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Tomcat933

Skydiving in Winter

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The other extreme.... Heat.

I saw people dressing up a little bit -- neckwarmers on 107 degree days -- just because we were going up a 'little' higher at 16000 feet.

While probably a precautionary measure based on past cold experiences, it wasn't that cold up there during MWR/JFTC even at 16000 or 17000 feet, probably 55F-ish. This is more than refreshing for a few minutes without gloves and neckwarmers. (gloves are useful for better grips, and scrape-injury protection, though, but they aren't worth the hassle for me on big ways unless it's true *freezing* cold, like almost 20,000 feet in a winter big way event)

In MWR I was a bigway outer that tracked away from the dropzone, so I was often one of the people who landed furthest in Dead Valley (er, Skydive Perris). The weatherman said the temps reached up to 107 degrees.

In fact, I often wished I sat by the jump door more often, so I could keep it open until 9K or 10K instead of being closed at 5K. (We opened the jumpdoor from 1K to approximately 5K to vent the airplane) People sitting near the pilot in the Twin Otters were all still sweating at 8K! I don't mind temporarily freezing a little bit; I view it simply as a pre-cooldown of my body heat, for my upcoming landing and survival trek in Death Valley (err, Perris dirt flats at 107F). A good cool-down makes the trek much more bearable.

P.S. We JFTC and MWR jumpers wouldn't have made the record without the free Emergen-C and free water coolers scattered throughout Perris specially for the event. Thanks to Emergen-C who donated the vitamin/electrolyte powders that could optionally be poured in your cups of water. And thanks to Perris for that cheap Smoothies booth ($3 per healthy smoothie). I don't think we'd have survived otherwise!

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The problem with Winter jumping in the North is there really isn't many days where the weather allows you to do it. The other end of the coin is Florida. It gets so damn hot here in the summer, the only relief you get is while passing 5,000 ft . Associated with that is high density altitude and calm winds. Looking forward to some Winter jumping in Wisconsin.
You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime

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Here's a little youtube video Brian Germain made from his visit to our Easter Boogie at Skydive Oppdal.

We skydive February to November and sometimes we arrange a new year boogie, with snow on the ground from October to April.

The cold is not that bad if you approach it with the right attitude, dress appropriately and have a steaming hot sauna waiting for you at the end of the day. (=

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Two hazards I find in cold weather jumping are frosted over googles/face shields, and safety concerns over too thick of gloves. I used to jump in Utah in the winter, temps to -10 C on the ground. I've used heavy ski gloves for jumping. Just make sure you practice finding your handles with them, especially with your extra layers adding a lot of bulk under your jumpsuit. Use special caution if you have a pillow type reserve handle. I feel those are harder to grab than a D-ring.

Fogged up goggles and visors? I've got no solutions.[:/] Anyone else have ideas on that?

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Fogged up goggles and visors? I've got no solutions. Anyone else have ideas on that?



I have seen other's mention Cat Crap?

http://www.google.com/search?q=cat+crap+anti+fog&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=

Never tried it but prob. will this year. So i dont have to deal with the fogging (I hope).
Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

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I do a lot of winter jumps every year usually in the 50-100 range and sometimes in temperatures most people don't like to go outside in (-30 and colder). Colder weather is sometimes better to test jump some things because of the higher density air. In regards to gloves. I have tried a lot of different things with gloves and one of the best things I have found was wearing a pair of surgical gloves under a pair of flight gloves. Doing this doesn't restrict your ability to grab handles either and your hands are more than warm.

I myself have never experienced frosted over goggles but that doesn't mean it doesn't or can't happen. When I used to play hockey there was a product used to spray (I forget what it is called) on our face masks that prevented frosting and it worked quite well. It could probably be used in this application as well.

A concern that I see with a lot of people is where they land. Fields can often be ice covered, hard packed snow, etc. and make for a less than ideal landing area.

Other concerns are any areas with exposed skin. It is really easy to get frostbite. People using open faced masks usually have more problems with this. Trying to get a a winter mask that goes under your helmet and doesn't interfere with things like vision, breathing, etc. can be difficult. I have on occasion used a layer of vaseline to cover exposed areas. It is a little messy but I would rather have some cleaning to do than deal with frostbite.

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Nice pics....

I did a hop n pop today at 3500' in Mesquite ,nv...IT WAS FREEZING..About 40 degrees on the ground...damn colder up there..The rest of the jumpers went up to 8000' because of clouds...they were all bitchen about the cold...Mesquite is nice though.Usually by 11 am is warm enough in winter..

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i did two jumps sunday from 10.5 agl (11k msl i think) first one hat a ground temp of 40 an a 9k temp of 4 with windchill's well into the negative.. second one ground temp was 32....

doubled up gloves and had neck warmer on; first jump wasn't bad second jump though froze condensation onto my googles when i opened and my fingers were numb for the long ride down

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Awesome photos PilotDave. Aside from the obvious cold jumping in the snow is awesome!

Under canopy you think to yourself "Damn, it is cold. Man this f'ing sucks"

Then when the next load is getting ready to go up you think "Ah, it wasn't that bad - let's go!"
Kim Mills
USPA D21696
Tandem I, AFF I and Static Line I

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Oh comon! You'll all jump out of an airplane, but you're afraid of the cold!!! We're in Wisconsin....we jump every week (except maybe when it's below zero)....and we still waterski when there is partial ice on the lake (= water temp 32). We don't wear shirts at the Packer games. Hell, Eric Gagnelius (Prime) even made a naked jump when it was 0 Fehrenhiet on New Year's back around 1995!!!!! Yes....there was considerable shrinkage...from what he reported!!!! LOL

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