Last Sunday I had the opportunity to go skydiving!
It was incredible and virtually unfathomable.
Some friends and I arrived at the airport around 9:30am and I did not jump until about 4:30pm. Although I had all day to watch others jump and visualize my own experience, some how, some way I was never nervous...well until the door opened!
Here's my attempt to share every moment of the adventure!
As you may guess, the reality of this adventure did not come until I was in this small plane with 4 others. It took about 15 minutes for the plane to circle the skies to reach the desired 10,000 feet. The plane ride was enjoyable but somewhat overlooked by the expectations of the actual jump. Since I was jumping near the end of the daylight, it was a bit chilly as we elevated, but I forgot how cold I was becoming as we were prepping to take the leap of faith. As we elevated, my guide continuously showed me the altitudes we were reaching and giving me instructions. Once we reached 9,000 feet, it was time to get ready. That is when the Hail Mary began, the adrenaline set in, and the exit happened before I knew it!
We all received a quick training before we jumped. I was mostly concerned with making sure that I would have my body positioned correctly as we exited the plane. Although it took some concentration, most of the work was done naturally by the force of the wind and gravity.
Once we reached the 10,000 feet, the two individual jumpers exited the plane. That was the moment of truth...seeing, hearing, and feeling the door open and watching them exit with a glimpse of the ground below and a gust of wind. Immediately after they exited, it was our time to move. I had to swing my legs around the wall of the plane (as I am attached tandem to the guide) and hang my legs outside of the plane between the door and the wing. Immediately, the guide rocked us forward (READY) then back (SET) then forward again (GO). Go this time meant rolling out of the plane. Supposedly we somersaulted 2.5 times before being parallel with the ground....and so the free fall began...but I do not recall flipping!
From here on out I have no true concept of what took place, but I will try to share what went through my mind, and what I have reflected upon since.
I believe that the free fall is supposed to last for about 30 seconds, though it felt like about 1o. I believe they said that we fell at 120 mph. All I know is that I did not feel like I was falling, but I felt the pressure of the wind, went nearly deaf due to the quick change of elevation, the sound was loud, felt the skin of my face flying backwards and shaking, much like a cartoon would express, and enjoyed every second of it. All I really remember going through my mind was that "this is incredible"!
Shortly the parachute would fly out and change the experience immediately. During the free fall my body was in a somewhat arched position with my arms out like chicken wings, my neck back, and my legs arched behind me. As soon as the parachute was released, the entire experience changed. My legs flung forward nearly hitting my face (or though it seemed), the pressure lightened, the sound shut off, and we were floating. I just remember thinking that what I had just experienced was incredible and I already could not fathom what had just happened during the free fall.
As we floated down, the guide let me help him pull some of the chords to allow us to spin 360s while descending ...that was enjoyable.
The trip down, once we had the chute felt like five minutes...I wish we could have coasted more in the air on the descent.
As we prepared for landing, I was told to pike my legs up in order to allow the guide to land us.
We were trained to land on our butts, but a few that day were able to land on their feet. I definitely came in with the butt technique!
Here I am just after landing...all I can say is that it was incredible!
I could not fathom what I had just done, and the experience was so quick that it was almost as though I never did it. But now, when I look back, more of the experience comes back to me. But as my friends and I agreed, this was a sensation that you can never fully explain or remember until you are in that same situation once again. With that said you may ask, would I do it again? Today I would say yes, however, it's not necessary.
As I said before, the day I jumped I was never really nervous...but the day I said yes to do it, I was a little nervous because only one other time in my life had I signed a contract to acknowledge that I was putting my life on the line. [Note to those who are considering jumping: just as there is danger in any extreme activity such as skydiving, there are several methods to make a parachute release, so that should never be a worry!] Anyways, if you are at all considering, I'd say go for it! You will never experience an adventure quite like skydiving. Then again, if you never go, that's okay too, because it happens so fast, you almost don't even remember it!
Just today, I was looking in the sky and saw many traces of planes. It was then that I realized that when I watched my friends jump, it was not until the small flap came out, just before the parachute that I was even able to pick them out of the sky. I just can't fathom that we were free falling so high in the sky that no one could see us! Crazy!
