[mindcrime]

Those smoke-jumper guys are f'in crazy, and totally badass. As a former firefighter (who did mainly structural firefighting) they have my utmost respect.

This also reminds me of an old joke:

Q: "Why are there wildland firefighters?"

A: "Because structural firefighters need heroes too."

[peatmoss]

Came here to say the same thing. I remember at my peak fitness (a time when my afternoon / evening hobby was to briskly walk a few miles uphill into the mountains surrounding Missoula) encountering some smoke jumpers on a conditioning session. I was unladen and walking at a very fast clip. I got passed on the trail by some guys wearing the largest packs I’d ever seen.

Later, I worked for the Forest Service doing IT, and remember seeing the smoke jumper training which involved taking off from the airfield in Missoula and getting dropped somewhere in the surrounding hillsides, and them showing up back at the smoke jumper center several hours later with their packs.

Totally badass.