Moving to Alberta Canada From UK.

[luckymaguire 0]

Hi all.

My name is Barry Maguire and I am moving from England to Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada in September (just in time for winter!) and of course I am looking to meet fellow skydivers when I get out there.

I would love to meet any skydivers living way up north and would be glad to hear from anybody who lives in the Fort McMurray/ Edmonton area to give me the heads up before I move out there.

I dont know what I need as far as imsurance is concerned, or what the jumping season is. So I am flying blind right now and look forward to hearing from......anybody!?

Nice one.

[ILUVCHUTERS 1]

It's REALLY cold here right now...be prepared. It should warm up eventually though...

There are two dropzones in the Edmonton area, Eden North and Edmonton Skydive Centre. Both are great dropzones and both have really awesome people
Jumping season is usually April/May - October. I think ESC is opening first weekend of April, and Eden is opening last weekend of April. It'll still be a bit chilly, especially at altitude, but it's not so bad. We're a hardy bunch!

I know at least one, and possibly more, of our jumpers (Eden) are from Fort Mac, we've got a couple from Grande Prairie too. Not sure about ESC but it would surprise me if they dont have a couple of people from up north, at least!

As far as insurance goes, we have a different health care system than in the U.S., I personally don't have any other insurance than what my work provides and what the province provides. CSPA (Canadian Sport Parachute Association) provides third party liability insurance to its members, however, I'm not the best person to advise on that, though. Hopefully someone else will weigh in.

We also have an Alberta Sport Parachute Association that does things like Provincials (boogie and competition) every year, and subsidizes ratings courses for members.

Welcome to the chilly north!

Edit: Just saw you're not here till September. There is jumping in September/October, but that's when it starts to get cold.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Hi Barry,
Moving to Ft. McMoney are you? Fort Mac is a city full of people with money who are looking for a way to spend it. I work up there but fly in and out to Edmonton.
Edmonton Skydive Centre is about a 3 hour drive from Ft. Mac on a good day with Eden North closer to 4. We will have a Twin Otter At ESC flying most days in September with it being a bit more spotty in October (OK a lot more spotty). Drop Al or Raina a line before you come and we'll get you sorted with accommodation. We have free camping, a bunkhouse or discounts at a local hotel.
Normally BPA is good for visitors, but if you are moving here you will be expected to join CSPA (much cheaper than BPA).
You can expect temperatures at altitude to be in the -5 to -15 range in September. We don't lose a lot of days to clouds, but we lose a lot of hours to winds.

[luckymaguire 0]

Thanks for the responses. I know this is a very delayed reply from a long time ago, but I am now in northern Alberta in Fort McMurray on the job hunt.

Of course I have brought all of my gear with me but my reserve is now out of date and will need a repack. With the weather coming I am sure the season is over but knowing I will be going cold turkey without a jump soon I am already thinking about a run down into the US some time in the winter. So I am gonna need a reserve repack. Can anyone shed some light on this? Anyone in Edmonton or even Fort McMurray that can do this?

And of course..... any skydivers living in Fort McMurray wanna say hello would be most welcome.

Cheers

[luckymaguire 0]

A few further questions.

I am aware that I need to obtain CSPA registration to jump here in Alberta regularly next season. No problems there.

But in relation to going to the states some time this winter I would imagine holding CSPA registration (and hence 3rd party insurance) would be beneficial. At the moment I currently hold a British Parachute Association membership which is no good for 3rd party insurance. So if I am going to become CSPA registered, the sooner the better. So what is the best way to do this. I am currently job hunting in Fort McMurray so will not be able to travel to see anyone about it for some time. And as the winter is closing in, will there be anybody qualified to sign documents around in the coming months?

Again... any advice??

Thanks

PS... thanks for the previous responses. Very helpful.

[Remster 24]

It doesnt take any signing of anything to get the membership (well, except your application that you have to sign if you do it on paper).

If you want CSPA COP's, that's another story. However, unless you want to get ratings in Canada, you dont need the CSPA COP's as the UK's are recognized (as a FAI member) (and, for al lI know, maybe yo uwouldnt even need CSPA COPs for CSPA ratings.. I just dont know anymore)

So, when you're ready, just go the the CSPA site, and register as a member.
https://www.cspa.ca/member/cart.php?a=confproduct&i=0

Remster

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Welcome to Mordor.
Edmonton Skydive Centre in Westlock (about 3 hours away) is still open for another couple of weekends. We have heated space for you to sleep in on the weekend if you want to drive down. There are a couple of riggers here who can fix you up.
Give us a call 1 780 444 5867.
edmontonskydive.com

[Andrewwhyte 1]

To join CSPA go to cspa.ca
You can do it on-line or do it with us this weekend.

[hcsvader 1]

Best place to jump during Alberta winter...

Eloy or Perris

If you can I recommend you get down to ESC for the year end party. It'll be fun!

I know there are a few jumpers that work in Ft Mac but I'm not sure of any that live there. Are you living in town or in camp?

If you are looking to do some boogies over the winter I really recommend getting to Eloy for the christmas boogie.
Some of the alberta DZ's also organize boogies in the states during the winter.

If you are around next summer you MUST go to the Lost Prairie boogie in Montana! Its about a days drive from Ft Mac.

Have fun in Oil country. Im hiding from the winter in SE Asia. See ya sometime next spring

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[fallfaster 0]

Hey there, I just start jumping and am headed back down to cali in mid january and maybe buying some gear while im down there. If anyone from up north wants to help out and give pointers before i head down would be awesome.

any advise would be amazing

Thanks