We get to the air strip at 6pm. The sky diving unit operates off a small air strip in Fox Glacier. It really is a hanger which can hold 2 small aeroplanes, a small office and 2 odd changing rooms. I have always seen these large plane loads of people sky diving on tv, and I was subconsciously expecting some thing similar. I was very scary to see that this was such a small unit. The 2 instructors pack their own chutes. So we walk into the hangar and I see them packing their chutes, at this point I still dont know that they would be the instructors for my jump. in the office you note down you name, and since I had booked in advance I was the first to go. You then basically sign away your life indemnifying the company from any liability. I am all jelly in my stomach, but the operators dont ask any questions, I am selected and ask to go change. Since this is my first time, I was half expecting that some one was going to sit with me and make me feel better before I jumped, nothing of that sort, 10 mins after I had entered the place, I was taking off.
While putting on my "G Suit" :) I meet the instructors, since this is a tandem jump, basically all you got to do, is drag the instructors down to earth and they will do the rest of the job. The sequence is
- arms across your chest when you jump out
- Then the instructor taps you on the head
- You then open your arms, get into the banana shape as you free fall
- Then the chute will open up, and you bring your arms back in
There are scattered clouds in the sky and as we climb the scenery is magnificient, I am not in a mood to enjoy it though. My instructor points me to the orangish setting sun, even in these troubled times I think it is beautiful. There is no bailing out at this point, the only way down is by being attached to a parachute. The jump is going to be from 12000 ft (the height of Mt Cook), The free fall lasts for about 45 seconds before the parachute is deployed. When we are about 6000 ft high, The conversation goes something like this
Instructor (pointing to his altimeter) - We are at 6000 ft, 6000 more to go.
me - Nod my head (I am thinking - hell this is high enough, just jump from here!!!!)
He clips me onto his harness,
me - Our Harness has not been tested.
Instructor - No, dont worry everything will be fine
me (thinking) - yes dude, you are confident because you are the one with the parachute
It takes us may be 10 mins I guess to get to 12000 ft, once we are there, the dreaded door is unlatched. Thankfully this girl is jumping first, so that gives me a few extra moments of worrying. They jump, god, it is now my turn, how the heck did I get myself into this situation. I slide towards to the door, from the photos you can see how happy I am. Since my harness has not been tested, I dont have the confidence to let myself hang out of the plane, so I am holding the rails until my instructor plucks my grip away. Now I am hanging by the clips on the harness and feel a little better since it looks like it is holding up. First test passed. The instructor points at the camera and asks me to smile, I make an attempt.
It is difficult to breathe partly due to the adrenaline and partly due to the wind at those speeds. and then it happens, you feel yourself moving away from the plane and then there is nothingness, you gasp for breath and your stomach feels like it doesnt exist. The initial 4-5 seconds take your breath away, your initial instinct is to try and grab something (for good measure they have you facing away from the instructor), I feel my eyes opening as wide as they could and me trying to grab onto something. Once those initial moments pass, it is pure unadulterated thrill. It is an awesome experience, you are falling so fast, since you have tumbled from the plane you have lost all sense of direction, my mouth is dry from the shouting, my hands are aching from all the drag of a 200 kmph fall. The scenery is awesome, I shout non stop for the 45 sec free fall (Rashmi says she could hear me on the ground)
Suddenly there is this violent jerk and you feel like you are being dragged upwards, it takes a moment or 2 before you realise that the parachute has been deployed. Every now and then you look down to marvel at the scenery. My instructor is making the parachute ride more enjoyable by making these very sharp turns, this knots up your stomach, all that g force acting on you. He then spots Rashmi parked down there and manoeuvers the chute to fly directly above her and that is probably why the video (at the end of this post) feels a little bit better.
As we land, I am supposed to lift my legs up, so that the instructor lands first, I try but realise that wont be possible as we hit the ground. The awesome ride is over, and now i want to do it again. Rashmi is more relieved than I am. The reason I did the skydive as against the bungy jump is that, skydiving is easier. While sky diving you dont have to make any decisions, you don't need the courage to let go, it is all handled by the instructors before you know they would have pushed you into nothingness, in the case of the bungy in the end you and only you will have to throw yourself over the ledge
1 comment:
pigs were flying in one of the floyd's albums ;)
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