What a day. In the last twenty-four hours I’ve slammed two 16oz redbulls, wrote some code for a few Facebook pages, toured 5 apartment buildings, almost fell to tears when I saw how much tuition has gone up and – oh yeah, signed up for a crash course in skydiving. And it’s only Thursday.
My name is AJ Stuyvenberg. I decided after my freshman year at the University of Minnesota that I’d rather stay in town for the summer and try to find work, than to go back to my small hometown and live with my family. I got a job at a bar, and a print shop, and haven’t looked back yet.
Which brings me to my skydiving tale. I’ve been looking skywards since I was a little kid, throwing army men with parachutes, even putting on a Superman cape, running down the hallway and diving head-first onto my couch asking my dad “Am I getting higher daddy? Am I flying?”
Naturally the day I turned 18, my friends and I took a break from a weekend of camping and drinking to hurl ourselves out of a plane 13,500 feet in the air. Needless to say, I was hooked.
Like everybody who was smart enough to make the decision to skydive, I felt the unceasing desire to gaze skyward and wish for that feeling back. It’s impossible to describe to anybody who hasn’t jumped before, but I literally could think and speak about nothing but skydiving for days.
The only problem was that I was heading off to college, and carrying 13,000 dollars in debt with me. That really didn’t bother me, as I immediately began donating plasma and saving a little bit each month, all winter. I knew what I wanted, and I was going to do it. Now the time has finally come. It’s official, I’ve registered for my first class in the Static Line Progression tomorrow, and will be writing about it the whole way.
Currently, I’m planning on finishing the progression in 4-5 weeks. I plan on jumping every Wednesday and Friday, and hoping to jump 2 or 3 times per week. We’ll see whether or not that happens, but since I’ve saved enough to pay everything up front, the only factors involved in progression will be time and weather.
I’ve decided to write a blog about skydiving for many reasons. Part of my internship at the print shop I work at is to plan, design, code and implement their facebook and twitter page. Whilst doing such, I stumbled upon many interesting, and funny blogs written by regular people. I have found that the more I work with these social media outlets, the more I love them. So moving onto a blog was natural.
Secondly, I’ve found that an increasing number of DZ’s are moving to an AFF-only method of instructing students. I think the Static Line method of instruction is quickly falling out of favor because it takes longer to achieve freefall, and DZ’s charge less for it. Adam pointed out that nobody on staff at Skydive Addiction progressed using the S/L method, and thought I may have an interesting perspective. Hopefully I do!
I’m incredibly excited to begin tomorrow. I received a call from the DZ with both good news, and bad news. The good news is that nobody else will be at the course, so I’ll be there getting one on one attention from a jumpmaster. The bad news, is that the winds might be a little high for me to jump tomorrow, so it might have to wait til next Wednesday. I’ll be sure to post as much video, pictures, and blogs about them as I have time for.
I invite you all, jumpmasters, skydivers, students and enthusiasts a like leave a comment. I love hearing from new people, and I really want to see what you guys think. Did you start your skydiving addiction through AFF or S/L? Which do you think is better? Why?
Sorry for the long delays in between postings, I’ve just been so busy with my new job, with my summer plans, with getting Skydive Addiction on the map, with making excuses as to why I haven’t been posting, with procrastinating posting, and with a bunch of other stuff.
Seriously speaking though, getting Skydive Addiction on the map is my #1 priority…
Behind skydiving of course 😛
So anyways, this past weekend, I managed to convince 8 of my friends from a couple of DZs I jump at to join me on a bungee jumping road trip.
Needless to say, I heard at least 20 skydivers say: “Are you crazy? How could you jump off a perfectly good bridge… WITHOUT a parachute?”
Yes, that’s right… Skydivers asked me the most God awful question in the world…
Why wouldn’t I? It’s quite a different rush from skydiving, and it’s a welcome change from the regular routine… Given, it’s not something you’d find me doing every day, but it’s fun once in a while.
So we headed to the Great Canadian Bungee which claims to be the highest bungee jump in North America. It’s 200 feet over a very very blue lake. Beautiful place actually.
I jumped there last year (as you can see on one of my 1st posts). And it was a lot of fun, so I decided to head back.
Turns out that when you’re 8 or 9 people, it’s actually cheaper to pay for 10 then it is to pay for 8 or 9… Group discount… So that’s exactly what we did.
And since I organized it, my friends were quick to put my name down as the person to do two jumps.
S-WEET!!
So the 1st person to jump is a girl named Stephanie, she’s done 5 tandem skydives, but doesn’t have her license yet. She’s never done a bungee jump however. (They went by weight)
After 7 minutes of her standing at the edge not jumping and 7 minutes of myself and one of the other guys yelling at her to hurry up, she finally took the plunge… Ok, well she held hands with the instructor and he slowly lowered her backwards until she finally fell. HI HI =)
The others jumped right away, which was a welcome sight =D
My first jump was a normal forward dive with my ankles strapped in, didn’t give me the same adrenaline rush as the 1st time though (Which pretty much proved that once you face a fear, you never get that same rush again =( )
I even tested it… I started running back up the hill to get to the top… Half way up, I couldn’t breathe anymore… If I had an adrenaline pumping through my veins, I probably would’ve made it up without breaking a sweat.
So on the 2nd jump, I decided to strap myself in by the shoulders. The instructors at the top told me that since I was so comfortable with jumping off the bridge that I could do a flip this time.
We decided that I’d do a back flip. That back flip then turned into a double and if I had known how much more time I had, I probably would’ve been able to get a third in. Damn me and my dissatisfaction!!!!!
So after spending 2 and a half hours at the bungee jump place, we then decided to go grab breakfast at some random place in town… This place was on the 2nd floor of a supermarket… And I can say one thing… If we thought waiting for Stephanie to jump was a lifetime wait… Waiting for sunny side up eggs and toast to be prepared was an eternity.
Fast forward an hour and we arrive at Go Skydive. It’s one of those DZs that you wouldn’t be able to find if you didn’t know where to go… We didn’t know where to go.
We parked in the Gatineau airport’s parking lot, looked around for signs, but couldn’t find any.
We were given directions on how to walk there by a girl who had just completed her 1st tandem =).
So we get there, they check out our paperwork, the rigs we’re jumping, and so on.
Then they tell us that even though we’re regular jumpers who have jumped together before, they want us to jump with a coach ?!?!?!?!
My buddy Alex lent me his rig (Sabre I 170 in a Javelin J2 rig), he spent 15 minutes checking the gear making sure that everything was ok even after a rigger took a look at it and I had inspected it too… His reasoning was that he didn’t want my death on his conscience. I laughed, told him that I’d pull the reserve on purpose then went into the plane 😛
In the end, they decided to put 5 of us on a Cessna 182 (TINY plane!!!) instead of their Navaho (Still tiny, but bigger than the Cessna) but this time, we didn’t need a coach.
For those of you who don’t really know the difference, with a Cessna, you have to get out of the door, hang onto a strut below the wing, stand on a step and hang there before your jump.
On the Navaho, you jump out of the door. On the Twin Otter and the Caravans that my home DZs have, you not only jump out of the door, but you have a bench to sit on 😛
Anyways, the DZ’s landing area is bigger than the one at Parachute Montreal but the planes, much smaller.
The staff was nice, but the rigger who packed Alex’s rig after I jumped took ages… He also asked us different questions about the rig and forgot to collapse the pilot chute (a fairly dangerous mistake that can sometimes cause a malfunction). Anyways, all in all, I’d jump there again, but I’d also pack my own rig 😛
Things were different when I first started skydiving. Sure, I was in a completely different place in my life, given that basically everything has changed since that first skydive last April. It’s not so much life that was different as my attitude toward the sport.
(Back when nothing else mattered but freefall – check out that smile, couldn’t get much bigger) *Photo by Dan Mathie
At some point, likely earlier this season, a switch was flipped in my brain – one that took me from innocent newbie skydiver to one who has everything to prove…to myself. The fun challenges that I once thoroughly enjoyed became challenges that, if I didn’t conquer, I wasn’t satisfied with the skydive. I became easily frustrated. I expected to be able to master every new freefly move within a couple skydives. Needless to say, my Type A personality got the best of me.
So a took a break from the need to succeed and got back to that learning phase of my skydiving career by donning a wingsuit. Almost immediately that child-like excitement overwhelmed me. My attitude was once again focused on the excitement of the skydive and just learning the basics. It was no longer about trying to get somewhere fast, it was about enjoying the moment :).
And what would you know, when it was time to put my freefly suit and weight belt back on, my attitude carried over from wingsuiting. It was about enjoying the skydive. Sure, there was still high levels of effort put into staying with the group, but it became less about trying to improve exponentially on every skydive. I was more relaxed, my head was in the jump for the fun and excitement of it. Of course, once I relaxed, the jump seemed that much easier. As a student, you’re taught to relax into your arch…same goes for freeflying. Turns out, when you really do and get your head out of what the jump “should be,” it becomes that much more enjoyable.
What once drew me to this sport is now drawing me back in even harder. Enjoying the time in freefall, whether freeflying, being a base on my belly, or in a wingsuit, it’s more about the experience than perfection. And now more than ever I believe if you spend a little less energy on trying to perfect a skill and a little more time enjoying what you’re doing – even if the jump goes to hell – that the learning curve will be higher.
(See that smile? Just like it was as a student…loving the innocence of this picture)*Photo by Sandy Weltman
Besides, no matter how precise your sitfly is or whether you can always stick that head down with the perfect transition, you’re still skydiving. In the end, that in itself is an incredible experiences.
So the next time you (and me for that matter) find yourself frustrated that your learning curve seems to be slowing down a bit, do your best to forget about it and remember what got you into this sport in the first place. Whether it’s the freefall or the canopy ride, your desire for skydive was once very simple. Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that can bring the most joy.
I’ve been putting off writing my intro post for months now and Adam’s been patient, even though he technically deleted my account once already! Anyways, I’m Greg — an adrenaline junkie and software engineer. I love rock-climbing, biking, running and have a long list of other activities I’m planning on getting to.
I’ve always been enamored with skydiving, and knew that I’d eventually do it. I landed an awesome job last year and finally had the means to start the PFF courses this season (it’s an expensive hobby). Adam had finished his solo certification the winter before, and he suggested I take the course at Nouvel Air in Farnham, Quebec. I started the theory courses and wind tunnel session on May 11 and was ready for my first solo jump for the coming Saturday. At this point, I’d never even done a tandem jump and was unaware that they encouraged it (I only found this out after my solo certification was done). In my mind, I had already committed to starting this sport, so a tandem jump would’ve just been a wasted $250.
Cut to the Saturday, and the entire day was rained out (this has been a recurring theme all season for me since I can only jump on Saturdays now). I waited around for almost the entire day with no break in the weather. Disappointed but determined to jump, I decided to go back the next day. Luckily the weather was better, and I was scheduled for my first PFF with two instructors. Now, I don’t know what usually goes through other people’s mind on their first solo jump, but I was not anxious at all. At this point, I had 20 minutes of wind tunneling under my belt, spent an entire day imagining the jump, read through the PFF and PIM handbooks multiple times, and was used to heights and falling (10 foot whippers in rock climbing can be pretty intense). I was as ready as one can be (or so I thought), so when it came time to step up to that doorway and jump, I didn’t miss a beat… that is, until I started falling. The feeling was so overwhelming, that by the time my instructors stabilized me, I literally forgot everything I was supposed to do. “Sensory overload” as they say. After what seemed like 20 – 30 seconds of bewildered staring, it all finally came back to me, and I did my circle of awareness, attempted some 360s and just worked on my general stability.
After that first jump, it felt like my heart was racing even on the way up for my second. I couldn’t wait to jump again! Unfortunately, the winds sped up on the ascent, so I had to go down with the plane, and was grounded until the evening. I did get two more jumps in that day, one of which was during sunset along with a plan B landing in some corn fields 🙂 The next week, I did jump #4 – #9 to finish the PFF course, with #6 as my very first solo (no instructors). It was at the end of all this when I was informed that I should’ve done a tandem jump first to complete the 10 required for the solo certification, but obviously it was too late 😛
Since then (May 24), I’ve only jumped 5 more times because the weather or wind conditions have been crap on Saturdays. I would love to jump more often, but working until 9pm on weekdays and reserving Sundays for rock climbing don’t give me many options 🙁 This may be a blessing, since I’d probably bankrupt myself with this sport.
As for my plans in skydiving, I’m hoping to finish (or at least start) my A license by the end of this season, so that I can travel and jump in other countries by next year.
The following video is from my 7th jump and the “test” for the solo certification:
Before I dive right into my first topic, I should probably give a short introduction, huh?
I’m Ashley – the newest blogger here at Skydive Addiction. I’m beyond thrilled that Adam asked me to join the crew here because, just like the rest of ’em, I’m an adrenaline junkie. My path to the sport started like a lot of others: I did a tandem skydive thinking it’d be a one time thrill, but by the time my feet were back on the ground I knew this was something I’d be doing for the rest of my life.
That was just more than a year ago. I’ve spent the last year of my life changing everything I once knew. My relationships have changed along with my priorities and my work/life balance. My views of the world are different. I’m stronger and happier than I’ve ever been. I’ve learned lessons I thought I never would have – all thanks to skydiving.
My skydiving career is just beginning, but I already feel like I’ve accomplished so much. Most of the time I’m a freeflyer, working to perfect my head up positions, dabbling with head down every now and again. I’ve also begun playing in the sky with a wingsuit. There’s so much to learn and so many new challenges – I love this sport!
But I’m not here to just talk about me…
I was recently asked by a student skydiver this question: how do you balance it all? Where do you find the time to fit it all in?
It’s something I’ve been wracking my brain over for the past few days, because honestly, there’s not one right answer. And if there is, I’ve yet to figure it out.
Balance is something I struggle with everyday. I’m a multitasker, so if there aren’t a million balls in the air at once I’m bored. Sometimes this backfires and I lose a ball or two, but for the most part it’s worked for me so far.
What I can tell you is that I’ve learned the importance of the other parts of my life, outside of the dropzone. It’s really hit me hard this season that *gasp* there IS life outside of skydiving. Until recently, nothing else mattered. My focus was on skydiving as often as possible, traveling when the weather gets bad, going to boogies, spending every weekend feeding the need for freefall. But that quickly led to my obsession bleeding into those times when I couldn’t be out skydiving, like when I had to go to work. My work days were miserable, I was day dreaming about that next jump…my focus was on the sport and nothing else. Relationships with my family and friends were suffering. The worst part: I didn’t even care.
I’ve come to realize that a balance is possible. Life isn’t always about that next adrenaline fix. Sometimes it’s about slowing down and savoring every moment. I think wingsuiting taught me how to do that. It’s like I was once freeflying through life at high speeds, always looking toward that next adrenaline fix, and now I’m learning to take a little more time to savor the good things in life, to savor that freefall for a little longer.
Ha! Cool analogy. I just pulled that one out of thin air. I’m pretty proud :).
One piece of advice that I was given a few months back came from the freefall photographer, Norman Kent, and it’s this: embrace each moment and live it to the fullest. That’s what skydiving is about – we leave whatever is in our heads in the door the second we jump out and for 60 seconds, it’s all about the skydive. So do that with all aspects of your life. Open your eyes and shut your mouth. Pay attention. Embrace every moment as it’s happening rather than looking behind you or too far out in front. Live in the moment.
I guess the best way for me to approach it is to take life one step at a time, compartmentalize. When I’m at the office (doing a job I love I must add…I’m lucky in that respect) I’m thinking of the job at hand. It helps me be a better practitioner and I end up enjoying it more. When I’m blogging, my focus is on the topic and my readers. And of course, when I’m skydiving, it’s all about the jump.
So for now, that’s the best I can offer on keeping your life balanced while considering yourself a skydiver. I’m still a newbie too, so it’s very much a learning process. I’ll be sure to share the lessons as they continue to arise.
My original plan for this year: To have 40 jumps done by October (The end of the season here)
My actual results: It’s only the begining of July and I’m already at 47…
My original plan for this year: To spend no more than 1000$ on jumps after completing my solo course in florida…
My actual results: I’ve spent 3337$ (not counting the 1750$ for the solo course, the 350$ for the jump suit, or the 1200$ spent going to Florida to take that solo course)
My original plan for this year: To prepare myself for my A license and then possibly take the RW and packing courses at the begining of next season.
My actual results: I’ve not only completed my RW and packing course, I’ve already done the A license exam and sent it in, and am already somewhat started on getting my B…
My original plan for this year: Maybe buy a jump suit once I had some experience and start looking at gear for next year.
My actual results: I’ve had my jump suit since I took my solo course (before even completing my 1st jump, I had already bought a pit special with canvas grips and vented booties), I now have a black factory diver on the way (It’s still on back-order), I’m also waiting to demo an altimeter, and I have a packing tool already in the mail on it’s way to me… Yes, I have a packing tool on the way before even having a rig to pack 😛
My original plan for this year: To get comfortable with landing a student canopy and maybe try out a big sport canopy next season.
My actual results: I’m already bored with those slow student canopies, have been jumping sport 190s and am now looking at downsizing what I jump to a 170, to then possibly buy a 150 for myself… (For those of you who think 190, 170, 150 is all gipperish, it’s the size of the parachute, the bigger the parachute proportionally to one’s weight, the slower you descend, for example, a 190 is 190 sq ft, with a 1.0 load, it would be 190 lbs of weight, so the weight of the person + equipment would be 190 lbs. a load of 1.5 for the same weight person would be a 126 sq ft parachute (which would go down VERY fast). I’m right now looking at going to a 170, which would be a load of 1.088)
As you can see, and as I’ve noticed, I haven’t at all been in line with my original plans… I’ve surpassed all of them, which in some cases is a good thing… I.E. my level of experience, which is great. I still know NOTHING about the sport, but I know way more than I had originally hoped to :).
However, I’ve also spent more than triple my original budget for the year (For next year, I’m actually setting aside 4 times the money that I had set aside for this year, plus I’m putting 5k aside to buy a rig, so I’ll get double the jumps for the same money… I’m just hoping that I don’t overshoot THAT budget as well :-/)
– Adam out.
Hopefully your blue skies aren’t as smog filled as the ones I see outside my window right now =D
“It’s the closest you’ll ever get to God.” I guess my story begins with this quote from the movie Point Break, a film my friend and I watched incessantly and memorized line for line when we weren’t slingin’ drinks behind the bar together back in the early 90’s. In our early 20’s at the time, with an abundance of adrenaline and a deficit of good sense, we’d reaffirm our commitment to jump together one day each time we’d watch the exciting but (as I now realize) unrealistic skydiving scene from the movie. At the time, it seemed as sure to happen as the sun rising each day.
Fast forward to Fall of 2009. Guess what? Life happened. My buddy was living his and I was living mine, and our joint skydive had not occurred in either during the 16+ years since we’d gone our separate ways. The friendship was still solid and we’d usually talk several times a year, but the skydiving promise was rarely mentioned. My birthday was coming up in November, and I wanted to do a little something different for this one. After striking up a conversation with a friend at my favorite cigar bar one afternoon, the topic came up. She’d done a tandem. Twice! Absolutely loved it both times. I told her I’d always wanted to, but just never got around to it. By the time I left that evening, I was seriously considering it. As wonderful as the idea of jumping with my buddy seemed, I realized that if it hadn’t happened in over 16 years, it probably wasn’t going to, so this was something I was going to have to do on my own. Looking back, I must also admit that there may have been a bit of midlife crisis at play here too…..a small epiphany of sorts. “I’m not getting any younger. I’m in good shape for my age, and most of my friends are in a different place in life right now. Carpe Diem motherfucker. It’s now or never” I’d tell myself. So over the next week, I made peace with the fact that I may actually be able to do it. I researched the specifics and began to wonder if I really had the balls to jump out of a plane. After wrestling with myself for a bit longer, I decided that my 42nd birthday would be like no other. I was going to do it. Now….how to tell those near and dear to me! Freda, my significant other, reacted with a great deal of concern, but to her credit, never discouraged me. She explained that her concern was out of love and for my safety, but if that’s what I wanted to do, go for it. My parents both reacted in a much calmer way than I thought. My mother even stated, “Well, I always thought you’d do something like that.” My father was actually quite intrigued by the idea. I was shocked….but in a pleasant way, knowing I wouldn’t have to carry the additional burdens of disapproval of loved ones up and then down with me. So it was decided. I called Skydive The Farm in Rockmart, Ga., and set up a tandem on my birthday, a Saturday in November. I was really going to do it!
The next 5 or 6 weeks seemed to drag out. I continued reading and learning about what I was about to experience. My heart would race when I’d watch videos and think of how it must be to fall from 14000 feet. One weekend, two weeks before I was scheduled to jump, we were at a Halloween party and I mentioned what I was planning to do. A friend, upon hearing what I was planning to do, immediately said he would do it with me. I called bullshit, and he said “No really, I’m serious. I’ve always wanted to do it.” I looked at his wife, who nodded in agreement. So he committed, and we were set to do it together. Now I didn’t have to go it alone! There were daily texts between us. 10 days….6 days….3 days. Finally, it was time!
My Dad and I arrived at the DZ bright and early on the Saturday morning of my birthday. My friend and his wife met us there. Freda opted to not come and watch, but did choose to receive a phone call upon my landing safely! We were pretty much the first ones there and didn’t really know where to go, but a regular got there about the same time and directed us to the office. We walked in and found someone sleeping on the couch. Immediately the thoughts began to race through my mind. “I don’t know about this. What kind of place lets people sleep on the couch? This doesn’t look very professional to me. Is the guy sleeping going to be the one I jump with?” All sorts of other thoughts raced through my mind as I looked around. I now realize that this is just a part of life at most dropzones, but at the time it was a little unnerving when mixed with all my other thoughts and feelings. Nevertheless, things started coming to life. We read and signed the waiver forms, which as most of you know, can be quite an experience in itself. We then watched a video of what we were getting ready to do. Soon after, we were led into the hangar and given our choice of who we could jump with. They asked me first, and pointed around to a few people. One of the guys was sleeved out in tattoos, had hoop pierced ears, etc. I saw him and said “That’s my guy.” His name was Ryan…..a 23-year-old skydiving badass that completely looked the part for what I wanted to associate with my skydiving experience. We met, and he began telling me all the specifics about what to do during the skydive. We got all rigged up, took a few pictures, and it was off to the bus to head to the airport, only about 10 minutes away. It was starting to get real now!
The 10 minute ride to the airport was pretty quiet and uneventful. I asked Ryan a few questions, and while friendly enough, he wasn’t overly chatty. Others were talking, joking and whatnot. I particularly remember several people commenting on the fact that one of the other tandem instructors had recently lost a good bit of weight. “Yeah, that meth’s a helluva a drug,” he said. It was obviously a joke, and brought out a good chuckle among everyone. It was a nice way to ease the tension, but before I knew it, we were pulling up to the plane. My heart began to beat faster, my mouth got dry, and my palms got sweaty. We departed the bus and my video guy did another quick little piece before we boarded. We filed into the plane and took our seats. The pilot started the engines and the fumes filled the cabin. They were really strong…..so much that they had to open the door so everyone could breathe! We took off and began the climb to altitude. There was one hop ‘n’ pop, so at about 5000, the red light came on and the door slid up. When I felt that cold air and looked out into the sky, that’s when it really started to hit me. Next thing I knew, a guy took his position in the door, faced forward, and just hopped out. There one second, gone the next. Holy Shit!!! It was shockingly surreal. In my head, for the first time I was saying “What the fuck are you doing?” The video guy was filming and turned to me to get my reaction. “Hey Allan! What do think about that? Did you see that guy get sucked out of here?” I commented, and he then said “Okay, next time that door opens, it’s your turn. Skydiving baby.” So we got to 14000 and the door opened. People, and groups of people, started jumping out. We were towards the end, and my buddy went just before me. We got to the door and I looked down. It was literally breathtaking in the truest sense of the word. I have never had such clarity of life as I did at that moment. I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. Before I knew it, we rolled out of the plane doing forward flips…..two to be exact. We got belly down and stable, and the drogue was deployed. I immediately began screaming. Not a terrifying scream, but more of an “I just jumped out of a plane and am having a fuckin’ blast” scream. Dave, the video guy, appeared in front of me and extended his hand, which I grabbed. We were spinning, high-fiving, and everything else. Then, before I knew it, freefall ended as Ryan deployed the main. This is when things got really interesting.
The deployment was a bit more violent than I was expecting. Not a neck-breaker or anything, but pretty substantial nonetheless. I looked up and saw the parachute over our heads, but noticed we were spinning. I thought “Hmmm…..this doesn’t seem right.” Ryan didn’t say anything initially and I could tell he was working to try and fix something. We continued to spin. I asked “Are we cool?” He said, “We will be if I can get this worked out,” or something to that effect. Then he asked me to help him kick. I’m like “Kick how?” This isn’t something we’d covered before the jump, so I had no idea what he wanted me to do. Nevertheless, I tried to do what he asked, to no avail. He then calmly announced “Okay….we’re gonna have to chop.” Now I didn’t know exactly what “chop” meant in skydiving lingo, but I had a pretty good idea based on the root meaning of the word. The next thing I know, he says “3…2…1.” The trap door opened, and we fell for a few more seconds. I then look up and see the most beautiful fully inflated grey canopy. No spins this time either. All the lines were extending to the chute in a straight, proportional and unobstructed way. Almost immediately, he announced “Well, that was #8 for me.” I said “Let me get this straight. Did we just have a main parachute failure?” “Yep, he said. “And out of the thousands of jumps you’ve done, that’s only the 8th time you’ve had to go to reserve on a tandem?” “Yep,” he said. We came in and made a perfect slide-in landing. Dave was there to greet us with the camera. “What do think of that Allan? You got a 2 for 1! Not everybody gets one of those!” My buddy and I met, slapped high-fives and gave each other a big hug. On the walk back to the hangar, a very nice and supportive guy approached me, put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to worry about it. “It’s about a 1 in 1000 chance, but it does happen, and that’s why there are reserves,” he stated. Although things were still going at warp speed in my mind, I really appreciated such a kind and comforting gesture from a total stranger. That was when all the misconceptions and stereotypes about skydivers began to melt away in my mind. The magnitude of what had just happened didn’t really sink in for quite some time. I had waited 42 years and finally grown the balls to jump out of a plane, only to have a main chute malfunction of severe line twists that resulted in a cutaway. Un…Fucking…Believable!!!!! As I tried to absorb and make sense of it, a weird feeling came over me: the malfunction and cutaway, in a strange and sick sort of way, had only added to the experience. I couldn’t believe I was actually feeling this way about it. “I really must be certifiable,” I thought to myself. I left the dropzone that day supercharged with adrenaline and with a whirlwind of thoughts, but one thing was clear: I knew I’d be back.
The four of us left the Farm and decided to grab some lunch. As we talked about the experience, my buddy and I decided that we wanted to get licensed together. As we talked about what we’d just done, I could hardly get my beer up to my mouth without spilling it. I couldn’t believe it. I’d just survived a main malfunction, and wanted to go back for more! We agreed that we’d get through the holidays, and would start the process sometime after the first of the year. So that’s what happened. I got through the holidays, saved some money and started my journey in earnest around the end of February this year. My buddy had other priorities to pursue and opted not to do it yet. He still wants to, so we’ll see. For me, the pull was undeniable. And it continues to be just that….undeniable.
So as you may have gathered from the title of this, I’m at 34 jumps and counting. I’d planned to try and summarize everything I’ve felt and done up to this point in one writing, but as you can see ended up getting a little long-winded! For now, let me just say that this has been an incredibly defining experience for me. This will now be a multi-part memoir, so there will be plenty more thoughts and stories in the future. I hope you’ll continue the journey with me in part II, which will be coming soon. Until then, enjoy the pic of me and my buddy after our tandem.
“Adrenaline addiction is very common. Type-A personalities become addicted to their excessive activity by the stimulation and arousal of adrenaline. People who are constantly angry, fearful, guilty, or worrisome arouse their adrenaline hormone even though they may sit around doing nothing else. People who are excessive in their participation in jogging, exercise, bodybuilding, aerobics, sports, skiing, mountain climbing, car racing or flying…airplanes become addicted because of the adrenaline rush from their activity. They describe the ‘rush’ they get from their activity and feel depressed when they can’t participate for some unexpected reason.”
– Bible Life Ministries: Absolute Scientific Proof Carbohydrates are Pathogenic (Disease Causing)
For those of you who already are skydivers, you probably already knew what I was getting at…
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For those of you who aren’t…
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Getting annoyed yet?
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Fine, I’ll tell you. The most painful and agonizing part of the sport is the fact that 95% of your time is spent waiting for something.
Waiting on the weather to improve so that you can jump.
Waiting on the plane to gas up so that the next load can board.
Waiting on your load to board so you can get up in the air.
Waiting on the plane to get into altitude so that you can open the door.
Waiting for the door to open so that people can start jumping out.
Waiting on that dude who’s spending 3 hours looking out the door for obstacles and for the “perfect spot” to jump out.
Waiting on your turn to finally jump off the plane.
WEEEEEEEEE SKYDIVE!!!!
Waiting to get to the right altitude to open your canape.
Waiting to get to the point where you start your landing pattern.
SWOOOOOOOOP 😀
Waiting on the rigger to pack your parachute (If you’re lazy that is)
Waiting on the next load to go in the air.
Oh and I almost forgot…
Waiting on your new gear to arrive, which is usually on back order, so you get a LONG wait.
I’ve been waiting 2 weeks so far, and I was just told that it’ll be another month at least before I get my new helmet :'(
Here’s to hoping that I get it in time for my birthday. (July 31st)
