Skydiving in the Southern Alps

“Think those peaks get more snow than the ones down south? Those chutes look sweet.”

“Ya, those would be the ones to hit up if you were to heli-ski while you’re down here.”

“Really? Thanks for the tip.”

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I needed to talk about something else to hide the fact that my legs were shaking wildly as our plane bobbed and weaved upwards.  All of a sudden the plane dipped and sent all six of the passengers floating a foot above the floor and my stomach into my mouth.  I whipped my head around to check out if we even had a competent pilot…only to discover that he had a parachute over his shoulders too.  That gave me tons of confidence.  Megan was sitting next to me, equally terrified but with a smile on her face.  A kiwi named Brian sat behind me; he helped me scout potential ski lines while hooking up our tandem harness.

Before I knew it, we were tumbling through the sky with the plane growing smaller above us.  Skydiving is a rush.  The adrenaline hits you like a brick in the stomach and you feel the tingle in your fingers and toes immediately.  I’m pretty sure I yelled at the top of my lungs until Brian pulled the chute at 5000’.  After a 35 second freefall, it took us a few minutes to float to the ground.  The southern alps provided a picturesque panorama view for the ride down.  Megan and I saw each other halfway down and could only laugh. 

By far one of the most exciting 20 minutes of my life.  I was starting to regret not getting another guy to video our jump…but the $199 extra could be spent on other adventures.

-Tyler Grubb

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