2010 BRIDGE DAY™ RAPPEL
Post Office Box 71
Elizabeth Way
Fayetteville, West Virginia 25840-0071
304 574-1037 Fax 304 574-1300
Email: bridgedayrap@passagestoadventure.com
This letter will finalize our preparations for the 2010 Bridge Day™ rappel and outline the Bridge Day™ weekend’s activities. Please share all Bridge Day™ Rappel information with the members on your team. You can refer your team members to the website hosted by Jeff Facer, www.bridgedayrappel.com. Thank you for your cooperation and participation.
|
Date |
Day |
Time |
Activities |
October 14 |
Thursday |
9 AM – 4 PM |
Access the catwalk to rig high line. |
October 15 |
Friday |
9 AM - 4 PM |
High line rigging, testing, and VIP riders. |
October 16 |
Saturday |
5-7:30 AM |
Breakfast at Overtime. |
October 17 |
Sunday |
9 AM |
Gauley Whitewater Rafting Special |
Please review the following information and call or write if you have any questions or concerns. The information is presented in an ABC format.
Accidents - We had our first Bridge Day™ Rappel accident seven years ago. You can get hurt rappelling off the New River Gorge Bridge. Please come to Bridge Day™ prepared both mentally and physically.
Additional People Not Rappelling - There is a $40 charge per person for anyone wishing to eat Saturday breakfast, and/or ride the shuttle up and down Fayette Station Road. Shuttle passes will be issued to these people. These people will not be allowed on the catwalk. Please send in the names and fees for these passes. You may purchase shuttle passes on Friday, October 16 if time permits.
Anchor - Your anchor will be two straps placed across the Bridge’s floor beams. Bruce Smith and On Rope 1 made these rigging straps w/padding (minimum breaking strength (MBS) approximately 16,000pounds). The straps meet NFPA and ANSI certification requirements.
10 mm Delta screw links will be provided to connect the D-rings. The straps will be put in place on Friday, October 15. Bruce will discuss the anchoring system during the orientation. Your rigging team needs to tie a figure 8 on a bight and an in-line figure 8.
Directions - Our new home is the old Rivers headquarters on Fayette Station Road in Fayetteville. Fayette Station Road is one mile south of the New River Gorge Bridge off US Route 19.
Badges - A head photo in JPEG or TIFF format is required for the Bridge Day™ Rappel badge. The badges are being made now and some of you may be contacted about submitting a new photo.
Behavior - Every participant is expected to respect the rights of all Bridge Day™ users (i.e., rappellers, jumpers, spectators, vendors). Negative behavior and unsafe actions will not be tolerated, and such behavior will result in your removal from the Bridge Day™ rappelling activities.
Breakfast - There will be breakfast on Saturday morning from 5-7:30 AM at Overtime, Building C on map.
Camping - Camping at Passages is $12 per person per night. Toilet and shower facilities are available twenty-four hours. Our temporary home has cabins that you can rent. The cabins, with electric, rent for $47 per night. The cabins sleep 4, possibly 5. Two cabins sleep 10. Most cabins have two windows; some have three. There are padlocks on the cabin. Please bring your own lock. You must make reservations and pay in advance. Call 1 800 634-3785.
Cash or Check - Any transaction must be paid with cash or check. No credit cards.
High Line - There will be a high line. It will run from the catwalk on the north end of the bridge to the road below. Expect there to be some congestion on the north end of the catwalk.
No Smoking - Smoking is not allowed on the catwalk.
Orientation Meeting - There will be an orientation meeting at 7 PM on Friday, October 17 which all rappellers must attend. The meeting will be at Building C on the map.
Ropes - Ropes MUST be in a Rope Bag, not chained or coiled.
Padding - On Rope 1 has made and is selling some special pads that conform to the shape of the catwalk and W plates. These pads are not a requirement. Go to www.onrope1.com for more information.
Parking - At this time, parking will be the same as last year off US Route 19, the north end of the Bridge the southbound side. You can begin to park in this area at 6:30 am. The New River Gorge Bridge is scheduled to close at 7 am. We will begin walking to the Bridge as a group at 7:30 am. We will issue 3 parking passes per team at the orientation. Some of you staying at our new headquarters will not have to drive. The shuttle buses will be making stops throughout the day.
Patience - We have twenty-five teams on the Bridge this year. There will be high line riders, media, and law enforcement throughout the day. Please do not be in a hurry.
Radio Communication - We will have a radio at the top, bottom, and each end of the bridge. Each team is required to have its own radio system. The safety team uses Motorola Talk About radios. They use channel 10 code 6. Please return your radio info (brand, type, number of radios, will everyone have a radio, frequency) by Monday, October 11.
Rafting - The Gauley will have its final release on Sunday, October 17. The Gauley River is rated the #8 whitewater in the world, 2nd in the US. Passages is offering special discounted whitewater rafting adventures for rappellers and their friends on the Gauley River - Gauley Marathon (both the Upper and Lower) $110; Upper Gauley $85; Lower Gauley $60. Call 1 800 634-3785 for reservations.
Rap Check - Each team should have a team member assist the rappeller hooking into the system and do a safety check before descent. As one person descends, the next rappeller will begin walking out on the catwalk. The catwalk is limited to three people per site. Please use your radio to communicate with your team from your rigging site. The safety team will not be controlling the access to the catwalk.
Rappel Site - Each rappel site will be marked on Friday, October 16.
Registration - Photo ID will be required when you check-in at registration on Friday, October 15, between noon and 6 PM. Registration will be at Building G on the map. There will be a table for you to complete the necessary paperwork and then two places for you to process the paperwork and receive your badge and t-shirt. Please be patient; it will take time.
Rigging - Three people per team will be allowed on the catwalk to set up the rope. A member of the safety team must check each rigging before any rope activity begins.
Safety - Safety is everyone’s responsibility.
Safety Officer - Bruce Smith is our Safety Officer. He will have a safety team on the catwalk. Please follow the directions of the safety team.
Security - Guards will be stationed at each end of the bridge. No one will be admitted to the catwalk without the proper pass. You can expect to empty your pack and be searched each time you access the catwalk.
Shuttle - The Bridge Day™ Commission is again coordinating and monitoring the shuttle and the roads on both sides of the bridge. Passages will provide a bus to shuttle both the rappellers and the BASE jumpers.
Speed Rappel and What is Not Allowed - The following will not be allowed on Bridge Day™: knotted ropes, figure 8's, mini-rack, sandals, upside down rappel, costume accessories (i.e., antlers) that may interfere with other rappellers, and speed rappels. Anyone doing what is not allowed will have that team’s anchor closed and the individual and the members of that team will not be allowed to continue rappelling or ascending. The safety team will determine what is a speed rappel. Ask questions about anything you are not sure of during the orientation meeting.
Tandem Rappel Request - Everyone wishing to do a tandem rappel must submit a request. The form is available on our website, www.bridgedayrappel.com. The deadline is Monday, October 11.
Weather - Inclement weather may force the delay or cancellation of all Bridge Day™ activities. Some of you may remember that one year Bridge Day™ was canceled the morning of the event. There are NO refunds if the event is changed or canceled for any reason.
Website - Check out Bridge Day™ Rappel info at www.bridgedayrappel.com.
Benjy
Benjy Simpson
Rappel Coordinator