Leap of Faith - Skydiving

Thursday, April 03, 2014


Video by: Evan Zubrod

My dad always says, "Why would you want to jump out of a perfectly good plane?" And his comment is completely understandable. But I love the thought of a crazy adrenaline rush every now and then. In my opinion, there are two parts of pure terror: the moment you launch yourself from a perfectly good plane in the air to the instant your body reaches terminal velocity.Which leaves us with the middle fall. The part where as humans, we have nearly no perception of height above a few thousand feet so whether you jump out over the upper thermosphere or at a mere 15,000 feet, the ground tends to stay where it is with no sensation of falling enabling us to simply get over it and enjoy the ride. So of course I'd want to have the most spectacular view to gaze at while I question my insanity on the way down.  Here are my top bucketlist of places to skydive one day:
  • Oahu Skydive Hawaii You can see practically the entire island including Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, Kaena Point and local marine life. A bonus is that skydiving operations here use energy efficient planes which means you'll reduce your skydiving carbon footprint by 40 percent!
  • Greece
  • Guam
  • Australia
  • Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia - Ok, this one's a bit insane.You may remember this jump from Valery Rozov's Red Bull-sponsored stunt, when he dove into an active volcano. You'll pass a smoking mountain fire-hole too, but no guarantees it'll 'give you wings.' Maybe I'll wait until I'm terminally ill or something for this one :P juuusttt in case something does go wrong haha then it'll definitely be worth it.
  • Zambia -soaring above Victoria Falls - the highest waterfall on Earth. This waterfall is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and to top it off the Zambezi River is full of real-life National Geographic scenes. You may even see a rainbow on your way down, if you're lucky.
  • New Zealand
  • Everest, Nepal - In the event that some rich relative croaks and you inherit a hefty fortune, blow it skydiving over the highest peak in the world - Mt. Everest. There are only four diving trips a year, and you have to pay $1,000 six months prior to the trip and then $14,000 three months before takeoff. This is the most extravagant way to fall from the sky. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a bottle of Cristal waiting for you at the end.
  • Interlaken, Switzerland - You can't oppose the snow-capped Swiss Alps. This is one of the most poplular sports for backpacker skydiving newbs.
SAFETY FIRST:
Always go with your gut. If something feels unsafe or you're not convinced equipment is up to par, then don't take the leap. If they boast that their safety training session takes only a few minutes, get the heck of out there. Dropzone.com is the Zagat of skydiving, overring reviews by people who have jumped with different skydiving companies throughout the globe.

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