I wish I had the time to post this sooner, but I just didn’t. However, I just wanted to let everyone know that I did survive sky diving…and it was AWESOME! I just want anyone who is thinking of going sky diving to know that it’s something they’ll never regret doing. So here’s how it went down:
Me and some co-workers from the ER went down to Skydive Ogden in Ogden, Utah (www.skydiveogden.com) for a dive booked around 4 pm. Since there was four of us jumping, it cost $170 per person to jump. There was a LOT of people there, more than they had expected even, so our jump was actually delayed until 7 pm. Although that put us getting home rather late, it was worth it because we got to jump with the sun setting…cool experience. Anyway, back to the story. We all jumped in tandem, which means you’re attached to an instructor for the jump and they control every aspect of it. On the ground you get basic (really basic) instruction on how to exit the plane, what to do in air, and how to land. Since the tandem controls everything, there’s not much to remember. Then you’re geared up with a harness and a cap/goggles and loaded on a plane for a 20 minute flight up to about 13,000 feet (in our case). We had a rear-exit plane, so jumping was literally just walking off the edge…nothing to it really. Now I have to tell you, the only part that was rough for me was immediately after stepping off the plane. I think it’s best described as like diving into a cold lake. Not only was the air kind of chilly (I dove in plain clothes), but the initial shock is almost the same. I just took a couple deep breaths and I was totally fine after that. The view falling to earth from 13,000 at 120 miles per hour is amazing. You’ll never see another thing like it. We were in free fall for about 60 seconds before my tandem pulled the chute and he began to teach me the basics of steering and speed control, then kind of let me take the ropes. Landing was a breeze and no one was hurt on our jump.
I bought a dvd to go with my jump, so I’ll write another post and put the movie up as soon as I get it this week. If anyone has questions or is thinking about going, just ask me. It’s an experience I’d do again (and probably will) in a heart beat.
Update: Here’s a few pictures of the outing. I’ll still make a new post when I get the video in the mail.
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Congratulations, and thanks for sharing. I think out of all the thrill seeking adventures skydiving would definitely be the coolest.
BTW, how many tandem jumps are you required to make before they let you go solo?
Yeah, it sure was a lot of fun. You can go solo on the third jump, but I don’t think I’d be comfortable that soon…
Heh, I’ve always wondered what sky diving was like. I’m too scared of heights though :-\
I’m terrified of heights too. Honestly, once you jump, you have no more sense of height. I had no idea how close the ground was until my feet actually touched the grass.
Great for those that can but I would probably s…. myself lol