Skydiving part 2

We were getting close to our jumping altitude and Jordi started tightening all the straps for the jump.  It was debatable if I was closer to the door or the guy sitting across the aisle from me so there was some discussion as to who was going to jump first.  Initially I thought it would be better for him to go and make sure there were no catastrophic issues before I jumped.  

The guy jumping before me

 They re-opened the door and the gusting wind was refreshingly cool, much cooler than the 36 degrees on the ground.  The other guy lined up to jump, my heart was racing at this point and, as it turned out it was worse to go second.  I watched this guy basically get sucked out of the plane and fall so fantastically fast.  This was where my pulse reached its all time high.  Before I could even process this and think about what I was doing I was being shuffled forward to the door to get ready to leap.  I got set up in the stance I was instructed and then I was falling. 

It all happened so fast I could have possibly blacked out for a few seconds because I can’t remember really leaving the plane.  The initial fall is not the best feeling in the world, you feel weightless and you have no control.  They tell you to hold on to your harness and arch back by kicking your legs back behind you.   At some point they’ll tap you on the head and then you can let your arms out to do whatever you like.  Once you reach your maximum velocity the feeling instantly becomes so calming.  The only sound you hear is the wind rushing past you as you plummet to the earth, there’s nothing else.  It’s loud in a sense but eerily quiet in another.  I stared straight down at the magnificent view almost the entire time, I wasn’t even thinking about the camerawoman and Jordi at one point had to lift my head up so that my face was in the pictures.   

The expression on my face says it all

12,990ft and dropping

Holding my head up for the pictures

genuinely smiling

Can't properly describe how incredible the view was

Parachute opening

The falling lasted for I think 20-30 seconds but I didn’t have much of a concept of time so I’m not sure.  I could feel when he opened the parachute flap and was waiting to feel the big pull upwards and it came.  Your inner thighs take the brunt of the force and it pinches for a while but then the feeling of floating and the realization that you just jumped out of a plane take over and you just enjoy it.  I let out a many obscenities as I was catching my breath from the initial fall and I could hear Jordi laughing behind me.  He asked me how it was all was ‘amazing’ and 'holy sh*t'.  Jordi gave me the control straps for the parachute and said I could spin us in any direction I wanted.  I still wasn’t quite thinking straight and just taking in the view so I wasn’t doing much with the controls.  After a bit of patience he just took them from me and spun us around and around.   This can get you dizzy quickly but looks pretty cool.  

As we got closer to the landing area he started to go over the landing instructions.  My camerawoman had already reached the ground and was getting the camera prepared to catch my landing and final reaction to the experience.  We swooped in at a fairly high speed but then they pull some extra form of brakes on the chute and you slow down to a stop right as you touch the ground.  The parachute was quickly disconnected and we got my final words on tape to wrap it all up.  

The landing

That deserves a high-five

 There's a bit of follow up with removing the harness, etc. but after that I ran into the two Kuwaitis.  They hadn't jumped yet as they were in the third wave of jumpers.  They asked me how it was and I gave them a brief description but didn't want to ruin the experience for them so I left it at that.  When it came time for them to suit up I went outside and watched the waves of jumpers landing to get a view from the other end of it.   

A view from below

The next wave of divers

I stayed until I saw the Kuwaitis jump.  The girl was going to be landing first but as they were getting close to the ground I heard her tandem jumper yelling for help.  She kept saying 'I can't get her legs up'.  From what I could see at the moment the girl was just hanging, motionless.  The tandem jumper could not get her to bring up her legs for the landing and that could get a bit dangerous if she hit the ground in the wrong way.  The other employees ran to try and help but they couldn't make it in time before the landing.  She seemed to land as softly as she could and the Kuwaiti girl just flopped down face down.  People ran to her attention, and not long after, her brother landed and ran over to her as well. Turns out this girl had began to feel dizzy as they were spinning with the parachute open.  She mentioned this to her tandem jumper but then almost immediately she fainted.  I spoke with the brother about it for a while after she had recovered from it.  At least she got to experience the thrill before fainting.  I guess the young ones just can't handle it like us near-30 year olds.  

All in all it was a fantastic experience and I recommend to anyone to try it.  As it turns out falling from high above uncontrollably isn't such a bad feeling as long as the chute opens...