Moab, turkey, and parachutes

Photos: Will Viktora

For many Thanksgiving is reminiscent of gathering with family, over eating and watching college football. For several members of Team ILL Vision a unique tradition has taken shape in recent years. Due to the great distances that separate us from our families, a new destination has quickly become the norm – Moab, Utah. With an amazing landscape decorated with red cliffs not governed by the National Park System, this place has a reputation for being a BASE jumper’s paradise.

As were preparing for our annual pilgrimage to the desert last Thanksgiving, I received a call from long-time friend, Seth Warren. For the past few years Seth has been working on a project called "Oil & Water" and his on-going mission has been to educate the world about renewable energy sources and ultimately reduce society’s reliance on petroleum. He's driven from Alaska to the tip of South America in a 1987 Japanese fire truck powered by vegetable oil sharing his message with countless school groups and politicians. The underlying theme of this leg focused on the value and importance of water in the natural environment, which foreshadowed the "Nature Propelled" theme of their next big trip, now well underway.

This second phase of the journey shifted focus from the rivers to the sky where "air" took center stage. After a week of filming with hang glider pilots near the Grand Canyon, Seth was looking for a finale to this segment before moving on to the next. At this point fellow Team ILL Vision member, Damien Dykman, Frenchman Arnaud C., and myself joined the party. What followed were 3 entertaining days of bouncing down the back roads of Moab in the fire truck and BASE jumping from many of the area’s most classic cliffs.

A second movie including this and other airborne, palm-sweating footage is in the works and is scheduled to debut in early 2010. The “Nature Propelled” film documents Seth’s journey, the people he encountered, the relationship these sports have with the overall health of the earth, and the responsibility we all share as inhabitants of a fragile natural environment.

For all you of on Facebook you can check out the trailer of their upcoming film here at Elements Tour.

Awesome weekend in Twin Falls!

Thanks to everybody who showed up! It was beyond what we expected. From first time students to seasoned jumpers, everybody had a good time. Hundreds of jumps, and barely a scratch. The variety of people was very cool and it was great to see old friends and make a few new ones. Looking forward to the next TEAM ILL VISION BASE adventure as we forge ahead. Peace, love and joy. Avery Badenhop

6.20.09 Lodi Team ILL Vision update

Hello, this is Harry Parker with a Team ILL VISION Monday update. If you are sitting in a cubical somewhere, check out the action from this weekend and let your self breath for a moment.

Visiting Base/Organizer Sean Horton showed up this weekend to work with Ed Pawlowski for a Saturday filled with some great dives. Sean "Monkey" Horton will be organizing at Davis this weekend during the American Boogie.

This marks the first day of attention Team driven dives towards the 100-way records coming in November with Jeff Nebelkopf.

Sean and Ed created some interesting cat dives with one dive bringing two pieces together while turning back to the DZ. Just about all Team members showed up for the dives and with some add on's for some nice 12 & 13 way dives. Everyone got the chance to blow the rust off and begin syncing fall rates.

Great day of jumping for sure. Really am enjoying learning how to fly wing suit camera. These are the days to shoot too. Do hope you enjoy the pics.

Coming up this weekend, Team ILL VISION will be taking over Twin Falls, ID for a full three day weekend of BASE'n, spittn', cussing, drinking beer and pissing on trees. Team members will concentrate on currency. Four weeks from now the team will then be going to Switzerland!

Follow all the mayhem right here!

Enjoy, remember you can right click and save any time. These and others will be available to tag on Harry Parker facebook and Team ILL VISIION Facebook. Make sure to check out the FULL GALLERY of pics.

Next Stage for Team ILL VISION begins

Hello, this is Harry Parker with a TEAM ILL VISION update.

This weekend marks a new beginning for Team ILL VISION.

This past Saturday team members met at Lodi for organized team jumps and their first meeting of the year.
Core leaders Avery Badenhop and Ed Pawlowski took the reigns as the driving force for the team unfolding the future for this summer and beyond with an invitation starting the selection process.
Everyone who attended was stoked and excited at the possibilities while at the same time realizing the work and commitment necessary to achieve a successful team. Everyone now has time think about how involved they want to become.
Leaders will now utilize the feedback they received to lay the foundational structure of the team. Members will then get the chance to comment and co-create the teams initial structure and direction.
The summer will focus on practicing for the upcoming World Record organized by THE JEFF KNEBELKOPF and others. ILL VISION is already practicing the grid, which is notably difficult after learning to fly in very close proximity with each other.
Stay tuned and watch the teams progression unfold right here by following this blog.
Team members are dynamic to say the least. I will be gathering and posting head shots and bios as the selection and commitment process ends. We have some very bright and dedicated jumpers with tons of experience and talents in many areas.
Below are some pics of this weekend. I have created a Team GALLERY HERE that will contain ALL the select pics I can get my hands on from the past, and as I shoot.
Enjoy and leave a comment. Team members will be posting to this blog soon.
HP

5.30 Wings over Lodi

Just found these pics and remembered I didn't make a post! Here you go. Great flying with ya. let's keep it up on Saturdays for sure. Lot's to do this summer.
The boys should be back in a few weeks from Switzerland and some others from their paragliding adventures.
Enjoy, remember you can right click and save any time. These and others will be available to tag on facebook as well.
Looking forward to more flying!
HP

TEAM ILL VISION IN SWISS VALLEY

Greetings from Lauterbrunnen. Medusa, Ren and myself have been making laps off the High Nose exit point. The weather has been perfect for jumping. The new canopies from Asylum Designs are sweet. I have been using the `Seven 240 & 260` with my custom high aspect ratio sliders and pro pack, the openings have been so nice, quick but no spank, and on heading every time. We also have `Feather 240 & 260` canopies in stock configuration, same results. We are working on team building, encouraging each other all along the way. We found our `Rock` and will be back in California in a few days to share with team members.
Peace, love and joy. Avery Badenhop

Team ILL VISION Begins 2009 Training Camps

This last Saturday the 23rd of May saw a few Team members rally for a few jumps at their home DZ Lodi in preparation of an all summer mission to train for several upcoming events. Jumps concentrated on basic three and four way sequential where everyone must be BASE, a hard task for sure but one with a steep learning curve.
Armed with two new Sony CX-100 HD Video Cams jumpers Avery Badenhop and Harry Parker began to document inside and outside footage of jumpers, hopefully the standard for all jumps this summer. The team currently owns almost 20 Pheonix Fly wingsuits and is ready to bring together some of the best fliers in US.
The team is expected to have a busy summer and leader Avery Badenhop is determined to bring the team to the next level with an actual vision and selection process for named team members. Selected members will represent the team in monthly travel events. Selection process is in the works. If any of this interests you, make sure you follow and RSS this blog for more info.
You can also join the facebook group page to keep up with all the antics travel and specials coming this summer.
Team support group Johnny "Madusa" Florez and Ren Huschle will meet up with Team Leader Avery Badenhop this week in Switzerland for jumps centering around the new line of canopies from Asylum Designs. Sure to be an exciting trip. I hear the weather is good and jumping is going on as we speak. Johnny and Ren will be covering the trip so check back often for updates, pictures and maybe even some video.
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HP