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Girlfriend's tribute to 'Peter Pan' - BASE jumper plunges to death
Sydney Morning Herald ^ | July 21, 2005 | Jano Gibson

Posted on 07/21/2005 5:59:08 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

He was known as Peter Pan - the boy who could fly - but something went fatally wrong moments after Australian Darcy Zoitsas leapt from a 1000-metre Norwegian BASE jumping site.

As he hurtled down the huge cliff face of Kjerag Peak in western Norway his parachute failed to open on Monday.

"I used to call him Peter Pan, the boy who can fly and refuses to grow up and are surrounded by lost boys. He would smile in recognition and call me his Wendy," wrote Lesley Assersen at an online remembrance message board.

"I had hoped to live with him a lifetime. I was lucky enough to get 3 years. Our relationship was like the way he lived, intense," she said.

His name has yet to be released officially but Ms Assersen said Darcy was so enthralled by the high peaks, he would swap chairs with her at a restaurant so he could gaze over the mountainous landscape.

She said he loved BASE jumping at Kjerag Peak and would not want to see it forbidden.

"Good bye Peter Pan, have fun in Never Never Land and keep on flying!" she wrote.

More than 18,000 BASE jumpers have leapt from Kjerag Peak since 1994, with 76 accidents resulting in nine deaths.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: acme; basejumping; beepbeep; discoversgravity; extremesports; parachutes; peterpancake; petersplat; sports; whoops
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1 posted on 07/21/2005 5:59:08 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Looks like Peter Pan turned into Peanut Butter.


2 posted on 07/21/2005 6:00:28 AM PDT by Semper Paratus
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Assersen is right.


3 posted on 07/21/2005 6:00:49 AM PDT by wideawake (God bless our brave troops and their Commander in Chief)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
More than 18,000 BASE jumpers have leapt from Kjerag Peak since 1994, with 76 accidents resulting in nine deaths.

Those odds suck.

4 posted on 07/21/2005 6:01:06 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: Semper Paratus

Peter Pancake.


5 posted on 07/21/2005 6:01:10 AM PDT by Preachin' (Georgia finally saw the light in 2000.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Darwin's Peak


6 posted on 07/21/2005 6:01:36 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

ACME brand parachute? Wiley Coyote sends his condolences.


7 posted on 07/21/2005 6:01:38 AM PDT by csvset
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To: mhking

JD ping!

Now that I think about it, it would be pretty cool to leap off a cliff and parachute down.


8 posted on 07/21/2005 6:03:21 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Peter Pan, meet Charles Darwin.


9 posted on 07/21/2005 6:03:32 AM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: csvset

10 posted on 07/21/2005 6:03:51 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

you call him peter pan, i call him damned fool.


11 posted on 07/21/2005 6:04:30 AM PDT by camle (keep your mind open and somebody will fill it full of something for you.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

As long as there are not people on the ground who might be hit by the falling chunks, let them jump. They are all well informed of the risks involved.


12 posted on 07/21/2005 6:05:03 AM PDT by gridlock (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: Semper Paratus

Ha ha... I *would* post something sympathetic but most intelligent people don't go jumping off 1000-meter cliffs, parachute or no parachute.


13 posted on 07/21/2005 6:05:05 AM PDT by Venerable Bede
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To: Semper Paratus
Peanut Butter


LOL!

was that chunky or smooth?
14 posted on 07/21/2005 6:05:47 AM PDT by dagoofyfoot
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To: dagoofyfoot
was that chunky or smooth?

At 500m, still chunky. By 100m, pretty smooth...

15 posted on 07/21/2005 6:08:33 AM PDT by gridlock (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: Semper Paratus

Felix jumps from the Corcovado

***....BASE Jumping is an acronym derived from "B" for building, "A" for antennae or television tower, "S" for span or bridge, and "E" for earth (cliff or mountain). BASE jumpers throw themselves off buildings and cliffs, opening a safety parachute only at the last minute. Such jumps are illegal in most countries....*** Source

16 posted on 07/21/2005 6:09:13 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary ---

Main Entry: Peter Pan

Pronunciation: pe'ter'pan
Function: noun

-- a usually broad, shallow, and open container for washing gentials in a house of ill repute.
17 posted on 07/21/2005 6:09:22 AM PDT by TRY ONE (NUKE the unborn gay whales!)
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To: gridlock

So does that mean at 1000m he's dust?


18 posted on 07/21/2005 6:10:27 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: Semper Paratus

"Looks like Peter Pan turned into Peanut Butter.'

You owe me a keyboard. LOL!!!!


19 posted on 07/21/2005 6:10:29 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Liberal Talking Point - Bush = Hitler ... Republican Talking Point - Let the Liberals Talk)
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To: dagoofyfoot
was that chunky or smooth?

Your answer can be found in post #12 :^)

20 posted on 07/21/2005 6:10:42 AM PDT by Right Brother
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

How do you even get up there in the first place! LOL


21 posted on 07/21/2005 6:11:12 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: Venerable Bede
Ha ha... I *would* post something sympathetic but most intelligent people don't go jumping off 1000-meter cliffs, parachute or no parachute.

...so if someone willingly does so, it's worth wondering why. To this character, the reward was worth the risk. Hey, if someone wants to be an adrenaline junky and be unable to buy life insurance and it's worth it to them, well, I say more power to 'em.

You're right about most people not jumping off cliffs. Most people live out dreary little lives in cubicle farms or worse, hoping for the sweet release of death. Who's to say which kind of person is the more intelligent?

22 posted on 07/21/2005 6:11:18 AM PDT by Oberon (What does it take to make government shrink?)
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To: Oberon

You have a point.


23 posted on 07/21/2005 6:12:26 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: cyborg

"Now that I think about it, it would be pretty cool to leap off a cliff and parachute down."

It would also be pretty cool to go out in the middle of the ocean, and feed sharks without being in a cage.


24 posted on 07/21/2005 6:12:39 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Liberal Talking Point - Bush = Hitler ... Republican Talking Point - Let the Liberals Talk)
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To: EQAndyBuzz

Yes but if you jump off a cliff and your parachute doesn't open, the death is probably instant anyway. Speaking of shark feeding, you should see Wild Boyz on MTV. Two people actually did that. I surprised they're still alive.


25 posted on 07/21/2005 6:14:28 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

[["I used to call him Peter Pan, the boy who can fly and refuses to grow up and are surrounded by lost boys.]]

I thought that was Michal Jackson :)


26 posted on 07/21/2005 6:15:34 AM PDT by JarheadFromFlorida
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
I guess his "happy thought" wasn't good enough.
27 posted on 07/21/2005 6:16:33 AM PDT by Reaganesque
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To: TRY ONE

lol


28 posted on 07/21/2005 6:17:38 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Note: "base jumping" and "base smoking" can both be hazardous to your health.


29 posted on 07/21/2005 6:18:30 AM PDT by JarheadFromFlorida
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To: Semper Paratus

30 posted on 07/21/2005 6:20:06 AM PDT by MikefromOhio (justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt)
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To: JarheadFromFlorida

Base eating too.


31 posted on 07/21/2005 6:20:23 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: MikeinIraq

Improved by hydrogenation!!! LOL Wow you know that's old.


32 posted on 07/21/2005 6:20:43 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: MikeinIraq

Wow!

That''s a lot of peanut butter.


33 posted on 07/21/2005 6:20:48 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

It's not a sport unless you can get killed.

--Travis--


34 posted on 07/21/2005 6:22:35 AM PDT by TravisABQ
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To: cyborg

LOL

yep....


35 posted on 07/21/2005 6:23:28 AM PDT by MikefromOhio (justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

heheh ...well maybe the guy was a bit overweight :)


36 posted on 07/21/2005 6:23:51 AM PDT by MikefromOhio (justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt)
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To: ClearCase_guy
"More than 18,000 BASE jumpers have leapt from Kjerag Peak since 1994, with 76 accidents resulting in nine deaths."

Those odds suck.


Roughly equivalent to dying in an automobile accident in the U.S. in the course of 3.3 years.

9/18,000 = .0005
43,000/290,000,000 = .000148
.0005/.000148 = 3.37
37 posted on 07/21/2005 6:24:01 AM PDT by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (Give Them Liberty Or Give Them Death! - IT'S ISLAM, STUPID! - Islam Delenda Est! - Rumble thee forth)
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To: cyborg

38 posted on 07/21/2005 6:25:18 AM PDT by MikefromOhio (justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt)
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To: MikeinIraq

Quite a tumble for sure.


39 posted on 07/21/2005 6:28:30 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Death gave Peter Pan the Hook.
40 posted on 07/21/2005 6:29:08 AM PDT by Jonah Hex (Go. Hunt. Kill Skuls.)
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To: cyborg

hehe....

yeah......


41 posted on 07/21/2005 6:29:18 AM PDT by MikefromOhio (justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt)
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To: csvset
ACME brand parachute?

Yeah, the one with the anvil in it.

42 posted on 07/21/2005 6:31:57 AM PDT by jtminton (Help stop second hand rap!)
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To: MikeinIraq

It's like stacking the WTC buildings and then tower 7 then jumping off of #7 building. Someone does that, they're either crazy OR they really have overcome a fear of death and really like this sort of thing.


43 posted on 07/21/2005 6:33:03 AM PDT by cyborg (http://mentalmumblings.blogspot.com/)
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To: cyborg

ohh I am sure this was all for the thrill....

I know a couple people like that, well I did. they didnt BASE jump, but they did other stupid things...

I hate heights so you won't see me doing it.


44 posted on 07/21/2005 6:34:11 AM PDT by MikefromOhio (justitia et fortitudo invincibilia sunt)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I saw a man whose parachute didn't open.
I saw a man whose parachute didn't open.
The doctors scraped him up...
and put him in a cup...
And said "He'll never jump again."

(Chorus)
Gory, gory, what a helluva way die!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way die!
Gory, gory, what a helluva way die!
And he ain't gonna jump no more!


45 posted on 07/21/2005 6:34:49 AM PDT by Little Ray (I'm a reactionary, hirsute, gun-owning, knuckle dragging, Christian Neanderthal and proud of it!)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

"keep on flying!"

Keep on?


46 posted on 07/21/2005 6:39:39 AM PDT by ko_kyi
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

As a public service, I give you "Blood on the Risers"...
(sung to the tune of "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah")

He was just a rookie trooper and he surely shook with fright
As he checked all his equipment and made sure his pack was tight
He has to sit and listen to those awful engines roar,
"You ain't gonna jump no more!"

"Is everybody happy?" said the sergeant, looking up
Our hero feebly answered, "Yes" and then they stood him up He leaped into the icy blast, his static line unhooked
And he ain't gonna jump no more!

He counted long, he counted loud, he waited for the shock He felt the wind, he felt the cloud, he felt the awful drop
He jerked his cord, the silk spilled out and wrapped around his legs
And he ain't gonna jump no more!

The risers wrapped around his neck, connectors cracked his dome
The lines were snarled and tied in knots around his skinny bones
The canopy became his shroud, he hurled to the ground
And he ain't gonna jump no more!

The days he lived and loved and laughed kept running through his mind
He thought about the girl back home the one he left behind He thought about the medics and he wondered what they would find
And he ain't gonna jump no more!

The ambulance was on the spot, the jeeps were running wild The medics clapped their hands with glee, rolled up their sleeves and smiled
For it had been a week or more since the last chute had failed
And he ain't gonna jump no more!

He hit the ground, the sound was "SPLAT," the blood went spurting high
His buddies all were heard to say "What a helluva way to die!"
He lay there rolling 'round in the welter of his gore
And he ain't gonna jump no more!

There was blood upon the risers, there were brains upon the chute,
Intestines were a-dangling from his paratrooper suit
The medics picked him up and poured him gently from his boots
And he ain't gonna jump no more!

Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die; Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die

Gory, gory, what a helluva way to die; And he ain't gonna jump no more!


47 posted on 07/21/2005 6:41:48 AM PDT by Future Snake Eater (The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.)
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To: cyborg

Now that I think about it, it would be pretty cool to leap off a cliff and parachute down.

You are braver than I am! I'm afraid to jump off the high board at the pool!! ))))shudder((((


48 posted on 07/21/2005 6:44:07 AM PDT by Polyxene (For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel - Martin Luther)
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To: ko_kyi

49 posted on 07/21/2005 6:47:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

There was a time in my life, about 25 years ago, when I sincerely wanted my last words to be "Oh, S*&%!"


50 posted on 07/21/2005 6:51:28 AM PDT by Skooz (Political Correctness will eventually destroy America)
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