Tom’s course was fantastic. If the course cost twice as much, I still would have paid. I will definitely sign up for a progression course.
Safety Skills Training: Object Avoidance
The leading cause of fatal and critical injury BASE accidents is object strike. Object strike is most likely to occur during an off heading opening from a solid, slider down object. This four day course offers training in the critical safety skills for jumping solid (generally cliffs and buildings), slider down (lower than 600’) objects. This is excellent preparation for many legal cliff jumps in the Western USA.
Prerequisite: Fundamentals of BASE
Course fee: $995
Click HERE to register for a course
Course outline for Safety Skills Training: Object Avoidance

Day 1: Deep Brake Settings Customization
Introduction: 20 minutes
Lecture: BASE Skills Progression, 30 minutes
Unpacked jumps: Lecture and discussion, 30 minutes
To allow back to back loads on the student’s own canopy for DBS customization
Unpacked jumps: As appropriate to conditions, Rollover, TARD and TARD over.
Deep Brake Settings: Lecture, 30 minutes
Reasons for customizing DBS, process for finding custom settings
DBS customization: Repeated unpacked jumps, adjusting the DBS between loads. Student performs brakes-set flight and riser turn drill to evaluate brakes and stall point. This usually takes around 5 jumps.
DBS installation: 1 hour
Installation and bar tacking of custom DBS (as a third setting on the control line).
DBS use: Lecture and discussion, 30 minutes
When to use which brake setting
Day 2: Object Avoidance Techniques
Post Opening Priorities Review: Lecture, 40 minutes
Object Avoidance Techniques: Lecture, 40 minutes
Riser stall, toggle turn, double and single riser techniques
Object avoidance drills: Floater jumps with correction, repeated until perfect (can take upwards of 20 jumps), students are encouraged to experiment with different techniques
Day 3: Object Avoidance Drills
Object avoidance drills:
Floater jumps with correction, repeated until perfect
Intentional 180 off headings (packed) with correction, repeated until perfect
Students are encouraged to experiment with different techniques
Day 4: Running Exits and Cliff Jumps
Running exit practice: 1 hour
Pool session, running exits from board until students can exit stable at a full sprint
Running exits: Handheld go and throw, stowed with delay
Running exits from launch plank on bridge, usually around 5-10 jumps to perfect
Cliff jumps: Cliff jumps from legal cliff exit points with running exits.
Topics are frequently presented in other orders, especially when responding to weather conditions to take advantage of jumping windows.