BFL357 | 4.10.2018

Gwillym Hewetson

from New Zealand37 years

Read More

Unknown

BASE SEASONS

Unknown

SKYDIVES

Unknown

WS SKYDIVES

Unknown

BASE JUMPS

Unknown

WS BASE JUMPS
  • Date & Time: 4.10.2018, 16:00
  • Location: Stockhorn, Thun, Switzerland
  • Category: BASE Fatality
  • Object Type: Earth
  • Cause Of Death: Impact in terminal freefall
  • Clothing - Suit: Aura 3Expert Wingsuit by Squirrel
  • Canopy: Vision7 Cell - Vented by Atair Aerodynamics
  • Container: Stream2 Pin by Squirrel
  • Packing & Setup: Slider Up BOC Vertical
  • Weather: Winds light and variable
  • Possible Factors: Altitude awareness, Proximity flying

What do we believe happened?

Updated 6th Feb 2021,
Coming from one of his jumping buddies who obtained the information from those jumping with him.
Disclaimer: I was not present that day, but am friends with the 2 flyers whom were. I flew with him almost everyday for 3 months in 2018, and for 2 prior seasons.
As everyone knows, Gwill charged hard, & at the end of his 2018 season he was really pushing it on certain lines that he wanted to ‘put a stamp on.’ On exit that day, he declined a 2-way with an experienced terrain flyer b/c said flyer wouldn’t be ‘charging hard enough’ [that flyer is pretty gnarly, so we know Gwill’s frame of mind that day was full-on.] I think this was his 1st time flying Stockhorn. Gwill wasn’t much of a ‘marker’ guy, & didn’t often study/memorize others’ lines/markers. I do know he had reviewed some footage of the line though. Gwill was open to criticism, he often said his ‘ego’ was his main weakness; thus, he was often [& knowingly] too stubborn to actually fly with more margin for safety [I reminded him of it weekly for 3 months of flying.] With that said, as the season passed he actually was adapting to go less hard...ish, but ‘less hard’ for Gwill was still 10% more than acceptable by most. Many times while watching his footage on certain lines I muttered to him, ‘Duuude, that was insane, you know, if you flew 10% less than that, it would STILL BE insane AND pretty much perfect.’ But Gwill was a supernova, & he wanted to scorch everything he flew. So, yes, he always wanted to fly closer, in order to fly what he believed was: the perfect line. The way he flew was how he dreamed of flying. He lusted for those quick s-turns at the lowest depths of gorge flights. And that’s how he flew his last line at Stockhorn. Supernova.
Below are some random [not Gwill’s] screenshots from diff vids of the line, & the general vicinity (between 1. & 4.) of where he impacted. The 1. arrow is the entrance to the line, the red circle is a flyer [to get a visual of proportions.] I assume the impact would be around the yellow line in 2. & 3. Tight corners deep in there. The exact impact location is a relatively minor detail, he was most likely turning [& possibly drifting] too deep for that whole section [especially for a 1st flight there.]
I’ll also add a chopped up conversation we had days before his death; to illuminate his willingnesses to learn to charge less hard [w/ my reply of the only -& often repeated to him- advice that matters in this game: don’t die. Most dont know the evolution of his mind-set that summer, and how he was starting to chill out. They know him from his wildness pre-2018. Throughout the season, I watched him evolve into flying with 10% more margin, bail on lines during flight, poor-weather hike-off the mountain, get nervous, be afraid, have nightmares about the next days’ flights when we knew we were gonna charge hard, and sometimes fly super chill. But, unfortunately, he still flew that 110%...once in a while.
Regardless, HE MOTHERFUCKING LOVED TO FLY. His technical way of flying that summer was beautiful [some see danger / we see beauty.] He had become quite the advanced flyer, but few really knew the extent of it, cuz he didn’t share his vids [unlike many of the cacklers out there judging his wild style.] And why did he not share his vids like many of the cavilling keyboard nannies out there...cuz HE MOTHERFUCKING LOVED TO FLY. And in his last moment, he was doing just that.

Contact

Missing something?

Can you help us with incident interpretation? We are interested in any details regarding personal experience, gear, weather conditions and any other circumstances related to the incident.

Sending...
Your message was sent, thank you!