Up, up and away!

June 19, 2011

After our first two failed attempts (1. weather 2. wasn't feeling well), Shivan and I finally managed to suit up and jump out of a plane! We chose to jump from Skydive Toronto, which is in Cookstown, about 45 minutes north of Toronto.

I ended up writing "NO FEAR" on my hands (you can see it in the vid), partly as a shoutout to Kenny & Co., but I was pleasantly surprised to see that Shania Twain had written and signed the same thing inside the plane that we jumped out of.

We crammed at least 10 people in the tiny plane that took us up into the air. Between three jumpers, their tandem instructors, and the videographer/photographers, it was pretty packed. The ascent in the plane was a little nervewracking. It took a lot longer than I expected to reach 12,000 feet, and I spent the majority of my time staring at the altimetre on my hand, hoping that we had reached the necessary height. I didn't even see Shivan jump out of the plane (he was first, I was third). By the time it was my turn, I didn't even have time to be nervous anymore. It was just like 1...2...3...GO!

There was a slight moment of hesitation on my behalf when we launched out of the plane, but when you're attached to a tandem instructor, there's not much you can do -- you just go with him! Skydiving was nothing like I had anticipated. Freefalling is nothing like the feeling you get when you're on a rollercoaster. No big Gs, no dropping stomach. It really is just like a whole rush of air pushing against you. I can tell you that I felt absolutely no anxiety about freefalling, as I was falling, however I did have a really hard time breathing/catching my breath, so I spent a good chunk of my freefalling just trying to breathe, instead of really enjoying the experience. That being said, it was still incredible, looking down and seeing so much scenery and just KNOWING that you're the closest you'll ever get to flying.

That's me pulling the chute cord. You can see the parachute deploying.

I was supposed to pull the cord when we reached 6,000 ft on my altimetre, but I was so caught up in the experience that my instructor had to place my hand on the cord to remind me. After that, a quick jerk upwards as the parachute deployed, and we spent the next few minutes gliding gracefully down to the earth. Got in a bunch of turns too, and those were stomach-dropping but fun!

After landing, I couldn't believe the adrenaline rush! Admitedly, I had to sit down to catch my breath, and the crash after all the adrenaline tapered down hit me harder than expected. I would have taken a nap in my car if I could.

Post-jump

Overall, an incredible, exhilarating experience. I'd do it again (if it didn't cost nearly half a grand after vids/stills/taxes) in a heartbeat.




It is one thing to be in the proximity of death, to know more or less what she is, and it is quite another to seek her.
-Ernest Hemingway