Skydiving.

I went skydiving for the second time. Someone asked me to describe it to them, I did, and they loved it. Here it is:


most of the day you sit around waiting for your turn. the weather is gorgeous, made even better because its been crappy all week. not a cloud in the sky, sunny, hot in the sun, cool in the shade. You're with a close friend. don't have to talk, just chillin. you see the first jumpers land- people are literally flying to the ground at like a 45* angle, and then in the last ten feet, go from 35mph to dead stop, and float, about a foot off the ground. then they literally step down from the sky, and the chute billows around them. you're pumped.

you suit up. its just a jumpsuit over your regular clothes. no chute even attached. you meet your instructor, nice guys. one is a slightly more brash guy, beard, nickname, gruff, thats a good word. The other guy is younger, clean shaven, tells you about how his wife jumps too. You're told the jump is at 10,000ft.. Thats two miles, you say to yourself.. and it fades quickly, as the lil' plane is here. The four of you pile in: Yourself, your friend, the two instructors. the pilot is already in, and the plane is cramped. You can't actually see much but the sky above from your spot in the plane. Small talk, the whole way up. At 10,000 feet, you start hooking into your instructor, checking straps, closures, everything. You tell him you're ready. You laugh in your head, as on the ground, you clearly remember the skydiving quote: "At 10k feet, 'No' sounds like 'Go', and we go anyways.."

You look at your friend, and its the first time you share a look of panic, excitement, fear, happiness, and a real concern that here you are legitamitally taking a risk that says "I may never see you again" and its very real. but you shake it- nuts to the reality, you guys are like brothers, you smile, and you say "seeyalaterbyeeeeeee"

the door opens. it is suddenly very loud, very windy, and very cold. and oh yeah.. you can see 2 miles down.

You're instructed to put your feet out on the platform. Then you look at the "platform" and suddenly question EVERYTHING as its a whopping 12" square. You put a foot out. Then the other. But this is new, you've stuck your arm out of a car on the expressway - its hard to control. Not too often you have the same experience with your legs!

With both feet out, you're under the wing. you can see down, its like google maps, but real. You're also freezing cold, and are having trouble trying to breathe normally in 90mph winds. Ze goggles, ze do noshing!

Your instructor pulls your head back and and tells you he's ready. "Like this, ok, ready (leans forwards), set (leans back) and then we jump on "go", ok? ARE YOU READY!?"

for a moment, you laugh at the machismo, the pump-up, the cheese of it all.

and then he leans you forward on "READY" and you realize you're halfway out of the plane. "Set", and you're back in, temporary safety, warm fuzzy relaxation..

GO!!!!!!!!!!

its like you can't breathe. everything that you've ever been told about things you shouldnt do, its all right now. for a split second, incredible panic sets in- the heart rate skyrockets, the breathing stops, and jesus christ... your feet are still on the platform.

and then they're not. and there is silence. and you're not cold. and its not real. it's like dying and being born at the same time. the acceleration is faster than any vehicle you've ever been in, yet nothing is pressing against you. your stomach doesnt ball up, drop, or come up... its pure blissful falling.

SNAP- back to reality, you're falling at over 100mph with nothing to catch you, nothing between you, the noise is more intense than any concert you've been to, your face is smushed like old astronaut testing videos. you're terrified, and somehow in your head laughing maniacally. for a split second you catch a glimpse of the plane - its almost impercievable, you're already that far away. it's like every 'first time' of everything you've ever done, good or bad, all over again, all at once.

and for a moment, you actually look around- straight ahead, you can clearly make out the CN tower, and the entire toronto skyline, 60miles away. lake ontario shimmers, as does lake erie. You can clearly see niagara falls, and the mist- it must be hundreds of feet tall! looking downwards, you can see all of buffalo, you can see rochester another 60 miles away, you can see way south, way north, you can see the curvature of the earth ever so slightly. Then you notice the orange glow to your left - the sun is setting, and its beautiful.. to your right, the full moon is clear and crisp in the sky - something you didnt notice from the ground.

and you feel so. so. so incredibly small, unimportant, miniscule.

and then you breathe. and the air at 120mph and 7000ft has never been so perfect.

you see a hand. its your instructor. he gives you the 'five-five' signal, meaning you're already at 5500ft. 5500 feet? you've already fallen a goddamn mile?! then he taps your hip three times, meaning, 'pull the chute'.

and you reach down, grab the handle, and pull, just as instructed. and nothing happens.

..and then it does. BAM! like a car crash, like running into a brick wall... you nearly come to a stop. your neck snaps down, your legs flail wildly in front of you. and everything is quiet. you let out a 'whooooooooooooo' and so does your instructor. He asks how you are- "Great, absolutely great" you reply.

You figure, the chute pulled, so life is good. All you hear, is the slight buzzy-almost-deaf tone in your ears... and the little flap of the chute above you. It is so serene, so quiet. no cars. no animals. no bugs. Your instructor asks you to 'flair' or practice for landing. You grab the chute handles, and pull down - you're in control.

everything stops. really, honestly, dead stop. no noise now at all, not even the chute. you've stalled, 4000ft off the ground, and everything is perfect.

The rest of the trip down is just steering, looking around. you smirk at the fact that your google maps skills are actually paying off, identifying the airport you took off from, from your driving directions!

The scary part is about 70ft off the ground - skimming treetops, you can see peoples faces, identify things on the ground, and it dawns on you that falling from this height is scarier than stepping out of the plane!

as you come blasting towards the ground, your instructor tells you to flair on his command.. you panic a little, isn't the ground coming up fast?!

FLAIR!

and once again- a dead stop. One foot off the ground. You feel less impact than stepping off a curb, and the next step is to sit down. the chute billows to the ground behind you. its over.

instantly, nothing matters. nothing matters at all, whatsoever. you just don't care. you think of the chemicals blasting through your brain, but, ugh, whatever, you don't care.

Your friend lands safely in the same fashion, about 15ft from you. there's a ridiculous high five, a hug, laughter, and you help the instructors gather the chutes. Everyone is laughing, talking about the view. Your instructor thanks you, you thank him, and he says stop back sometime and jump again. in your head, you're already planning the next jump.

as you and your friend walk slowly and confidently to the parking lot, you both pause as you hear over the loudspeaker "We need two more for tandem jumps, two more, open slots. come to the registration station if you're in"

you both look at each other... and laugh. next time. next time.

besides, you're so relaxed right now.. its cool. let someone else try it. you'll be back.

for the next couple days.. its like nothing can bother you. people ask how your weekend was, and you say you went skydiving. they absolutely freak out! and yet your response, now having done it is, "its no big deal. lots of fun. safe. a blast. like a week long vacation wrapped into 7 minutes. you even fit sightseeing in there."

you'll never forget the view.

-jtf