If you’re anything like me, as the season came to an end you were determined not to let the colder weather stop you from jumping when there are blue skies.
But the first time that bitter chill hits your exposed skin on the ground, you think twice about heading up to altitude in those conditions – sunny or not.
Of course, on a sunny mid-December day it didn’t take much coaxing to get me up in the air. It’d been two weeks since my last skydive and I was starting to twitch with the earliest signs of withdrawal. I was starting to feel like I needed a support group.
“Hi, I’m Ashley, and I’m a skydiver. It’s been 14 days since my last freefall…”
Alright, enough of that.
So as I mentioned on Monday, we headed down to Grove City for a couple jumps out of the C-182. Jeff, our pilot and recent past DZO consistently took us up past 11 grand – gotta love that kind of altitude out of a tiny Cessna.
The ride to altitude was surprisingly mild, but around 9,000 feet, we all started gearing up appropriately. As soon as the door opened, signaling the beginning of our jump run, we were thankful to have donned so many layers.
Given that this is the firs…um, err… the only winter so far that I’ve gone skydiving, there were plenty of lessons learned moments.
So, for those of you who are thinking about making a jump in the snow this winter, or are traveling to colder climates and want to skydive, I’ve come up with a short list of recommendations for walking away from a fun day of jumping, sans frost bite.
If I’ve missed anything, please chime in down there in the comments.
1.) Make sure you have a good pair of gloves.
-This is one I haven’t fully figured out yet, as my gloves just didn’t cut it. Gloves need to be thin enough so you can still find and grab your hackey to pull out your pilot chute, but thick enough that you’ll be able to feel your hands enough to do so.With incredible wind chill that you experience in freefall, it’s important to have gloves that will not only keep your hands toasty and comfortable, but that will cut the wind. The Nike ACG gloves that I was sporting did little to protect my fingers from stinging and turning bright red post jump. Even with latex gloves underneath, I wasn’t satisfied. Skydiving glove recommendations for this freeze baby are welcome and encouraged.
2.) Wear a full face helmet, if you have access to one.
-My buddy Don wore his new Cookie full face that he loves and it worked well for him. Helmets like that make me feel a little claustrophobic so I’ve stuck with my Bonehead Pimp Daddy that I love. But, by simply adding a balaclava I was totally fine. My face stayed nice and toasty. If you choose this route, do know that your goggles will fog up almost instantly in the plane, but once you’re out there are no fogging issues – even under canopy.
3.) Doing RW? Use your booties!
-As a girl who doesn’t do much RW these days, I find that booties help me stabilize and move more precisely. They also work wonders with keeping my tootsies warm. They help deflect the wind away and protect your feet and ankles (that would have been exposed while wearing my freefly pants).
4.) Check the winds aloft forecast.
-Though it may be fairly calm on the ground, the winds at altitude the last couple times I’ve jumped have been stronger than normal. This leads me to my next point…
5.) Check your SPOT!
-We take for granted that our pilots have GPS and the spots are usually good. Well, when winds at altitude are strong, you want to double check where you’re getting out. This will prevent you from an off landing and waiting in the cold for someone to come pick your ass up.
6.) Carry Chapstick in your pocket.
-Even if the wind isn’t directly hitting your lips, they will feel dry. Some good, protective moisture never hurt anyone.
7.) How about a breath mint?
-You know how your mouth tends to get dry just before leaping out the jump door? Well talk about cotton mouth – it’s worse in the winter. With the dry air at altitude, your skydiving partners will thank you for popping a mint before getting in that cramped little plane.
Hope you found these few little hints helpful. But tell me fellow skydivers, what am I missing when it comes to tips for winter skydiving?
Blue skies!
Ashley
I was told that wearing the latex gloves over your regular gloves helps. I didn’t get a chance to try it out because our pilot got called into work.
Proper gloves for that kind of weather are the windstopper gloves, as it is the cold 200km/h wind(coming from below, he he) that makes your fingertips go blue after the jump.
)
Although, this is just a suggestion, that I will put to the test in the next two weekends. Last year, I made a few jumps on December 31th and swore(for a second time) that I will never skydive in the winter again
I stock up on hand warmers near the end of the season, they are wonderful
I wear latex gloves under my normal summer gloves and use a set of these bad boys…
http://www.ecarepackage.org/ecareshop/images/hand%20warmer.jpg
You can slip them in either on your palm or on the back of your hand, whichever you prefer, I put mine in the palms. If it’s a really windy day I’ll stick a pair in my shoes also. They take about 20 mins to warm up, so crack them open with time to spare.
mike – I’ve never heard wearing them OVER your gloves. Hmmm, maybe that’s where I went wrong?
Hristo – let us know how those gloves work out for you. We all could use a good recommendation!
matt – do your fingers still get cold? That’s there I seem to have the most issues.
This post makes me shiver just thinking about it
Hopefully there was a lot of Hot Chocolate at the DZ!
Thanks for sharing your tips.
haha totally forgot about this post, don’t know why I just thought of it, but to answer your question Ashley, usually I’m ok, but if it’s really windy my fingertips still get quite cold.
I jumped with wind stoppers once but I couldn’t get enough “feel” feedback from them to know when I was really gripping my main. I will admit my hands were toasty warm wearing those plus the hand warmers, but I never jumped them again.