Still recovering from my jump yesterday. I don't regret a minute of my choice. I went with 7 of my co-workers (and other brave hearts). We didn't know if we'd be jumping or not because it had been too windy. We went and had brunch while we waited to find out (I shouldn't have eaten anything) and I filled up on Huevos Rancheros and OJ (bad choice). My biggest fear in making this jump was that I would throw up. Not that I would plummet to my death, or even break my leg in landing wrong. I love roller coasters but I can't ride them. Even ferris wheels make me whoozy. I've taken dramamine for family road trips since I was little. I can never be a passenger, always a driver, unless you wanna pack a barf bag in your glove compartment.
When we finally got to make the jump, they had separated our rather large group into three groups. I flew with Jill and Dustin. When my instructor, a short little guy named Mike, asked if I wanted to go first, I said "sure". Next thing I know, I'm standing in the doorway with my toes correctly over the edge. The photographer I paid extra for, hung onto the outside of the plane, waved at me, and fell to the earth effortlessly. I laid my head back onto my instructor's shoulder, arched my back, and we were gone into a backflip I've never attempted in my life. They had told us in pre-flight to breath through our teeth because breathing through your mouth when you jump is like trying to drink water through a fire hose. I never noticed that. My mouth was dry at first but after that, I was fine.
I wavered between awe and trying really hard to not be nauseated.
The earth was so far away. The instructor had me grab onto the feet of the photographer (who has more guts than I've ever known) and smile for the camera. I still wasn't afraid. Seriously. The thought of being scared, hanging 13,000 feet above ground never crossed my mind. We free-falled (is that a word) for 60 seconds (seemed much longer) , then the instructor pulled the cord. I remember him saying "We have a good chute", like I was worrying about it. I wasn't. At all. It was crazy. I was calm.
The problem with being so far above the earth and aiming for a small plot of land, is that you have to spin in tight circles. Mike (the instructor) asked me if I was ok. I was breathing deeply, inhaling cool air to try and alieve the wave of nausea that kept hitting me. Spinning in circles is not something someone with years of motion sickness should be attempting. I told Mike that I was getting sick. He said "Oh, then you don't like roller coasters". "No, I love them. I just can't ride them". He told me to keep watching the horizon and breath deeply. It didn't help. I closed my eyes, totally missing the view around me, and inhaled a lot. I would open them once in awhile to see if we were any closer to landing but it was taking forever.
One thing I did notice, once he pulled the chute and we were gliding earthward, I could hear perfectly when he spoke to me. He didn't have to yell. The world was so quiet and calm. No sound, no roar of the wind. Like standing in a room with no other sound. Peaceful.
Then, just as we were heading into landing, my breakfast decided to make a reappearance. I managed to block the first wave but, just as we were about to touch down, the second one hit like a vengeance.
The landing was so easy. Effortless. I was more concerned with the Huevos Rancheros on my shirt, my pants, the harness, and even the leg and shoe of my instructor. Poor guy. I was apologizing over and over. He was great about it but I think he was pretty horrified. He didn't know what to do first: shower from head to toe or carefully pull the gunky harness off of me.
The cameraman, who would normally interview you after you land, very graciously let me know they would close the video he'd shot just as I landed so the proof of my flight faux pax would not be evident.
All in all, I loved it. I didn't love the barfing part, but I had a blast. If I hadn't reacted the way I had (stomach-wise), I would probably make a hobby out of this. An expensive hobby, but a hobby just the same.
If you live in Utah, go see SkyDiveUtah.com. Just don't barf on Mike.
