sbojudo

Last Saturday, I did something I thought I would never do and that was skydiving. My friend Brian took me to Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures. I had an amazing experience. I knew that the Shenandoah area was a beautiful with lots of areas to hike but seeing it while you are skydiving gives you a whole different view of that area. Melissa was the first person I spoke with and she made the check in process easy and answered a lot of my questions. She was just as nice and helpful in person as she was on the phone. I felt at easy and had a good feeling about the jump and the staff that was going to help me. I was paired with a great instructor, Henrik. Henrik took the time to explain the whole process: the gear, what we would be doing, even took me to a plane to show what we needed to do in the plane prior to the jump and how to get into proper position for the jump. He found me a jumpsuit and gloves to wear and made sure I was properly suited up. With all of these instructions, it was easy to trust him and just relax during the preparation for the jump, the plane ride up and the whole jump. I was able to deploy the parachute, steer, make turns and make a pretty easy landing. After the jump, everyone made sure I was okay - coming off the adrenaline rush. Charlie, the owner, also provided some feedback on my jump and landing to make it better. Henrik was pleased with my performance and felt that I could take the next step with a solo jump. It is the little things that make an experience amazing and this is what Blue Ridge Skydiving provided. The staff and fellow jumpers were all providing support to me as a first time jumper, answer all of my questions, no matter how small it was, talking about their own jumps, tips to having a good jump and congratulating me on a successful jump. I watched other jumps after mine and saw Henrik working with another first time jumper who he was going to do a Tandem jump with. The staff treated everyone the same way – helping them to have successful jumps, what they need to do to be better, joking with each other and making sure the equipment was properly prepared. It felt like a family and made the experience even better. It has been a week since my jump and I am still amazed about the whole experience: jump, those who helped me and jumped with me. I would highly recommend Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures to anyone who wanted to skydive.