Skydiving was exciting, exhilarating, fun, and not at all as scary as I thought it would be!

Ras and I went to Skydive Oregon in Mollala, Oregon with Joe, Ally, and Eric (who are friends of friends) on a sunny Friday afternoon.  Joe is a friend of Ian’s (one of Ras’ best friends), who we met about a week ago.  Our three companions had already been skydiving once, while it was our first time.  Upon arriving, we sat down and started the paperwork that was at least six pages long.  Each paragraph had to be initialed, to make sure that we read it.  There were over 40 paragraphs to initial, with most of them restating that we, or anyone we know, would not sue the skydiving company if we got injured or died.  Then, a cash payment of $170 was made for my tandem jump ($180 if using credit card).  There was also a DVD/picture package for $90, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much money.

            Our “training” was almost a joke.  It literally was 2 minutes long, with the bulk of our instruction about the proper form while freefalling.  Thinking back on the experience, the whole thing was almost a glorified roller coaster ride.  They do EVERYTHING for you, and you barely have to think.  The biggest decision we had to make was answering “Yes” when we were up in the plane and our instructor asked us if we were ready to jump.  If you said anything that sounded like a “No”, the plane would be brough back down. Ras and I went up first, since there weren’t enough instructors that day for all five of us to jump at the same time.  As we suited up, my instructor Darren, asked if I was excited yet.  I replied with the same answer when someone asks me if I’m excited to go on a trip.  “No.  I’ll get excited when I’m actually there.”  Darren has been skydiving for 8 years and has jumped about 3500 times.  The worst accident he’s had was when somebody bumped their head in the plane.  No customer he’s had has ever decided not to jump after getting up in the air. 

In the plane, we got hooked up to our instructors.  It was such a snug fit, I felt like a baby attached to a parents.  There were 4 solo jumpers and 3 tandem jumpers in the plane.  Once we reached 13,000 feet, people started leaving the plane like they were walking outside the door for a walk.  When people started disappearing, this was when I started to get nervous.  Looking out the door of the plane didn’t scare me, because I’ve seen the view many times while flying.  It was the thought of jumping out of a perfectly good plane, that made me nervous.  Then it was my turn.  We teetered on the edge of the door as I looked down at the vast land.  This was the easy part, because he was going to jump whether I was ready or not.  I think it was better that way.  Otherwise, I would have been crouched by the door, trying to build up my nerve.  My last thoughts, “Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m doing this.”  Then… we jumped!

The first 4 seconds were the scariest, because there was nothing solid under my feet anymore.  Like riding on a roller coaster, my stomach dropped.  I screamed, but couldn’t hear myself as I was falling at 125 miles per hour.  After the first 10 seconds, I relaxed and started enjoying the experience.  We continued to freefall for about 52 seconds.  When the shoot was finally pulled, everything became so quiet.  It was really beautiful seeing everything below me as I softly landed.    It was fantastic!  I’d definitely do it again.