This was probably the oldest item on my bucket list. Even before I got into running, I always dreamed about skydiving. All summer, running and rock climbing kept me busy, but when Groupon listed the skydive coupon last month, I jumped in right away. What’s the fun in jumping all alone? The more the merrier, right? I tried to recruit some friends to join me in my craziness and only one took the bait. Dani, who just got into running, is already winning some local 5Ks and recently finished her first Half Marathon, didn’t even give it a second thought. She registered right away and we were all set to pick a date for the jump. Since both our schedules were kind of busy for 2012, we decided to jump before the New Year. Having the coupon in hand and not jumping was like placing a bowl of candies in front of a kid and asking them not to touch it.
Jan 26, the day after Christmas day, was the day we were scheduled for our dive. My day started really badly for many reasons and I desperately wanted to jump, only to get a call from the drop zone that they were cancelling the sessions due to bad weather. We were just about an hour from the drop zone and were pretty disappointed. Since we had the whole day to ourselves, we went to Fall Creek Falls instead, and I rescheduled our jump to the 29th on our way. Nevertheless, we had a blast at the falls.
The morning of the 29th was just gorgeous: sunny, in the higher 50s with no overcast. We got there by noon to fill out the paperwork. We were made to watch a video that explained the legal implications and had to sign lots of paperwork. Basically it stated that we can’t sue anybody for any reason in the unlikely event that we should die. We handed over the paperwork and had to wait for our names to pop up on the screen. Meanwhile, we saw some folks who were getting ready to jump. Just watching the plane take off and skydivers landing with their parachutes was pretty awesome. Excitement was building up and I just couldn’t wait to jump.
Around 2PM, our names flashed on the screen along with the names of our trainers and videographer. We were assigned to Load #3. Mike, a no-bullshit guy, was my trainer and Frank was my videographer. I asked Frank about the freefall time. He said, “1 minute if the parachute opens and a minute and a half if it doesn’t.” Pretty funny, but that’s the truth. Mike got my harness ON and, unlike other trainers, he didn’t talk much, except for giving me three specific instructions: “1. When I tap your shoulder, extend your hands like a bird 2. Lift up your leg like a scorpion’s tail and 3. Don’t F@CK up”. I had no idea about #3, but he seemed to be a guy who knew what he was doing.
We headed towards our bird that would take us up in the air, 16000ft. We settled in and took off. No seat belts, no instructions, nothing. One of the instructors was joking around, saying “If anything happens, you are on your own, we will see you down there”. The altimeter was spinning around as we slowly ascended to 16000ft.
When they opened the glass door of the plane, that’s when I had the “THIS IS IT” and “OMG” moment. I was the first one to jump from my load. Mike tightened the harness to ensure everything was right and made one final check. We slowly walked towards the tip of the doorway. I could see the clouds below, hear the sound of the roaring engine and see the horizon in the distance. I was there standing at the tip of the door, 2.7 miles straight up from the ground. No turning back. 3..2..1…and off we jumped.
What happened for the next 1 minute was totally magical, awesome and an out-of-the-world experience. Falling towards the ground at 120mph is something that no words can explain; you’ve got to do it to feel it and experience it. After a couple of flips, we got stabilized and when Mike tapped my shoulder I extended my hands. I am flying, wohoooo. We were accelerating at a good speed for the first few seconds but then I could feel that we were falling at a very constant speed. After a point, you don’t feel the gravity; instead you feel as if you are floating and flying. Exhilarating feeling. We were making all kinds of cool moves, spinning and flipping around. Frank was taking all kinds of cool video shots and photographs. Mike was keeping an eye on his altimeter to get ready to launch the chute. Air was gushing past my face and I could feel my skin moving around like a plastic bag. It was time. Mike signaled Frank that he was going to launch the chute and he pulled the cords. Imagine hitting the car brakes real hard while you are cruising at a speed of 120mph. That’s how it felt when the chute opened. I was sad when the chute opened but I am glad that it did. LOL.
The next 5 mins were just a free ride. A hawk flew by close to our chute, which was pretty cool, and we could see the Atlanta skyline. Mike spun the chute around to add to the thrill, which was real thrilling. Moments before hitting the ground, the instructor asked me to lift my legs up and we landed just like a plane, on our butts. I am glad it wasn’t rocky, else it would have been a painful butt slide.
Soon Dani landed. It was one awesome experience. We could hardly hear one another. Must have been the pressure imbalance, I guess. Dani was super excited and we spent the next couple of hours talking about how cool it was. Though I did strike one item off my bucket list, I added another one: to get my AFF certification so that I can jump all by myself whenever/wherever I want. Thanks to Skydive Georgia for making it an awesome experience. One helluva day to remember for my lifetime.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.