Altitude: 240ft + 17,760ft
7/3/2023
It was decided that I would go first, so when we reached 18 thousand feet, my guide and I scooted to the edge and tipped out into freefall. Time seemed to slow as we rushed away from the plane and towards the ground. The wind surged through every part of my body and consumed my whole consciousness. I tried to follow what they had taught us and stay in the correct position but sending signals from my brain to my limbs was limited as we fell faster and faster down.
I didn’t feel any fear. I had placed my full trust in my guide. Just like a roller coaster, it was all out of my hands. My trust was not unfounded. At about 5,000 feet, the guide pulled the cord and the parachute opened and immediately, everything slowed. We shifted into a more-upright position and got a chance to actually look around. The views were incredible! Skydiving in the PNW (Pacific Northwest) was definitely the right call.
Incredible Views
Similar to the day before when climbing Mount Hood, we could see much of the Cascade range. The volcanic peaks popped up in a dotted line as far as we could see, Rainier, St Helens, Hood, Jefferson. There’s nowhere on flat ground you can see all of them, so it’s pretty amazing to see them all from the sky.
Parachuting down, we steered and played with the temperature pockets to navigate towards the landing field. Once down, I looked around expecting to be the first since we had jumped first, but actually, we were the last. I should have thought back to my physics class because that’s what happens with gravity to two small females vs two larger males like all the other pairs were. As we righted ourselves and removed the parachutes, the only question was “When can we go again?”
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