dendritejungle (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dendritejungle) wrote2009-06-14 11:20 am
dendritejungle) wrote2009-06-14 11:20 am
Entry tags:
*yawn*
Ooooh yeah. Nothing says "great start to the morning" like being woken up at 4:38AM by a fire alarm. I love that the kitty came over to cuddle (I mean really, like he ever needs an excuse, but still, it was darn cute): "Mom, I can't sleep with this racket. Can I come cuddle with you instead?"
ANYway. Yes! The tale of my foray into Xtreme Sports(tm)!
For the curious, out of the three local drop zones we ended up choosing the Parachute School of Toronto, in part because their tandem dive started 3500 higher for longer freefall at the same price as the other places. "We" were myself and two out of the three friends with whom I went to the ancient forests of Yakushima, Japan in 2006.
I've wanted to skydive for...well, pretty much ever, actually *g* but without a car the logistics have thwarted me over the years. Last year I discovered that not one but TWO local drop zones had finally listed public transit directions on their site - around the same time that I found that a friend also wanted to go. (The third member to our little trio of terror was a welcome last-minute addition, particularly since I hadn't seen him in the three years since our last adventure.) In retrospect I'm glad that bad weather prevented me from going last summer, since it was a helluva lot more fun with a couple of friends - and much easier to get there by car! After being unable to go due to inclement weather again a couple of weeks ago, I was beginning to wonder if I was just jinxed and should take the hint...but fortunately the weather for my (our) final Day of Destiny was gorgeous.
In the end I decided on a tandem dive (where you get a cursory course because you're physically strapped to an instructor who does all the work) versus a solo dive (5-hour course and you jump on your own with your parachute automatically deployed as soon as you leave the plane) because (a) ultimately it was what my friends were doing and it was more fun for us all to do it together but also (b) you get to climb to a much higher altitude and experience freefall for far longer (a minute as opposed to a couple of seconds). I initially thought it was just wussy to do a jump with someone strapped to your back doing all the work, but now I'd amend it to "wussy but worth it". ;) Aside from the extra height and time in freefall, it was far, far less scary knowing I was with someone experienced who knew what they were doing - which left me free to enjoy the exhilaration rather than soiling my underwear in fear..
We arrived without incident for our booking around 5pm - and by "without incident" I mean "notwithstanding my little problem with grasping the difference between YORK MILL and DON MILLS stations as the meeting point": d'oh! After signing our lives away
we waited around for a half hour or so as others destined for our "caravan" checked in.
Around 6pm or so we were rounded up and an instructor went over the basics of what was going to happen: how we would leave the plane, what we needed to do while and after leaving for the first minute in freefall when the wind rushing by would make verbal communication with the instructor basically impossible (for the record: arch and keep your hands on your harness until the instructor taps you, then arms and legs stretched out and back during freefall; when he taps again bring your arms back to your harness to keep yourself out of the way while he deploys the parachute), and the one Very Very Important Thing Not To Do: grab the instructor's hands. Makes it tough for him to open the parachute and all. *shudder*
I was able to sneak one quick shot of the plane, and the little "demo exit" of the plane door (made of wood, on the right) which is used to demonstrate and practice how to leave the plane:
before we had to leave everything behind. There was an option for video and still shots of our jump, but (a) it was $100 and (b) I wanted to be focusing on the experience, not on how I was looking on film. I was really struck by that while waiting for our jump: they had a TV playing in the waiting room with other people's footage, and everyone was really playing to the camera, and seemed to be focusing on it instead of the experience... Mind you, if they'd had a camera to strap to my helmet so I could rewatch what *I* saw, I would have been all over that, but since it was a videographer filming the jumper instead, I opted against it and don't regret it.
I was paired up with an instructor, Bill, who suited me up with a harness (comfy compared to rock climbing harnesses, but I still didn't envy the boys and their dangly bits) and reminded me of the exit proedures while we waited to board the caravan (lingo for the plane, I gather). He also asked me what the "craziest thing I'd done in my life so far" was. I said "sleep in a tree", but in retrospect "flying halfway around the world to meet people from the Internet" was probably even crazier. But both worked out damn well! :D
I was intrigued to note that in the caravan everyone sits in rows with legs spread sitting ass-to-crotch. It's definitely not a sport for people who need personal space! All the pictures from here on in are not of me, but ones I found online to provide a pretty accurate visual of what I experienced. I found this on flickr which not only shows the sitting positions but also reflects where I sat in the plane: at the front looking back. Which means I got to watch everyone else jump before me!
The plane was small but fast and powerful, and I watched the altimeter on my instructor's wrist climb from 0 to 13,500 feet above ground in about ten minutes as we admired the view over Lake Simcoe and he went over the procedures again. I'm glad I took the time to look outside closely when flying up, because I was too distracted when going down to focus properly! For those curious as to where we were: here's a map. We were virtually on top of Lake Simcoe, and well in view of Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. It was pretty hazy in the distance, though, so hard to see Collingwood or Toronto - I'd love to go up again on a really clear day.
When the door opened, the rush of wind was strong and brisk, but honestly not as cold as I was expecting. I was feeling far less freaked out than I'd expected, and was able to appreciate my mounting glee as one by one everyone else in the plane jumped before my instructor and I. Attached tightly to each other, we scooted inelegantly on our butts to the doorway where I sat on the edge as directed. That's actually what I remember the most: sitting on the edge of the plane desperately clutching my chest harness with this overwhelming rush of wind and nothing underneath me and my dangling legs, as the ground so distantly and spectacularly stretched away in all directions. (This is the best photo I could find of being on the edge of the plane looking out, but imagine this view instead.) It's not often my brain shuts the hell up, but for once it was "speechless" leaving just me and this sense of exultant wonder. Then instructor yelled, "Ready, set, GO!" and pushed us off...
Oh, did I mention he'd asked if I wanted to do a somersault and I said yes? Well, he did and I did, so my first mental thoughts were something along the lines of "wowWHEEEEEEEOMGohlookthere'stheplaneaboveus - hi plane! - rightthere'sthetapneedtoARCH ...and then we straightened out, "belly to earth" as they say. Holy CRAP the wind was strong. Imagine sticking your head out of a car window going really fast, and then double that speed. Apparently when skydiving you're going about 53 metres per second or about 120 mph - fast enough to make the air roar unbelievably by your ears, your eyes to tear slightly even with goggles and glasses, and to make your face do hilarious skin contortions. Because it was a warm day, I had opted to wear capris and my fleece jacket rather than a skydiving suit since I wanted to feel the air against my skin going that fast and that high, but honestly the entire sensory experience was so overwhelming I forgot to notice what it really felt like. Not as cold as I thought - but then again the north-south street my building sits next to acts as a giant wind tunnel particularly in winter, so my definition of cold wind is pretty fucking cold.
We did a couple of horizontal 360s, then the second tap...I pulled my arms in and a experienced gentle slowing as the parachute deployed, then an upward JERK as it caught in the wind. (Fun fact: a parachute deploying as fast as it's able can create a jerk force strong enough to snap someone's neck and/or damage the parachute itself, so they're actually designed to open more slowly.) The jerk itself was much less sharp than I'd feared, though still pretty stomach-dropping. Bill had me hold the parachute handles ('toggles") with his hands above mine just in case, and ran me through the directions: pull left to turn left, pull right to turn right.
The freefall had been about sixty seconds, but we had four or five minutes with the parachute so I was literally able to catch my breath. I'd done a pretty good job of remembering to breathe through my nose, but I had been a bit distracted! I realized I was shaking like a leaf from the adrenaline rush, but fortunately was still able to muster my muscles enough to control the canopy. The parachuting part was really lovely: warm with a brisk breeze against my skin, this incredible freedom of direction of movement, and a chance to properly take in and appreciate the view. (I'm still annoyed that I forgot to look over to Georgian Bay until we were too low to really see it, though...)
Then we tried strong turns in each direction, which was AWESOME: it was like accelerating around a roller coaster curve, complete with the sensation of extra speed and gravity but without the teeth-rattling of the cars on the tracks. Unfortunately it also had the other effect that roller coasters have on me: nausea. Pretty mild nausea, though, compared to the AWESOME, so we did a few more turns. :D
He pointed out when we were at the same height as the CN tower, which was amusingly low. The "above ground" part still hardly felt real: I love heights and views, possibly because seeing objects - trees, cars, buildings - from above somehow makes them seem like toys or caricatures, not the real thing, so it was hard to believe that really was the THE WORLD coming up to meet us.
I had been mostly concerned about the landing since I'm a total klutz and was sure I'd trip or we'd crash or what-have-you, but it went perfectly smoothly: I lifted my feet as instructed, he touched down and it was gentle and easy. AND I WAS DOWN TOO. \o/ Safe on terra firma! Still shaking like a leaf, but also grinning like a loon.
Since I was last out of the plane my friends had landed before me, so they wandered offer with permagrins as big as mine. The rest is a bit anticlimatic...taking off the harnesses, getting our certificates (on the back of which, in a brilliant piece of marketing, were their progressions and pricing for future jumps), heading back to the car and noticing this bumper sticker that kind of says it all:
(Also, HOLY CRAP. It's now 8:10. Apparently I write really slowly. O_o)
ETA several hours later: Helps if I remember to make the post public! :P Let's try posting this again...
ANYway. Yes! The tale of my foray into Xtreme Sports(tm)!
For the curious, out of the three local drop zones we ended up choosing the Parachute School of Toronto, in part because their tandem dive started 3500 higher for longer freefall at the same price as the other places. "We" were myself and two out of the three friends with whom I went to the ancient forests of Yakushima, Japan in 2006.
I've wanted to skydive for...well, pretty much ever, actually *g* but without a car the logistics have thwarted me over the years. Last year I discovered that not one but TWO local drop zones had finally listed public transit directions on their site - around the same time that I found that a friend also wanted to go. (The third member to our little trio of terror was a welcome last-minute addition, particularly since I hadn't seen him in the three years since our last adventure.) In retrospect I'm glad that bad weather prevented me from going last summer, since it was a helluva lot more fun with a couple of friends - and much easier to get there by car! After being unable to go due to inclement weather again a couple of weeks ago, I was beginning to wonder if I was just jinxed and should take the hint...but fortunately the weather for my (our) final Day of Destiny was gorgeous.
In the end I decided on a tandem dive (where you get a cursory course because you're physically strapped to an instructor who does all the work) versus a solo dive (5-hour course and you jump on your own with your parachute automatically deployed as soon as you leave the plane) because (a) ultimately it was what my friends were doing and it was more fun for us all to do it together but also (b) you get to climb to a much higher altitude and experience freefall for far longer (a minute as opposed to a couple of seconds). I initially thought it was just wussy to do a jump with someone strapped to your back doing all the work, but now I'd amend it to "wussy but worth it". ;) Aside from the extra height and time in freefall, it was far, far less scary knowing I was with someone experienced who knew what they were doing - which left me free to enjoy the exhilaration rather than soiling my underwear in fear..
We arrived without incident for our booking around 5pm - and by "without incident" I mean "notwithstanding my little problem with grasping the difference between YORK MILL and DON MILLS stations as the meeting point": d'oh! After signing our lives away
we waited around for a half hour or so as others destined for our "caravan" checked in.Around 6pm or so we were rounded up and an instructor went over the basics of what was going to happen: how we would leave the plane, what we needed to do while and after leaving for the first minute in freefall when the wind rushing by would make verbal communication with the instructor basically impossible (for the record: arch and keep your hands on your harness until the instructor taps you, then arms and legs stretched out and back during freefall; when he taps again bring your arms back to your harness to keep yourself out of the way while he deploys the parachute), and the one Very Very Important Thing Not To Do: grab the instructor's hands. Makes it tough for him to open the parachute and all. *shudder*
I was able to sneak one quick shot of the plane, and the little "demo exit" of the plane door (made of wood, on the right) which is used to demonstrate and practice how to leave the plane:
before we had to leave everything behind. There was an option for video and still shots of our jump, but (a) it was $100 and (b) I wanted to be focusing on the experience, not on how I was looking on film. I was really struck by that while waiting for our jump: they had a TV playing in the waiting room with other people's footage, and everyone was really playing to the camera, and seemed to be focusing on it instead of the experience... Mind you, if they'd had a camera to strap to my helmet so I could rewatch what *I* saw, I would have been all over that, but since it was a videographer filming the jumper instead, I opted against it and don't regret it.I was paired up with an instructor, Bill, who suited me up with a harness (comfy compared to rock climbing harnesses, but I still didn't envy the boys and their dangly bits) and reminded me of the exit proedures while we waited to board the caravan (lingo for the plane, I gather). He also asked me what the "craziest thing I'd done in my life so far" was. I said "sleep in a tree", but in retrospect "flying halfway around the world to meet people from the Internet" was probably even crazier. But both worked out damn well! :D
I was intrigued to note that in the caravan everyone sits in rows with legs spread sitting ass-to-crotch. It's definitely not a sport for people who need personal space! All the pictures from here on in are not of me, but ones I found online to provide a pretty accurate visual of what I experienced. I found this on flickr which not only shows the sitting positions but also reflects where I sat in the plane: at the front looking back. Which means I got to watch everyone else jump before me!
The plane was small but fast and powerful, and I watched the altimeter on my instructor's wrist climb from 0 to 13,500 feet above ground in about ten minutes as we admired the view over Lake Simcoe and he went over the procedures again. I'm glad I took the time to look outside closely when flying up, because I was too distracted when going down to focus properly! For those curious as to where we were: here's a map. We were virtually on top of Lake Simcoe, and well in view of Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. It was pretty hazy in the distance, though, so hard to see Collingwood or Toronto - I'd love to go up again on a really clear day.
When the door opened, the rush of wind was strong and brisk, but honestly not as cold as I was expecting. I was feeling far less freaked out than I'd expected, and was able to appreciate my mounting glee as one by one everyone else in the plane jumped before my instructor and I. Attached tightly to each other, we scooted inelegantly on our butts to the doorway where I sat on the edge as directed. That's actually what I remember the most: sitting on the edge of the plane desperately clutching my chest harness with this overwhelming rush of wind and nothing underneath me and my dangling legs, as the ground so distantly and spectacularly stretched away in all directions. (This is the best photo I could find of being on the edge of the plane looking out, but imagine this view instead.) It's not often my brain shuts the hell up, but for once it was "speechless" leaving just me and this sense of exultant wonder. Then instructor yelled, "Ready, set, GO!" and pushed us off...
Oh, did I mention he'd asked if I wanted to do a somersault and I said yes? Well, he did and I did, so my first mental thoughts were something along the lines of "wowWHEEEEEEEOMGohlookthere'stheplaneaboveus - hi plane! - rightthere'sthetapneedtoARCH ...and then we straightened out, "belly to earth" as they say. Holy CRAP the wind was strong. Imagine sticking your head out of a car window going really fast, and then double that speed. Apparently when skydiving you're going about 53 metres per second or about 120 mph - fast enough to make the air roar unbelievably by your ears, your eyes to tear slightly even with goggles and glasses, and to make your face do hilarious skin contortions. Because it was a warm day, I had opted to wear capris and my fleece jacket rather than a skydiving suit since I wanted to feel the air against my skin going that fast and that high, but honestly the entire sensory experience was so overwhelming I forgot to notice what it really felt like. Not as cold as I thought - but then again the north-south street my building sits next to acts as a giant wind tunnel particularly in winter, so my definition of cold wind is pretty fucking cold.
We did a couple of horizontal 360s, then the second tap...I pulled my arms in and a experienced gentle slowing as the parachute deployed, then an upward JERK as it caught in the wind. (Fun fact: a parachute deploying as fast as it's able can create a jerk force strong enough to snap someone's neck and/or damage the parachute itself, so they're actually designed to open more slowly.) The jerk itself was much less sharp than I'd feared, though still pretty stomach-dropping. Bill had me hold the parachute handles ('toggles") with his hands above mine just in case, and ran me through the directions: pull left to turn left, pull right to turn right.
The freefall had been about sixty seconds, but we had four or five minutes with the parachute so I was literally able to catch my breath. I'd done a pretty good job of remembering to breathe through my nose, but I had been a bit distracted! I realized I was shaking like a leaf from the adrenaline rush, but fortunately was still able to muster my muscles enough to control the canopy. The parachuting part was really lovely: warm with a brisk breeze against my skin, this incredible freedom of direction of movement, and a chance to properly take in and appreciate the view. (I'm still annoyed that I forgot to look over to Georgian Bay until we were too low to really see it, though...)
Then we tried strong turns in each direction, which was AWESOME: it was like accelerating around a roller coaster curve, complete with the sensation of extra speed and gravity but without the teeth-rattling of the cars on the tracks. Unfortunately it also had the other effect that roller coasters have on me: nausea. Pretty mild nausea, though, compared to the AWESOME, so we did a few more turns. :D
He pointed out when we were at the same height as the CN tower, which was amusingly low. The "above ground" part still hardly felt real: I love heights and views, possibly because seeing objects - trees, cars, buildings - from above somehow makes them seem like toys or caricatures, not the real thing, so it was hard to believe that really was the THE WORLD coming up to meet us.
I had been mostly concerned about the landing since I'm a total klutz and was sure I'd trip or we'd crash or what-have-you, but it went perfectly smoothly: I lifted my feet as instructed, he touched down and it was gentle and easy. AND I WAS DOWN TOO. \o/ Safe on terra firma! Still shaking like a leaf, but also grinning like a loon.
Since I was last out of the plane my friends had landed before me, so they wandered offer with permagrins as big as mine. The rest is a bit anticlimatic...taking off the harnesses, getting our certificates (on the back of which, in a brilliant piece of marketing, were their progressions and pricing for future jumps), heading back to the car and noticing this bumper sticker that kind of says it all:
(Also, HOLY CRAP. It's now 8:10. Apparently I write really slowly. O_o)
ETA several hours later: Helps if I remember to make the post public! :P Let's try posting this again...
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(no subject)
Thanks!
(Anonymous) 2009-06-14 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)Wow, thanks for writing all that. It gets my heart racing again just to read through it and relive it in my mind once more. You make such an awesome adventure-buddy! I'm really looking forward to whatever next adventure we do with you someday!
C-Square
<lurk>
Re: Thanks!
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no subject
no subject
I am very grateful to read about it from ground level, though. :)
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