Somehow BASE jumping always sounds like a great idea when you are drinking, laughing, and having a blast with your fellow nutty skydiver friends. “WAHOO!!!! Let’s DO it!!” And then, in the cold reality of daylight, perhaps at the exit point, perhaps on the drive to the exit point it begins to seem, quite frankly, like the dumbest idea one has ever contemplated. And it probably is…but you’ve been shooting your mouth off and now you have to actually do it.
And I can honestly say that at no time before or since have I been SO darned scared as I was on my first BASE jump. Not even close.
Flashback to the year 2000….a much less experienced (around 400 jumps or so) and younger version of the skydiver that I am now is camping out at the world class desert skydiving facilities of Skydive Arizona learning from world class jumper/coaches and having a ball. In the evenings, of course, all are at the Bent Prop Lounge at the DZ, a facility by skydivers and for skydivers and a super fun place to get as tanked as you want to with skydivers. And what else would be playing continuously on the big screen but all sorts of videos of skydivers having silly fun with parachutes. Among those vids are some that feature the coaches and others I have gotten to know around the DZ leaping joyfully in various combinations from an amazing high cliff in northern Italy called Mount Brento. And I said to myself and those around me “Someday I’m gonna do that!!” And the Universe must have been listening.
Fast forward three years and circumstances conspired to place me in Austria with 700 jumps with a great friend who is a relatively experienced BASE jumper and we were suffering from a ton of snow and making no money jumping and it didn’t appear we were going to be making any anytime soon. Of course, I had already expressed my desire to try BASE to him and next thing I know, we are in his car headed for Italy for my first jump. WAHOO and pass the wine!!
We arrive early in the afternoon to perfect conditions and park at the bar directly across from the landing area. I can do nothing but gaze in awe at the massive mountain from which we will leap. Holy smokes…I might actually have to do this! Luckily I have plenty of time to think about this idiocy while Chero packs his rig for my use and scares up another for himself from a friend. Pack up the car and off we go! Minus, of course, any actual training. Who needs that?
The butterflies started raising a ruckus pretty much immediately and only got more agitated the higher we drove. Helpful comments from the peanut gallery on the drive up weren’t exactly helpful. Chero intends my training to take place on the two hour hike to the exit point and the only thing that really stands out is his stressing the importance of not going head low on exit. The exit MUST be done head high and he explains this on the hike as (in a thick German accent) “Throw your breeeast to the wind.” No problem. I got this.
Two hours hiking through beautiful alpine woods helps me to forget a bit about why we are taking this hike, but not much. Butterflies are beginning to stage a full-fledged riot by the time we arrive at the exit point and gear up. Now for more training….”breeeast to the wind and count to seven and pull.” And we make our way over the final 40 yards of rock to the edge. It is now a full-fledged hurricane of butterflies in the tummy and my knees are weak. I am taking compulsively deep breaths and can hear the pounding of my heart in my eardrums and I’m still 8 feet from the edge. The decline angle of the rock leading to the edge is probably only a 10 degree slope but to me it feels too steep to walk down. Gotta get there on my butt. Too scared to walk up. Man this is crazy!
Three or four butt scootches and there I am. At the edge and standing on legs that are literally visibly trembling. You read about shaking legs and you see them in cartoons but who knew they could happen in real life. I am so absolutely scared of what I am about to do that I can barely stand due to my shaky legs. And there I am. Standing above the abyss. Ok, I just might be scared of heights…
I know myself well enough to know that if I spend much time thinking about this it is only going to get harder. Shaky legs…check. Shaky thumbs up to the boys…check. Two breaths….check. Two more breaths…check. “Ok.” One more breath. “Ready, set, go” And of course I neglected to throw my “breeeast” to the wind. And I’m head low and going head lower. To my dying day I will never lose any of the clarity of my thought at that moment. “Way to go d&#*head. This is how people die doing this!” ARCH as HARD as you can to keep from going over on the head down exit….ok….got it…..oh NO….now I’m going knees LOW!! There’s no air to work with….AUGHHHHH………PULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whack! Holy heck I DID it!!!! It opened!!! I didn’t fly into the cliff! “WAAAAHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! HOOOOOP HOOOPPP HOOOOOPPP HOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!”
A safe landing in the field, a high five and a big hug with my bro Chero, and off we go to the BAR!!! Feeling on top of the world!
Now, who in their right mind would go thru all of that and then even THINK about doing something like that again. Hmmmm. I guess the operative word is “right” mind, yes?
🙂 “Big” Jim Cargille, USPA D-23753, AFFI/TI 2012
(Editor: I couldn’t decide on a single picture that expressed how much fun Jim has in the air, so here are several with him as tandemmaster taking people on their first skydive.)
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Wishing you blue skies, gentle winds, and soft landings! – Larry D-6730