0bsolete

I wanted to share my experience with you guys as it was the most fun I EVER had in my life. There is nothing that can come close to what it was like freefalling from 13000 feet. Honestly, it was the hardest thing for me asking others to go. 99% of people say they want to go skydiving at one point, but when they actually get the chance to go, it's one excuse after another. After weeks of tossing around the idea, I gathered up some of my buddies and we made our reservation one week prior to our jump. It took quite a bit of convincing to get just only three of my buddies to go, but they don't regret it one bit!

*Arriving 45 minutes prior to training, we were all assigned to a computer to sign page after page of waivers containing the words "death" and "serious injury" a bit too often. However, the staff were all very friendly and made it their best effort to make us laugh.

*After all the waivers were all done and everything was paid for, we were sent to the lobby for training which consisted of a ~20 minute video displaying how all the equipment is used and what to expect during the trip. We then practice the form you must keep during the freefall to maintain stability and speed which took a mere 3 minutes.

*Headed out to the airstrip, we all meet our own personal tandem masters. These guys have years of skydiving experience with thousands of jumps under each of their belts. They're a group of unusually cheerful guys who try their best to ease the nerves while suiting you up.

*Within minutes, your name will be called and you will board the plane. Immediately you notice that it's quite small, very loud, and very cramped.

*After a short ~10 min ride up to altitude, you ascend over the Snohomish Valley and you're greeted with all kinds of views. Silver Lake, Lake Stevens, Martha Lake, Mount Baker, and a beautiful horizon. You'll make small talk with your tandem master on your way up to altitude.

*This is the part where you ask yourself "What am I doing?", all of these crazy thoughts came rushing into my head and my instructor kept cracking the cheesiest jokes you can think of. Your instructor will unbuckle you from the plane seatbelt and start attaching your harness to his own -your stomach clenches and you're greeted by goosebumps all over your body. All I could think about at this moment was everyone's safety.

*Finally reaching correct altitude, the light turns green and the pilot yells "DOOR!!"

*The door opens quickly and a whoosh of very cold air wails through the small plane. You start to realize that this is reality and that you're a badass for doing something that most people wouldn't even think twice about doing.

*You see people in front of you jumping out the plane at 13000 feet and the next thing you know it's your turn. Your tandem master will tell you to creep forward towards the door and sit on the edge of the plane. Feet hanging on the edge, head up, resume safety position. Instructor will countdown from 3, 2, 1 (the wind was so loud but for some reason I was able to hear him as clear as ever), and you're out of the plane.

*My heart f@#king dropped. The first few maneuver's were a couple of body rolls for a few seconds until we were able to stabilize. You're now freefalling, time turns into a black hole and whatever you cared about before the jump, it doesn't even matter now. This time is yours to take in everything you can. The day was beautiful, the horizon was beautiful, the view was just exceptional.

*3 fingers appear in front your eyes to countdown parachute deployment.

*Everything slows down. Look down and you see others parachuting, look up and you see parachutes deploying. My eyes were just in awe the whole entire 5 minute flight back down to Earth.

*I felt like my body had been drained of every single vitamin and mineral I ingested since the 90's. It was that intense.

If this idea has ever been tossed around by you or someone you know, I highly recommend you giving it a shot. I plan to go again sometime in the future. We paid for the extra altitude (an extra 30 seconds of freefall) which was by far the best option on the list. A video was an extra $90 that I regret not getting. But when I go again, I will for sure have that on my list. There is no reason to be afraid, Skydive Snohomish pretty much screams safety at everything they do.

TLDR: Go skydiving.

grubinski

What did it cost? I'm old now, if I pancake I'm only throwing away 20-30 years.

0bsolete

Tandem Jump: $225/person (base altitude of 8000 ft, 30 second freefall)

There are group rates for more people, but good luck gathering others.

Extra 4000-6000ft altitude (depending on weather conditions) is only $25 more.

Honestly though, you can't put a price on this kind of fun. There is nothing else like it.

roscoe

I can def agree to the fun part lol. At first I was scared sh!tle55 but after the jump and dive it was so much fun and I spent 225 also I did it in Australia though. I would want to do this sometime again soon. I don't know about now cause winter is coming soon but defintely next summer . Video was also included in the jump but that 8 hour class before the jump sucks ass.

s2000Junky

Sweet Always wondered what was involved. Thanks for the detailed review. I may have to do this sometime.

thyawi

Nice review! I went a few years ago with some work buddies. Definitely worth the money. Did you opt for the cameraman and DVD?
My cameraman held on to the strut of the wing and let go at the same time my instructor and me jumped out. The cameraman shook hands with me while I was free falling and spun us around. As soon as I landed I wanted to go back up. If anyone is thinking about doing it, do it.

EDIT: just read the last part of your post. That is just an excuse to go again to get the DVD .