day off to mourn his loss we got back on the horse and continued the event. 

The course consists of one sharp left hand turn, and then finishing under the cable car as our finishing line. After that, we had a minimum of 30 seconds canopy time before landing on the curvy road. We had many days of practice jumps to dial in the fastest line and technique of making an efficient turn.  In addition to the practice jumps, we also attended some dinner parties including an authentic North Korean restaurant with a North Korean performance, and an amazing show at the outdoor theatre at the mountain where we jump. After a few days of practice and entertainment it was the qualification day.

We each did 2 jumps and took our best time from these jump to determine who was going to the final top 8. Unfortunately I did not make it to the top 8. But it was very exciting to watch the finalist from the mid point where all the news cameras were set up. We were able to watch our friends jump and also see them live on TV at the same time, it was quite interesting :) For the final round they also made 2 jumps and took their best time. Huge congradulations to the top 3: 

Finishing First: Jonathan Florez from Columbia

Finishing Second: Noah Bahnson from the USA

Finishing Third: Vincent Descols from France

Also, it was great to have Squirrel Suits being represented with 3 team pilots invited to the WWL: Dan Vicary, me and Vincent Descols who placed on the podium in his Aura.

All in all it was a great event with great people in a beautiful place. I couldn't be happier :)

Kjerag ProBASE U Turn Wingsuit Race

Last week 36 of the best wingsuit pilots from around the world traveled to Kjerag, Norway to compete in a wingsuit race.  This race was the first of its kind because it had a complete U-Turn built into the course. Because this is a maneuver that is Rarely done in the BASE world, it was a course that was challenging for all.

The first day of the competition we had one practice jump and 2 round for qualifications. The following day, we finished the competition. We were so lucky to have one of the most beautiful days of the year! Sunny, warm, not windy, (apparently this happens maybe ones a year in Norway ;-) And it was on the day of the race!

The first round 35 jumpers competed to be one of the 16 competitors to enter the semi-finals. To my surprise, I made it to the semi finals! I was elated to be the first girl to ever make it into the semi-finals at a wingsuit race. After that, the 16 jumpers competed to be in the top 8 for the final round.

We all took the heli to the exit point, and I, for the first time, actually felt the nerves of competition. I am not a competitive person... but at this moment- I Wanted to be in the top 8. So I geared up, closed my eyes, and practiced this jump in my head over and over again- visualizing myself pushing from the cliff, the wind speed picking up as I position my body into the most aerodynamic position- visualizing reaching the turn- pausing for a half-second as to not cut the corner, then turning- and then diving like hell to the finish line, flaring my suit and pitching.

Once it was my turn to go, I jump just like I had practiced, it felt Good, it felt Fast! When we got the results from that round, I Made it to the finals! Woo hoo! First girl to ever make it to the finals!

I was super happy to make it to the finals, the only problem is that there was a female world record jump at the same time as the final round. I had to decide if I wanted to jump in the race, or jump in the world record. I decided to stay in the race, and I got to watch 15 of the top chick jump from one of the most beautiful cliffs in the world- there were girls jumping in skirts, track suits and wingsuits- and they nailed it! It was so amazing to see them all flying at the same time!

Now its time for the final round- the only way I can make my time faster is if I cut it closer to the corner. So this is my plan. Judging from my previous jumps I had about a 10 meter margin on the turn, so I planed to reach the turn, and instead of pausing for a half a second before turning, I was just going to go for it. Why Not?! This is my chance to make it to the podium! All 8 of us jumped, and when we got to the bottom, the judges wouldn't tell us how we did until that night at the ceremony. Finally after waiting for several hours it was time to celebrate! Coming in first place was a super quiet Russian who took us all by surprise! He is super solid, consistently flying fast and clean every round- Gleb Vorevodin. Second was Robert Pecnick- the man! Third was Noah Bahnson who has excelled in wingsuit flying in the recent years. 4 of us in the final round ended up cutting the corner too short, thus getting disqualified and placing 4-8.

These races are so much fun because the competitors are not trying to make the other fly worse- on the contrary- every one is helping each other get better. We all want everyone to fly better, faster, safer. There is no heave cloud of competition. Every time i participate in these events I learn more in 2-3 days than I would all year. I am excited to compete in the next race in Romsdalen Norway in 2 weeks!

Sapphire Showdown Finals Istanbul

The final day of the competition was a bit stressful to say the least! The start of the day way Very windy, so we all spent the morning afternoon, and almost the evening staring out the window at the flags blowing up high and the trees blowing down below. But right around 1800 it was starting to look a Little better. So basically it went from really crappy conditions to just crappy conditions. Even though the conditions weren’t great, some people decided that they felt comfortable jumping- mostly fun jumpers.

Amongst the 60 or so jumpers in Istanbul, around 40 of them were competing; the other 20 were fun jumpers. .  About 10 of the jumpers went off, and then they called a meeting with the competitors to decide if we wanted to jump or not… it was a unanimous No.  So the new plan was to wait 45 minutes, hope that the conditions improve and try to squeeze a competition round in, in the last hour of our jumping permit. Forty-five minutes pass, and still no one was super keen on competing. 

Here are the competition rules in situations like this one: When the conditions are borderline, they will open the competition and leave it up to the competitors if they want to jump.  If at least half of the competitors jump (in this case 17) then the round counts.  If the round counts, all the people who jumped get the points added to the total ProBASE World Cup score- with these points you are ranked for the overall competitions, and there is typically a Very nice reward. If you don’t jump, you get zero points, and that can really hurt you if you want to be competitive in the over-all scoring.  On that note- if you jump in bad-for-you conditions, that could also hurt you as well ;)

With 30 minutes left of jumping time, 9 competitors have already jumped. I walked down to the landing area to feel it out, and yes, it was still fairly windy, but in the landing area it felt OK for Me to jump. So I went to the top of the building, all geared up, while 15 competitors looked at me in shock. I explained the wind conditions I felt in the landing, and it was enough to encourage a few more people to gear up. Now there was about 7-8 more jumpers geared up considering to compete. If we all jump- the round counts. There would not be any more time for the others to compete, and they would all get zero points.  I take the ladder up to the roof to feel the conditions… I lean over the edge, spit to check the wind, and holy crap its Windy. 

The remaining competitors are completely divided.  5 or 6 would jump, 5 or so would absolutely not jump, and the other 5 are undecided.  15 minutes left to go, and everyone is trying to convince the others that their opinion is right. (The rule is- if you have to ask yourself, “Is it safe to jump?” the answer is no.) We all know this, but its very interesting to see what happens with the herd mentality. People do things they wouldn’t normally do because they have seen others do it and survive. After 10 minutes of debating, we have all sufficiently exhausted the amount of time it would take us to jump, leaving us with the easy, and relieving choice to not jump. 

At the end of the week, our first competition round was also the final round. But that’s how these things go in weather dependent sports, and I don’t think anyone was upset about it. It was a great boogie, with great people, well organized, and no one got hurt!

Congratulations to the winners!!!

1.Alastair McCarthney

2.Miles Dasher

2. Sebastian Einicke

3. Jay Moletzky

Wind Hold in Istanbul

Unfortunately sometimes weather conditions just don't cooperate when there is an event. For the last 2 days we have been on a wind hold, with winds 30km/h gusting 50 km/h it's just not a good idea to jump off a building in the middle of downtown Istanbul. However, the sun is still shining, and we have all had the chance to go check out the city. Last night we all went out to dinner together, and then to a bar/belly-dancing show! It was a great time last night with 55 BASE jumpers taking on the town!

Today we took it mellow and many of the athletes, including me, indulged in the experience of the Turkish Hamman.  It starts out with going into a hot sanna like marble room, where you relax for 40 minutes and sweat out all the toxins from the night before... then you get given a bath, where you are exfoliated, then a massage with Super bubblie suds. When it's all over you feel completely relaxed, and your skin is glowing! 

It looks like the weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow. Now that all the athletes have rested up, we are ready for the competition to continue tomorrow with the final 3 rounds!

Also- Huge thanks to Dimitrios Photography for making us look good!

http://www.adrenalinesports.gr/dimitrios

The ProBASE Competition begins!

Today the competition began! There were 19 prequalified jumpers, including 3 Five Ten Athletes: Miles Dasher and Julian Boulle and me. For the other 15 slots, they had 2 rounds of pre-qualifiers today for a total of 34 competitors.  After the 2 qualifying rounds, we had the first round of the finals.  We got super lucky with the weather here in Istanbul today, and we were able to jump non-stop from 11-1900!  It is super fun jumping here; when we land all the Turkish kids run up to us to give us high-fives :) It makes me happy to see that, not only are we having a ton of fun, all the spectators are too.

I think it’s important to mention that my boyfriend told me if I win best overall female in the ProBASE competitions, he will get me a puppy!!! Needless to say- I am very motivated :-)

#ProBASE #BASEjumping #istanbul #FiveTen

1st day in Istanbul ProBASE Saphire Showdown!

It's amazing to be in Turkey with 55 other jumpers from All over the world! Last night we had our safety briefing, and reviewed the rules of the competition. We will be jumping off the Sapphire Tower- the tallest building in Istanbul! It is 240 meters of beautiful glass windows! The competition will be judged on these factors:

1. Good strong, stable push from the building

2. must take a 2-3.5 second delay

3. On heading canopy opening

4. Landing Pattern

5. Landing accuracy

The first day of the competition starts Tomorrow!!

As for today, we had an 'off day' and got the chance to explore the city. Spending time in the hectic Bazzar really made me appreciate living in the peaceful French Alps :) We did find one place in Istanbul to get some quiet- the beautiful Blue Mosque. Words can't describe how beautiful this building is.

I'm really looking forward to competing, and also doing some funny jumps off the tower in the next few days!

Follow Five Ten Athlete Ellen Brennan as She Travels to the ProBASE Sapphire Showdown in Instanbul

Starting May 21st, The Showdown includes jumping from 2 buildings, the Skyport- 120 meters and the Sapphire Tower- 236 meters.  While jumping from these building, the athletes will be performing stunts including multi-way jumps and aerial maneuvers.  In addition to that, they will also be competing in a spot landing competition from the Sapphire Tower Building.  

To top it all off, the competitors will be jumping from a heli over the Goldern Horn- whether with a wingsuit or a swim suit, it is sure to be entertaining!!!

​I will be updating daily at the event!

#BASE #Jumping #Event #Competition ​#Istanbul

Dam BASE jumping

In the winter it is much more difficult to access the big wingsuit jumps, so right now, I am focusing on the lower objects around town. Lately I have been considering jumping a dam, which is not to far from where I live.  But when jumping an object like this, it is best to get some advice from the locals.

Luckily last weekend I met 2 jumpers who live just below this dam! Guillaume and Jonathan knew all the beta on the access, landing, weather... it seems I had found my guides! And it also seemed it was going to be an adventure :)

We chose the best weather day that week, and decided to go for it! Because it is winter, the only way to access this dam is by skinning up to the top. I was super excited to hear this because I have never gone skinning before, and I really wanted to test out my new gear!  Thankfully I was with some pros, and even though they laughed at me-- a lot, they were great at teaching me the best techniques to getting up the mountain.

Once we arrived on top, I had a chance to- for my first time- see the landing area. It is certainly not a beginner jump. The landing area is quite tight, and you are limited on space for setting up a nice landing pattern.  But with all of my experience jumping in Moab, I felt completely confident that I could do this jump.  In fact- I was far more terrified of the hike out that I was of the jump.

The day was very warm, and the snow was becoming very wet and heavy. While we were scouting out everything from the top, including out hike out- we watched 2 decently sized Ice falls right where we needed to cross to get out. The ice was falling down a gully that wasn't too wide, and it had great shelter on either side, so I felt that we would be able to cross this section fairly quickly, limiting our time of exposure.

Once I felt confident that I would be able to conquer all of these obstacles, I geared up, stepped over the fence, took a few deep breaths... and jumped. I love the feeling I get from a low, sider down jump.  Everything happens very quickly- you see the ground below you approaching quickly, and just before it gets too scary, you canopy opens-- Quickly. Then you have about 10 seconds to set up a landing pattern before you reach the snowy landing area and are overwhelmed with a great sense of joy and satisfaction.

The hike out was at some points challenging. The snow was pretty deep, and the terrain was very steep. We passed through two tunnels, one of which was completely snowed in, and we had to break through the snow, digging a hole that was just big enough for us to squeeze through. Then we had to pass the area of the Ice falls. We passed one at a time, while the other two people kept an eye up for ice, and we safely all crossed.

We finally made it back to the top and relaxed with a nice cup of tea. Then, just before the sun set behind the mountains, we put our skis back on and got some fresh powder tracks on our way down.

Video

Swiss ProBASE World Cup 2012

I had such an amazing time competing in the Pro BASE World Cup this weekend! 42 of the best wingsuit pilots showed up to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland to go head to head to see who the fastest pilot was! It was great to see everyone working together, and giving tips and advice to help other pilots. The energy there was just incredible!

The flying in the race was something I have never done before. I am used to jumping off of cliffs High up in the mountains and the flying for a few minutes, navigating the terrain, and then pulling super high in order to assess the landing areas and wind directions. At This competition, the total flight took most people under 25 seconds, and then 25 seconds of canopy time. It was FAST!  Here the flying style is completely different. We were diving as fast as we could to the ground, which felt very unnatural. But the increased speed gives you more energy which means faster inputs, and all of this added up makes it a very intense, exciting experience. I went there with the goal to be the fastest girl, and i was!!! And now that I have learned some more tricks on flying fast, I fully anticipate to be on the podium next year :)