In September I asked a friend in California what he was doing for his birthday. He said he wanted to go skydiving but couldn’t find anyone brave enough to go with him. I thought, “hmmmm…that sounds fun. I have a birthday coming up!” So on October 30, 2010 I went skydiving! I talked to my friend afterwards, he didn’t get to go. Hee hee.
Mom, Dad, Kare, and Nathan went with me. We drove to Tooele and Dad and I went in to watch their instructional video. The video, narrated by a hippy in a suit whose beard would rival Brigham Young’s, told me exactly what to do and warn me that I could not sue the company even if gross negligence occurred. Wow. Bryce, are you cringing now?
Then I suited up and waited. And waited. Finally Kare got out of the car. I wasn’t nervous at all, just excited, but she kept trying to give me reasons why I should be scared, I’m not quite sure why. Then she told me about nightmares she had…needless to say, she did not jump with me.
We got to watch the first round of jumpers go but because it was so windy almost everybody got blown way far away so we had to wait around for them to collect everyone and get back.
When it was finally my turn I hopped in the plane and got sandwiched between my tandem master and the photographer (now THAT would be a sweet job.) My tandem master thought it would be funny to wear this ridiculous mask because it was Utah’s Halloween. Then he confessed he forgot his altimeter that tells him when we reach the right altitude to open the big parachute. The photographer said he would give him a signal. Then the other tandem master taking an older woman, checking an adventure off her bucket list, realized he forgot his hat and goggles. I’m pretty sure these guys drank one too many Monsters before work that morning.
We were the last to exit the plane and I was starting to get a little antsy, I just really didn’t know what to expect. We reached 14,000 ft and it was time to go. Then it all happened pretty fast, we got hooked together, I got shoved into the doorway (that was the scariest part, just hanging out of an airplane facing the ground, but it only lasted a second thankfully), heard “1, 2, 3,” and all of the sudden we were flipping backward and I was facing the ground, very, very high up.
It’s hard to describe how unreal it seemed. Everything looked so fake from that high up. It was amazing to just spin around and watch the world from a point of view you only see from googlearth, but actually seeing it with my naked eyes. It was just crazy. Then the big parachute came out and then came the pain. The harness was so unbelievably uncomfortable that the rest of the way down I just wanted to get on the ground to get it off. Also, it’s so quiet up there that it was a little awkward with this guy strapped to my back. He was trying to make small talk but I just wanted him to go away so I could enjoy the view in peace.
When we landed on the ground and I got that harness off, I was sad it was over. I’m positive I’ll go again. I really want to learn how to go solo. But I think I’ll wait until it gets warmer!
Here's a video of me jumping, if you get carsick easily, beware!
Manly man.
ReplyDeleteAwwwwwesoooooooome! You were so brave. I'm not gonna lie, it was a little unsettling to me how calm you were. I wanna go. Later though. Much later. Maybe when I'm ready to start ticking things off my OWN bucket list. Hey! Maybe by then YOU could take me. SO much more fun then being strapped to some random dude.
ReplyDeleteAunt Alli, that's cool! Why did you look bigger than the airplane in the picture? I think I am a little bit too scared to jump out of an airplane. I think the parachute might tie off of me, and I would die. I really would die, it's high up! I think you were scared and excited mixed together. You probably saw my house!
ReplyDeleteFrom Julianne:
I cannot believe Mom let you do that. I know you're all grown-up and such, but still, I can't believe she didn't, like, sneak out and let the air out of all your tires the night before. Okay, that's totally my style, not Mom's, but still, I bet she was scared out of her mind.
Can I also say that I'm a little miffed? How many times have I talked to you on the phone since October 30th and not ONCE did you think to say, "Oh, hey, by the way, I jumped out of an airplane the other day." Grrrr.
Now that my pout is out of the way--I love that they took all these videos and pictures. It was weird to me how fast it all was. I guess if you're plummeting toward the earth you go pretty fast, but it was only like a minute before they pulled the big parachute! Do you know what your altitude was when they pulled the big chute? I'm curious how fast you were falling.
Unlike Crissy, I have zero desire to go skydiving. My old lady stomach can't even handle roller coasters anymore. But If you two ever go together, I'll totally come watch!
Also, Karalee, please explain your side of the story--what was going on on the ground while she was up there? And why were you trying to scare her? And what nightmares were you having?
I was NOT trying to scare her! I was just very nervous myself and she didn't understand why, so I was explaining why a NORMAL person would be nervous about jumping out of a plane, or their loved one jumping out of a plane. I'm glad we all got to watch the first group go so that we knew what to look for and what to expect, it made it not nearly so nerve wracking to watch the second time around. But for those of you who couldnt come watch I will tell you exactly what you missed during.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all let me say that their pilot was some shaggy haired, baggy pantsed punk looking kid who sat there slouched in his chair texting the whole time everyone was getting ready to board the plane. Not very comforting. When it was finally Alli's turn to go and they took off I had to pee really really really bad. I knew from watching the first group that it takes like 7 or 8 minutes for the plane to reach the right altitude so I ran as fast as I could to the "honey bucket" (aka the porta potty). This was a mistake because when I got back mom and dad had lost sight of the plane and had no clue where it went. Fortunately I was able to spot the dot in the sky literally 30 seconds before tiny little dots started jumping out of it. We had counted how many jumpers there were getting on the plan and knew Alli was last, so we counted each tiny dot as it plummeted to the Earth until it we found what we hoped was the Alli dot. I watched the Alli dot all the way down, having no idea whether or not it was her, and was relieved after 50 seconds when the dot's chute opened. By then it wasn't really a dot anymore, more of a parachute closely followed by four legs. Anyway, it took what seemed like a lifetime for what I hoped was the Alli chute and legs to finally float all the way down. Fortunately I had picked the right dot to follow and it was in fact my crazy sister. Dad had already moved into good picture taking position minutes before, but it was freezing outside so mom, Nathan, and I stayed close to the hanger and out of the wind until Alli was about to land. As she came down we ran to get a better view, and watched as she gracefully landed on both feet! The end.
Crissy, heck yeah! That would be awesome to go together!
ReplyDeleteEthan, well, that's a pleasant thought, isn't it?
Jules, I think it's about 10,000 ft before they pull the big parachute and we fall about 140 mph until then. It was weird because I couldn't help but smile because my cheeks wouldn't go down and my mouth wouldn't close.
Kare, you made me sound like a "Wendy bird."
ReplyDeleteKare, that was an awesome re-telling. The Alli Dot. I love it!
ReplyDeleteAlli--huh. I would have thought it was faster than that. Also, I'm freaked out in retrospect. I liked watching your video so much, I went and looked for more "first-timers" on youtube. Which lead me to all the freaking scary videos of people apparently not arching and their parachutes not opening, or both of them opening and legs getting ripped off and what not. Now my heart is totally racing and I am really, REALLY scared for you. Even though you already did it. Kind of weird, huh?
Oops, the above comment is from Julianne, not Bryce.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's why I didn't tell you.
ReplyDelete