Of course the media had a field day with the accident, as they do every time there is a basejumping accident or death.  Calls for basejumpers to pay for their own rescues etc etc. We’ve heard it all before. It’s distressing for a lot of reasons, not least because it’s a result of perspective skewed by unbalanced reporting. Thousands of basejumps take place, around the world every month, unreported and completely uneventful, but every time there is an accident it is major news. Imagine if every fatal or serious car accident was major news. We might have a very different view of driving.

The small regard some parts of the media have for the truth was highlighted for me again today when stories appeared in UK newspapers about our 2006 World Record for altitude BASEjumping. The article reported that we jumped off Mt Mehru in Tanzania, instead of Mt Meru in India; that we took 23 hours instead of 23 days to climb it; that I started basejumping in 2005, instead of 2000 and it even had a picture of us flying over the top of Mt Connor, with a caption saying we basejumped off it (how could you have basejumped from something you are above?). They got dates wrong, major facts wrong, it was astonishing.  If you want to have a look here’s the link…

Jimmy was often upset about the inaccuracies written about him and basejumping in general. At least he’s free of that now.

Check out http://www.noceiling.com.au

No Ceiling training will officially launch in February this year.

Congratulations guys!

http://tiny.cc/2FVSw

Today I spoke to David & Kim on their chat show, 9am on Channel 10. The show has a more relaxed pace than other chat shows so I had longer to explain the why and how, and as one friend wrote me after watching it, ‘finally they let you answer the questions!’ They being ‘television media’, and she is right, in these times of the 30 second sound bite I’ll be asked a question, but rarely given the time to answer it properly, which can be frustrating.

You can watch today’s interview by clicking this link

http://9am.ten.com.au/video.htm?vxSiteId=4a40990c-a06c-401b-8663-6f890bb8f3dc&vxChannel=9am%20Just%20Added&vxClipId=1427_9am830-lg2-100809&vxBitrate=300&CMP=LEC-DANCEgetVideoLink

I enjoyed talking to David and Kim, who seemed genuinely interested and I was on a bit of a high until I went looking for ‘No Ceiling’ in bookshops around Melbourne. I didn’t see it anywhere. This was pretty deflating. Apparently the book shops have been slow to pick it up, so if you go looking for it, and don’t find it, please ask for it. It’s a good book (I promise) and it deserves a place on bookshop shelves.

We’ve joined the Facebook and Twitter revolutions! See you there!

I’ve just taken delivery of my new book, ‘No Ceiling’. Opening the box, I was awash with emotions. There was an element of the kid at Christmas, but more a very grown up sense of satisfaction and pride mixed with trepidation. I’m a lot wiser now than when I got the very first copy of my first book, ‘Defying Gravity Defying Fear’, which was published in 2001. Then it was pure excitement, a dream come true. Now I know this is just the beginning, and a lot of things apart from the quality of my writing, will determine the book’s success.

No Ceiling took nearly three years to complete. There were many, many rewrites - I think the version that went to the publisher was number 29. My goal was to write a book that would not only be entertaining and inspiring, but would also answer the big questions - how, why and what about the kids? I think I’ve achieved that, but only time (and reader feedback) will tell.

No Ceiling is my whole story from the dream of breaking the world record to having that dream come true, and the roller coaster ride in between. It covers some of the same ground of ‘Defying Gravity Defying Fear’. This was necessary because that book is no longer in print, so those who hadn’t read it would be missing a great chunk of the story and those that had (as far back as 2001) would surely have forgotten.  Also No Ceiling is better written, and benefits from greater insight and more time to reflect.

My advance readers have been very positive, saying it’s ‘an easy read that’s hard to put down’ and that they ‘felt like they were right there with us’ and were ’strongly inspired to chase their own dreams’.

No Ceiling is on sale in bookshops from August 1 and that’s when the work to promote it and have it seen as more than ‘just an extreme sport biography’ really begins, which promises to be an interesting challenge.  You can also buy a personally signed copy now from our shopping page.

In the meantime we’ve started work on the ‘Jumping Icons’ project.  Despite the fact my eye injury has kept me on the ground for most of this year, I’ve stayed fit and I’m confident I’ll be back jumping again soon.  I can’t wait to be flying again. I really miss being in the sky.

Keeping fit has involved lots of trail running with our dogs, yoga and indoor climbing and while it hasn’t been possible for me to ride (my bike or my horse), I’ve enjoyed and benefited from doing lots of Parelli style ground work with the wonderfully talented Phillipa Richards.

Glenn, Paia & I on one of our favourite trails. Photo Melanie Faith Dove.

While running last week I smacked into a low hanging tree and dislocated my jaw! Around the same time my horse ‘Ganesh’ saw the dentist and had some interesting looking work done on his teeth and jaw.  When I had my own jaw put back by the charming and talented Dr. James Younessi,  I thought of Ganesh and how lucky I was not to have to wear the same head gear he did!

Ganesh with John the horse dentist.

On a completely different note - apologies to Sam de Brito if it sounded like I was critical of him in my last post.  I was not being critical of Sam or even his readers, but rather those who have emailed or written us direct after this and every other television, magazine or radio appearance and every BASEjumping death, accusing us of being selfish irresponsible parents.  So I admit to being overly defensive on the subject. Glenn and I are very committed parents. My children are 25 and 20, happy and healthy, with more opportunities, better schooling, and material riches than I could have dreamed of as child or young adult. I did my best to try to balance my dreams with my responsibilities as a parent and if the ‘proof is in the pudding’, then I did OK.  Similarly with Glenn’s boys. When I reflect on the millions of children around the world who are without reliable food, water and health care, and even the many thousands in our own country living in relative poverty, it seems a silly debate to be having.  I wish we could all agree just to”Live and Let Live” and be done with it?

Never let fear stand between you and your dreams.

Blue skies

Heather

In 2000, when the original BASEClimb site went up, our budget didn’t allow for professional design so I became web master, designer and writer but I always felt limited by my lack of time and skill.  Back then I was not only a beginning skydiver, climber and later BASEjumper, I was a novice with web software, and I felt it showed. I did get better at all those things and subsequently the site has had many incarnations, each better than the last, but still short of my aspirations.  Despite this we have many loyal visitors so this year I felt it was time to deliver them a better experience so I outsourced the website to experts. While our main goal for the site has always been our desire to share our experiences and knowledge and ultimately to inspire others to follow their own dreams, how we do that is important too.  I think Jon and his team at Bergen Blue have delivered a clean, visually pleasing, easy to navigate site. I’m happy with it and I hope you are too.

Other than our wonderful new look site Glenn and I have been focused on this year’s mantra ‘finish the book, finish the film’.

We often ask ourselves, why is it taking so long? With the book, it’s been about creating the best experience I can for my readers.  I wanted to transport them into the experience, make them a part of it, have them see and feel what I was seeing and feeling and understand the big questions - why and how?   Trying to achieve that has been an exciting challenge every bit as big as jumping off Mt Meru in India. I’m happy the result is the best I can do right now, which is all I ever ask of myself, do the best you can with what you have now.   I also had the benefit of an excellent editor, Brooke Clark, at The Five Mile Press, who saw things in the text that I could not and asked for more detail where it was warranted. So as of yesterday the manuscript for ‘No Ceiling’ is complete. The finished book is due out in August this year and will also benefit from the superb photographic skills of our friend, Kiwi adventure photographer Graeme Murray, who took the cover shot.

As for the documentary, Glenn is putting his heart and soul into making it as compelling as 52 minutes can be. He has the same aspirations as I did for the book, especially transporting the viewer into the experience and answering their most common question - why? Why would you jump off a 6672 metre mountain?  We think the book and the film, which is also due out in August will answer that question.

Apart from this and our speaking presentations,  2009 has been dominated by my eye injury. In January while filming for the documentary I tore the retina of my right eye. I had surgery to reattach it and after nursing it for 7 weeks it came off a second time, pulled off by contracting scar tissue from the first operation. Four weeks after the second surgery, swelling and scarring required yet another more extensive operation. One frustrating week of doing absolutely nothing later, I had a forth operation and I’m hoping this and the subsequent period of recovery will close a very difficult chapter, one that has taught me how precious health and wholeness are.

Sight is such a precious thing and I admit that until it was in jeopardy I had taken it mostly for granted.  Not anymore. I’m very grateful to Glenn for his tireless and patient support, to Dr. Alex Hunyor for not giving up on me and also to the staff at Dalcross Private Hospital eye unit especially Mary and the irrepressible Trevor Wilson (for making me laugh and not bruising me).

While all this has been going on I have been grounded. No flying my wingsuit. This has been really tough. No wingsuiting and not much running  is challenging my usual positive state of mind. Luckily I have my family, my dogs (who know something is not right and follow me everywhere I go) and my horses to cheer me up.

Sam De Brito goes climbing with Glenn

Glenn has kept busy and recently took  journalist, Sam De Brito, climbing for a segment on the Sydney Morning Herald website - ‘Death Defying Doctor Takes the Leap’.  Sam wrote in his blog some controversial remarks about parents and adventure which attracted a shrill response from the ‘once you’re a parent you should devote your life entirely to your kids’ devotees. Glenn and I no longer have small children, mine are adults and his are in their mid-teens. We also don’t have any children together so much of the outcry was misplaced. Still I found it fascinating that so many people have the time and the energy to so vehemently criticise people they don’t know and a situation they know nothing about. It seems most people have forgotten ‘Live and Let Live’, ‘People in Glass Houses’, ‘He who casts the first stone’ etc. By their rationale, once you are a parent you should wrap yourself in cotton wool and forget living your own life or following your own dreams - you exist only to look after your children.  They also seem to have forgotten that no matter how careful you are, you will still die sooner or later.  We think children benefit from having parents who are engaged in life and passionate about their own dreams. We also feel  its best to equip our children to be strong, independent and responsible, with or without us.

You can see the video piece here.

Blue skies

Heather