chopaka

The Whitney Portal Store at the main Mt. Whitney trailhead outside of Lone Pine is cool to check out and provides some killer views just on the drive up. The Alabama Hills are cool, too. Loads of movie history. Manzanar near Independence is well worth the stop for a somber reminder of our history. The Bishop Burger Barn in Bishop is super quirky and delicious. Depending on how much time you have, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and White Mountain are amazing. That's a lot, and not even half way up. Enjoy the drive!

The Ranch in New York has an AFF Program that uses starts with 3 tandems (1 fun, 2 with skills/objectives), moves on to the ground school followed by a one AFF-I jump. Linda Wasilonski is the lead AFF-I, has been for a while, and has re-tooled their program a fair amount over the last several years. She can be found through dz.com, facebook or a website that she set up specifically for the newbies at The Ranch (ranchrookie.com). I am sure that she would be more than happy to talk about it. Good luck! Rudi

I haven't read through the thread--just adding this in case it is of any help. The DZ isn't close to VA, but Linda at the Ranch in NY trained a deaf student from Tandem I through to his A license just last year. It would traveling to NY, probably for long weekends or a vacation, but I am sure that she would do it again. And, for what it's worth, the guy is a killer canopy pilot because, in his words, he actually has to pay attention. After watching him nail the peas in conditions at the edge of a student's ability, Linda couldn't contain her excitement, congratulating him over and over. His reply: "What's the big deal--I'm deaf, not stupid."

Seriously, lose the camera. You cannot keep jumping with the camera AND be safe. Period. Take your time and listen to all of this advice. Rudi

Skydive? What's a skydive? 49 days and counting...

Here's a quick fix that almost never fails. The next time junior needs to go, toss a half dozen Cheerios in the toilet and tell him to sink 'em. It is amazing how quickly he will learn stream control. Besides, it's fun. Come to think of it, I'm going to go and get some Cheerios right now.

So Jerm's spoiler turns out to be a red herring. You're right. He is an ass and deserves a beating. See you this evening, Jerm.

Hey, MNM604, and anyone else who feels inspired to kick Jerm's ass for starting this thread. Jerm is a good friend of mine from way back and really is not an ass. He is generally a good egg. That being said, what he did was very ass-like and he most certainly deserves his butt kicked. I invite anyone so inclined to contact me as he lives only fifteen minutes away from me.

Hey, Brian. After reading through this now sizable thread, I find myself agreeing very much with heissam and the no-subtitle-at-all camp. I admit that my opinion may be somewhat colored by the fact that I jump and feel inundated with three word mantras (arch, reach, pull...turn, heading, track...main, cutaway, reserve...lather, rinse, repeat). - Rudi

Why not consider tunnel time? Like a lot of people I think of skydiving as two sports--freefalling and canopy piloting. Obviously, your niece could learn a lot in the tunnel before ever taking to the sky. This would clearly lessen the impact of her first freefall and likely help keep her in head in the game when it came to pull time. She could be a great body flier by the time she is 16, and a year more mature, to boot. Just a thought. I am going to start testing this theory in October when I give my own daughter tunnel time for her 7th birthday.