As soon as my feet touched the ground after skydiving I wanted to go again! It has that effect on most people, and for many individuals it becomes a lifestyle sport. My instructor, Kyle, lives with his parents and spends every penny he has skydiving, scuba diving, and most recently flying in a wind suit. It sounds like a lot of fun, but most of us choose to spend our money on more responsible things, and not experiences. You may be tempted to judge, but if there is one thing I’ve learned in life it’s that there are “different strokes for different folks.” However, after just one jump it was easy to understand why the thrill of skydiving is so addicting.
You Meet Really Cool People
I went with a wonderful group of people celebrating our friend Ash Lee’s 30th birthday. When we arrived at the training center, everyone was excited. Ash Lee had a giant smile on her face, and there was a buzz in the building, from friends, to staff, to strangers. We all immediately had something in common, and it was obvious that the regulars have a tight bond. It’s similar to that of the surfing or scuba diving community. As they hugged each other, high-fived, and talked shop, it was clear to me that these were more than friends, they were family.
The Airplane Ride
After about 45 minutes of watching training videos and receiving instruction, we put on our gear for a tandem jump and headed out to the airplane. Inside the little prop plane the six of us squeezed tightly together like sardines in a can. If you like a good deal of personal space and aren’t comfortable spooning with a stranger, a tandem jump is probably not for you. Fortunately, Kyle was a good looking young man and I didn’t mind at all. We viewed the world around us from 10,000 feet up, where we could see six different mountain peaks from the Cascade Mountain Range and the city of Portland way off in the distance. Kyle clipped us together tightly, checked all the connections and then the plane door opened. It was time to jump!
The Thrill of Free Falling
Free falling during our jump
Sitting on the edge of an airplane at 10,000 feet with the door open is a feeling I’ll never forget. The ground underneath you looks like some sort of GPS map, with fields and plots outlining a patchwork quilt of nature below. The wind was so strong that it took strength to just maneuver my legs to the ledge. Suddenly Kyle yelled, “Here we go!” A moment later we were falling through the air at 125 miles per hour and the patches below were getting bigger fast. My face and hands were ice cold and my heart was racing like never before in my entire life. It was a thrill that defies words!
Floating Like a Feather
Enjoying the view during our jump
The free fall lasted about 45 short seconds, and then BAM, the shoot opens and everything gets silent. It’s felt like we were floating in the air like a feather in the breeze. It was a beautiful peaceful feeling. The bright purple and blue colors of the parachute above us cast a shadow on to the ground below and I looked down on a flock of birds flying through the sky. I could see some of our party standing near the landing site looking like little dots on the grass. Kyle let me take the controls and showed me how to do a couple of fast spins. The g-forces were awesome and a great contrast to the tranquility of floating through the sky.
Ready to go again!
Sky diving was everything I had hoped for and more. If I won the lottery I would be back there time and time again, but until I do I will probably just have to remember the experience as it was, an extraordinary bucket list experience that I’ll never forget,