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dweeb

I had a perfect standup landing in a tree.

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At least as much of a tree as you'll see at Elsinore. More like some type of desert brush that looks like manzanilla but (THANK GOD!!) doesn't have the spikes to go with it.

I did a perfect stand-up landing about 5 feet from the ground. Got grabbed into the middle of this thing. My risers got tangled above and the canopy actually didn't get entangled. Only the risers did.

I was under 200' feet and the wind shifted and drew me off and into the shit. I'm still too cherry to have known what to do automatically.

I kept trying to steer slowly but kept getting blown off. I saw the tree that I was going to hit and repeated the mantra "oh fuck, oh shit, oh fuck, oh shit" until the gods heard me and provided me with what was probably the best landing into this thing.



I consider myself very, very lucky to have come out of this unscathed. Other than a couple of scratches and a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, there was no physical damage.




Many thanks to Tink for getting me out. I hope the case of beer makes up for the soaked feet and having to scrounge for socks.

:cheers:

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Man some ppl owe me beer if that is true.



As soon as he stepped on what looked like dry solid ground and it turned out to be a gopher hole and he sunk shin-deep into the mud, I asked him what flavor beer he liked.

It's only fair. He pulled my ass out of some shit and fucked his shoes up at the same time.

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My only stand-up landing in my first 15-20 jumps was when I landed in a forest and my canopy got snagged just at the last second so I could have a tip-toe landing.

I was on a manta 288 and 15 mph winds pushed me backwards on final.. it was my second AFF jump and I was on radio.

It's scary landing in trees.. but damn it feels nice to drop through them unscathed!

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

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It's scary landing in trees.. but damn it feels nice to drop through them unscathed!



I think my worst fear of landing in a tree would be falling straight through a spider web.

You've never seen a grown man freak out like that, I tell you what.
Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

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When you're jumping at Elsinore, Perris, or Eloy, it's important to realize that while at first it may appear there are many good places to land all over the place, as you get closer to the ground you'll realize there's a lot more (and larger) dirt clods, shrubs, burrows, and bushes than you originally thought. Looking where you want to go, not where you want to avoid is as important as ever.

And always remember to determine where you can land first, and then as a subset of that, determine where you want to land, not the other way around.

Tickle is a good guy, glad he was able to help you out. He's got a lot of energy and puts it into chasing down jumpers and malfunctions.

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