Currency in off season

As I sit here looking outside at what meteorologists across the Midwest are referring to as Snowpocalypse,  I can’t help but dream about those sunny afternoons spent in free fall.

If you’re a skydiver living in a place that gets all four seasons like I do, then you understand the inherent challenge of staying on top of the sport throughout the long winter months.

Time off of this magnitude can not only be detrimental to your spirit, but to your ability to keep your body and mind in tune with the sport. Regardless of what the title says, this post is about more than just having enough jumps to not have to worry about recurrency skydives come spring.

But, that’s a great place to start. According to the United States Parachute Association, “skydivers returning after a long period of inactivity encounter greater risk that requires special consideration to properly manage.”

Lucky for us, they provide strict guidelines of this “period of time” so that it’s not left up to the individual skydiver to determine the meaning behind this subjective statement.

Students: Students who have not jumped within the preceding 30 days should make at least one jump under the direct supervision of an appropriately rated USPA Instructor.

A license: USPA A-license holders who have not made a freefall skydive within 60 days should make at least one jump under the supervision of a currently rated USPA instructional rating holder* until demonstrating altitude awareness, freefall control on all axes, tracking, and canopy skills sufficient for safely jumping in groups.

B license: USPA B-license holders who have not made a freefall skydive within the preceding 90 days should make at least one jump under the supervision of a USPA instructional rating holder until demonstrating the ability to safely exercise the privileges of that license.

C and D licenses: USPA C- and D-license holders who have not made a freefall skydive within the preceding six months should make at least one jump under the supervision of a USPA instructional rating holder until demonstrating the ability to safely exercise the privileges of that license.

*This could be a coach or an instructor.

You can get more details about recurrency requirements here under section 5.2 of the Skydiver Instruction Manual.

Okay, so now that that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at some other fun tips to keep your head in the game in the off season:

1. Travel – this is the obvious one. There are so many winter boogies to attend, like Everglades in Clewiston FL and Puerto Rico and Skydive Arizona’s Easter Boogie. Not to mention all the tunnel boogies that are popping up. Of course, you don’t have to go to a boogie, even though they’re so much fun! You can always just take a quick weekend trip somewhere warm to get in a few skydives. The best way to stay current!

2. Snow jumps – of course, if you can’t afford to make a trip to warmer climates, there’s always the option to jump in the cold and snow. This, of course, assumes that there’s a dropzone within driving distance that’s flying year round to take you up. I promise you, altough it sounds bad, we did this a handful of times last year and it wasn’t that bad. Stay covered and you’ll be fine. It’s worth it to stay current and to get that free fall fix. Yes, the feeling does eventually come back to your fingers.

3. Google it - seek out every skydiving resource you can online. Use Dropzone.com to stay informed with articles you haven’t read yet, discussions on forums, incident report, even take a look at the latest used gear for sale in the classifieds to get you jazzed up for the season. Seek out articles on canopy piloting, wingsuiting and other disciplines you might be interested in tackling this season. Skim the SIM online (here) in preparation for Safety Day – officially March 12 this year. If you can’t stay current in the sky, at least keep your mind current with all the information that’s out there to consume.

4. Read, write, watch. You’re in the right place for this tip! Don’t feel like you have to spend all your time reading the hardcore articles and incident reports, you can learn from the fun stuff too. Pick up the latest issues of Blue Skies Magazine and Parachutist, see what they have to say. Find your favorite skydivers on YouTube and watch some videos to get you really jonesing.

There you have it, a few tips for staying sane and current in the off season. Of course, keeping in close contact with your adrenaline junkie friends around the world helps…misery loves company as they say.

Good news is Safety Day is just around the corner, though I do have to say it’s hard to believe with 6 foot snow drifts in the Chicagoland area right now. Here’s to a safe and quick winter.

Blue skies!

Ashley

Living for the future

For the past couple years I’ve been the girl who has preached living in the moment. As a skydiver it’s something you can’t help but do – after all our sport, and adrenaline sports in general, tend to be live-in-the-moment activities that often translate to other aspects of life.

This is definitely a positive. However, I’m also a believer in looking toward the future a bit. Planning every now and again.

Here’s a scenario to help paint this picture for you a bit better.

A couple conversations with fellow female skydivers last summer got us to discussing relationships in the skydiving community; specifically romantic relationships. I’m a huge advocate for finding the person you’re supposed to be with simply by taking part in activities you love. Having a shared interest that you both have a passion for, especially one as unique as skydiving, helps the relationship flourish. (It worked very well for me!) Naturally, this has lead me to advise my single lady skydiver friends to take a look at the men around them at the dropzone for companionship. But, from what some of these ladies have told me, their male skydiver counterparts live too much for the moment and they want someone with an ability to also look toward the future, as they don’t want to just be the lady of the moment.

Touche.

Sometimes, these activities that have us living in the moment and craving the here and now, can be a hindrance when it comes to thinking long-term.

One of the lessons that spending quality time at dropzones has taught me is that there’s a need for balance. It’s not infrequent to find adrenaline junkies who are unable to comprehend, let alone practice, a balanced life. But with my other passions like yoga, photography and writing, I find that balance helps me keep my sanity in the otherwise nutty world of skydiving (you know, the whole being surrounded by type A personalities where half of them are walking around on ego trips all day).

Thankfully, having a husband (oh did I forget to mention we got married…) who lives a life just as full of passion as I do helps to keep me motivated in all aspects of my life. Lately, I’ve been spending more time getting excited about the future. Maybe it’s got something to do with the fact that I haven’t had freefall in my life for a couple months so I’m jonesing for a jump, but I think it goes beyond that.

By nature I’m a planner and a list maker, whether or not I end up sticking to these is a different story. Recently I’ve found that these plans are highly flexible, something that tended to be rather rigid in the first 20ish years of my life. You’d think that in your 20s it’d become priority to “settle in” a bit, into a career, a location, a family, and grow some roots so to speak. But I think anyone with an addictive personally – espeically those who channel that in a productive way – can attest to the fact that there are endless possibilities for the future, even things you likely don’t see yet.

So maybe I’m not as ready to grow us as I thought I’d be in my mid 20s – but why does there have to be anything wrong with that?

Sports like skydiving keep you young at heart. We’re all a bunch of big kids out there and the sky is our playground. Growing up seems a bit overrated when you look at it – but that’s certainly not going to stop me from taking a look at what the future has to bring. There’s oh so much out there to explore, both in the sky and on the ground.

Love and Blue Skies!

-Ashley

Hear it from the Expert – Melanie Curtis

Well, it’s that time of year again. Winter has set in (and a very cold one at that  here in Chicago). So while this skydive chick sits on the ground until things warm up a bit, we’re going to continue to let the skydiving coverstation fly.

So what a better time to start hearing from some of the hottest experts in the community, shall we?

Hot is right, with this first interview! As some may recall, I took a trip out to Elsinore in October for the Chicks Rock boogie and was able to meet and fly with some of the coolest skydive chicks around.

And we’ve got one of my faves right here on the page with us today. I’ll let the interview speak for itself, but I can tell you that she’s high energy and even has a bit of a mouth on her…and it’s absolutely impossible NOT to love her.

So please, welcome to the blog, Melanie Curtis.

(Borrowed this from Facebook, hope you don’t mind Mel)

SDC: Alright Ms. Melanie, let’s start with the basics – when did you start skydiving and what’s your “story” on getting into this sport?

MC: My Dad actually owned a small drop zone in upstate New York for many years called The Verona Skydiving Center.  I was lucky enough to be exposed to skydiving at a young age, could have done it when I was 16, but was scared, wasn’t ready.. when I was 18, something in my flipped and I was ready.  Told my Dad I was going to do it the next day, I did, and so it happened that the entirety of my adult life was spent fully immersed in my love of this sport and community.

SDC: For those of us who have jumped with you, we all know that you do a little bit of everything, even swooping. So tell us, what is your favorite discipline?

MC: Currently, my favorite discipline is 4-way VFS, because it’s still quite a bit of a challenge for me, I don’t feel that good at it yet, and with the bigger gap open for improvement, so is the opening for feeling awesome when you rock it. Outside of that though, pretty much my only personal goal in skydiving now is to only surround myself with awesome, hilarious people I love.  Seriously.  I’m not kidding.  That’s for team stuff– awesome, hilarious, teammates I love, only. Professionally, I love going to/working at/organizing major events– I love that I get to meet and jump with a million new people, ever expanding the connection with awesome hilarious people I love.  Hahaa, but seriously! I’m so so so all about that. On top of the obvious fun of travel, experiencing the country/world, and enjoying the skies and views from so many beautiful places.  Man, I’m grateful.

SDC: Is there anything you haven’t tried yet that you really want to (like, have you wingsuited or BASE jumped)?

MC: I have tried wingsuiting, did about 20 jumps, had a hard pull and a reserve ride, and then hung it up for good.  I tried it because of the awesome organizers (Taya Weiss, Jeff Nebelkopf, Phil Peggs, etc) of the Wingsuit Records held at Elsinore.. but yeah, I don’t like having my limbs restricted like that, and honestly, overall, am a very risk-averse skydiver. As for BASE, I have no desire.  Zip, zilch, nada.  The videos totally turn my stomach.  I get no enjoyment out of increased risk– I like to calculate my risk to a point of feeling as safe as one can feel inside the skydiving environment.  I love my life, so I make choices to protect it, and for me, that boxes out certain things.  Totally appreciate that others love it, that it’s incredible in it’s own right, and that maybe down that line I’ll change my mind.. yeah, all good.. as of now though, I’m happy pushing myself in the competitive arena, and in coaching, very simply, helping people have more fun.

SDC: Aside from Elsinore and the Chick’s Rock boogie (cuz we all know that’s the best one around), what are some of your favorite dropzones and Boogies?

MC: CarolinaFest is amazing!! James LaBarrie and DZO’s Danny and Annette Smith put on a fantastic show, awesome people, great night life, fun extras, awesome organizers (hehee), extra aircraft, all the vendors, Rodriguez Brothers initiations, any discipline of skydiving covered.. everything.  Even though it’s a co-ed event, we’ve started calling it the Chicks Rock of the East.. cause the vibe is just so awesome, welcoming, loving, and fun.  Hell yes.  Other than that, in 2010, the Pimp My Fly Boogie in Hanko, Finland was INCREDIBLE!! What an amazing nearly week-long event these girls put on to inspire the lady freefliers of Finland.  SO grateful to be a part of that one, and can’t wait for 2011!!

SDC: We just missed that event last year, having spent a long weekend in South Carolina only a couple weeks prior. But you’re so right about everyone there – definitely a place we plan to visit again soon…maybe for the boogie!

Any place/event you really want to attend but haven’t yet?

MC: I’ve never been to Empuriabrava.. not sure what’s there really, I guess the draw of the exotic foreign location is appealing to me…. taps into that bug of wanting to see the world.  I guess Dubai is on the list now too!

Halloween at the Dropzone

Let’s see here: skydivers love to hang out after a day in the sky drinking it up on the ground – any reason for a party is a good one, right? And of course, what better reason that Halloween?

This is one day of the year where it’s totally acceptable to dress up in a funny costume and go out in public. It’s the one day of the year you legitimately get to be something that you’re not.

But for me, I dressed up as exactly what I am…let me explain.

We went out to the dropzone on Saturday, even with high winds. Gusts weren’t really in the equation, but the uppers were in the 40s. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a fan of the winds, so I grounded myself. That is, of course until the DZO and his wife wanted a second sunset load full of freeflyers and confirmed that the winds had calmed significantly.

All I have to say, is thanks Carolyn for making me go!

Then I packed up, or rather, trash packed up, and morphed back into the wind pussy that I am.

Yep, I went as a wind pussy for Halloween.

The party was small this year and people were a bit hesitant to get their costumes on, but once Andy came strolling in as one of the yip yip martians, the rest of us followed suit.

The food buffet was yummy and I even joined in on the party with a tequila sunrise or two, a rare occasion for me!

Thanks to Greg Drogaline for being the party photographer for the evening.

So what did y’all do for Halloween this year?

Blue skies!

Ashley

Winter Travel Time

Winter is fast approaching here in Chicagoland, and it’s about time to start thinking about a winter trip. Last year, as some of you might recall, Rick and I made a trip down to the Everglades boogie in Clewiston, FL. This is where I encountered lots of skydiving milestones like my first cutaway, my 100th skydive, my first shot from a closing pin ice luge, my first skyvan jump…the list goes on.

I was recently asked by a reader, “what is the best dropzone to travel to in the winter?” That’s a tough question to answer…I guess, it depends on what you’re looking for.

Let me elaborate.

Last winter, aside from the Clewiston boogie, we visited a few other dropzones in Florida and fell in love with Zhills (aka, Skydive City). The vibe is great, they have an Otter and a PAC, and they have everything you need right at the DZ. Everyone is so friendly, and it definitely lives up to it’s reputation as the friendliest dropzone in Florida. Though we didn’t attend, I hear the annual Christmas Boogie is pretty lovely.

I’ve also been lucky enough to visit other warm-weather dropzones like Skydive Carolina that have an incredible vibe. Everyone there was so willing to jump with you! Southern hospitality at it’s finest.

If you’re looking to head West, I do have to admit that I don’t have a whole lot of experience in this area, but I can tell you that Elsinore is pretty incredible. We were there for Chicks Rock at the beginning of October, and the otters were turning (as was the skyvan, for that weekend). For a Midwesterner, skydiving between the mountains was a pretty incredible site. I was also amazed with how friendly every was there (notice the trend here…if the staff and jumpers are friendly and welcoming, there’s a much greater chance that I’ll love jumping there. It adds to the experience more than you might think). Of course, I might be a bit bias as I was able to do a little bonding with Ms. Melsinore outside of the DZ before heading home…you may recall the Carls Jr. run in.

Anywhoosits, those are my recommendations for sure. Though I’ve yet to travel there, I’ve heard nothing but great things about Skydive Arizona as well. We’ve tossed around the idea of the Puerto Rico boogie, though it just might not be in the budget this time around.

I’d love to hear any other recommendations all you other jumpers have for winter travel. After all, though I’ve traveled at lot the last couple years, my experience is still pretty limited.

On another note, there are lots of end-of-season / Halloween parties going on this weekend at dropzones around the country. Very excited for my first Halloween at CSC, with a costume contest and $20 jumps for those who decide to jump in costume. I will be taking advantage of that!

If you’re not in the area, here are some other events you might consider checking out:

• Halloween Carnivale – Skydive Arizona: 10/29-10/31. Skydive Arizona goes huge for their Halloween event! Good jumps, good party and a FREE MIRAGE RIG to the best costume! They’ve got Otters, Skyvans, a DC3 and a balloon. They’ll have some kick ass load organizers too…one of my favorite chicks will be there (enjoy your trip Mel).
• “One Dirty Halloween” on the Farm – Skydive the Farm (Georgia): 10/29-10/31. 2 Otters, costume contest, charity raffle, load organizers and more!
• Skydive KY grand opening: 10/30. Skydive KY was asked by the airport to start the skydiving business again. Awesomeness!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Blue ones!

Ashley

I’d rather be skydiving — moving edition

I wish I had something skydiving related to share…truly I do. Unfortunately, in the last week  I’ve only been able to get in one skydive (and it was a solo head down / stand practice — still need much more head down work, that’s for sure), what with the move from Cleveland to Chicago and all.

But I must say, it’s been instant happiness coming here. I love our new place out in the burbs, I love my office and finally being in the same location with people on my team, and I honestly kind of enjoy my commute — it gives me a chance to wind up and wind down from work and I get to do a little walking every day from Union Station to my office (well, I will once our office moves…lots of transitions going on at the moment).

I also love the fact that our new home dropzone (can you believe it, I’m actually calling a dropzone home for once! *gasp*) — Chicagoland Skydiving Center — is less than an hour away. No more 1:45 commute to skyjump. Yay!

The one piece of exciting news is that my new system is almost complete, with the upcoming delivery of my customer Sabre2. It’s going to be so pretty when it’s all done. I’ll be sure to post pics for you!!

Until then, it’s back to work and getting settled.

Blue Skies!

Ashley

Chicks Rock 2010

Five days in Southern California, delayed flights coming home, early morning for catching up at the office….needless to say I’m a little drained today.

But, that won’t stop me from giving a recap of the Chicks Rock boogie! Though I ask you to give me a little compassion on my writing skills as they aren’t up to par with only half a sleepy brain at work.

Anyhow, the 5 days we spent in LA were a blast! We showed up to the boogie on day 1 (Thursday) with high hopes to get in a handful of jumps while my aunt, uncle and cousins (the reason we were in  LA to begin with) were all at work. Well, though we could see the blue skies, this nasty system sat over Skydive Elsinore and kept us on the ground.

So, we tried again on Friday. One jump and weather rolled in…so we headed out a little early.

Saturday the weather played much nicer and we were able to do some more skydiving. I was even able to get onto the sunset all-girls tracking dive with Melanie Curtis (aka, Melsinore). Which, can I just stop for a moment and say, what a cool freakin’ chick! Not just because she’s a totally badass skydiver and swooper, but because she has every reason to be arrogant and full of herself and she’s about as far from that as you can get! She did her best to include so many different girls on the all-chick jumps throughout the weekend (must say, I felt pretty great having her ask me to join the sunset tracking dive) and I’m amazed at how many names she was able to learn in such a short event. On top of that, when we ran into her randomly at the Carl’s Jr. by LAX, she didn’t hesitate to stop and bullshit with us for 10 minutes or so. And that girl knows how to throw a pretty great event!

Throughout the weekend we ran into people we’d met elsewhere, lots of badass skydiving chicks, mingled with the ladies at Blue Skies Mag and some of my favorites (read: Kelly and Gail) over at Infinity. The vibe was very chill and everyone was so friendly. I even heard a story on the packing mats that if you’re going to have a cutaway, Elsinore is the place to do it — apparently they’re quick to retrieve your main, freebag, and even you if you land off. That’s always comforting to hear! Definitely a place I’d like to visit again soon.

Needless to say we had a great weekend (aside from the intense heat that I wasn’t used to, but that’s an entirely different story altogether). Wish I had more than the one video to share, but my pictures from the nigh swoops didn’t come out, so you’ll have to live with that.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

Transition Time

Apparently I’m back on this title alliteration thing…I probably like it less than you. I’ll work on it.

Anyhow, life has been busy lately since Work Stinks! There are a lot of things in the works and lots of exciting new changes coming up quick. All things that have kept me busy enough and poor enough to hinder my skydiving funds. But let me tell you, it’s worth every extra second I’ve had to spend on the ground.

Aside from the obvious upcoming wedding, we’ve got a trip to the West Coast in our near future for Chicks Rock at Skydive Elsinore. Okay, so not just for that! Actually, the original plan was to head to LA for an extended weekend to visit my uncle, aunt and cousins who I get to see once every 10 years. Well, it just so happens that it falls on the weekend of this incredible boogie and I’m beyond pumped to get to not only jump at a new dropzone but to meet up with some incredible people in the industry (I’m looking at you Gail). It’ll also give us a chance to start letting people in the industry know about the 3rd annual Jump for Diabetes!

Once we’re back from Chicks Rock and what will hopefully be a (much needed) relaxing vacation, it’s time to pack up and head out…for good. That’s right, we’re moving! A couple opportunities have come our way that just couldn’t be passed up, so we’ll be finishing out this season at our new home dropzone – Chicagoland Skydiving Center. As you’ve heard me say before, this is an incredible dropzone and one that we’re proud to call home…well, as much as us jet setters can call any place home I suppose.

(Check out those Blue Skies!)

As you can imagine, my spoiled ass is thrilled to have a full time Otter and PAC less than an hour from my door. Wee! Can’t wait to see everyone in October…it’s coming up fast!

So I guess all this is a lead up to a note that I might be a little absent for the next couple weeks. At the very least there will be an update after Chick Rock…cuz that’s pretty damn important, but don’t hold you breath for much else until we’re able to make our way over to Chicago and get internet access.

Hope y’all have some fun skydiving plans for the weekend. Live it up a little for me!

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

Movie Monday

As you’ve likely heard me say before, Mondays are bad for me. They’re the busiest day of the entire week at the office and most of the time I’m trying to catch up with chores at home from being away all weekend.

The former still applies, however having kept close to home this weekend I was able to find a little spare time to put together a couple of promised videos – from the Work Stinks! Boogie and Jump for Diabetes (about time, right?)!

So, while I bust my butt at the office, you can take some time on your Monday to enjoy the highlights of two of my favorite skydiving events every year.

Jump for Diabetes 2010

Work Stinks! Boogie 2010

Blue Skies!

Ashley

Night Jumps

Note: the post below includes facts about night jumps along with a significant amount of personal opinion from someone who didn’t enjoy the experience so much. Though I do still recommend people do them, especially if you want to get your D license, but more for the experience of it. You never know, you might be at the opposite end of the spectrum in that group of people who can’t get enough of them.

Something I will never fully understand is the love that people have for night jumps. Sure, they’re kinda cool in their own right – getting to see everything from a different perspective – but they’re also a bit scary.

I’m not a huge fan on not being able to clearly see where everyone is in the sky around me. That canopy collision last year really opened my eyes to what can happen if you don’t have a view of everyone under canopy. Even with the required lights and strobes you can’t always tell where your fellow jumpers are on these nightime adventures.

When talking about night jumps, let’s clarify a few things first.

Any jump between sunset and sunrise is considered a night jump…however, if you’re doing these to meet license requirements (two night jumps are required in order to get your D license) or to establish any type of world record, these jumps have to take place at least one hour past sunset and one hour before sunrise. In other words, it has to be dark dark, not just after official sunset.

Given that these jumps are special, they require special equipment that isn’t necessary during the day. Aside from the obvious – clear goggles, lighted altimeter – the UPSA BRSs require a light visible for at least three statute miles displayed from opening until the jumper is on the ground and sufficient on-the-ground lighting so jumpers can see where they’re going as they get close to the ground.

Side note here, that was the scariest part of it all for me. Though I was able to land in a lighted area, shadows and darkness still very much affect your ability to judge distance to the ground and speed at which you’re coming in. I was thankful to walk away with both my ankles in tact.

Every dropzone has a different method for illuminating the landing area. We had hangar lights that provided a nice little target to hit…if you landed in it, you could see your feet and the ground clearly. Other dropzones have cars parked out on the runway with their lights on, or there are flares on the ground or they have flood lights in the LZ. I’m sure any combination of those would work nicely.

Anyway, though it’s not noted in the SIM, most dropzones also require that you wear a red light and a yellow light (red on the front, yellow on the back) so that people can know if you’re coming toward them under canopy. This is pretty smart, and it works…so long as everyone sticks to the rule of turning right if you’re coming toward each other.

For your D license requirements, you’re expected to do two night jumps – the first solo, the second in a group. Rick and I did our night jumps together at Start Skydiving earlier this summer. For us, the solo jumps were hop ‘n pops..from 6 grand. We had a group of 3 jumpers, each taking a shorter delay out the door than the next…5 second, 3 second, 1 second. Given that I was the lightest jumper in our group, I went last, with the shortest delay out the door. So essentially I pulled at 6,000 ft. The worst part about it was that you’re not allowed to play around under canopy, so needless to say I was bored. Sure, I got to watch the lightening storm that was taking place to the north of the DZ, but other than that it was total snoozefest for me. That first night jump sorta put a bad taste in my mouth.

Though the next jump was better. Our group jump was supposed to be a 4-way RW skydive, turning points and all that nonsense. But, after bugging our instructor, he let us do a two way instead. So Rick and I jumped out linked, did a little kissy kissy in the sky and spent the rest of the time doing 360s and checking out the scenery. In hindsight it was actually pretty awesome. Though I still can’t say I crave night jumps. In fact, I’d be completely okay if I never did another one.

To me, they’re boring and dangerous. That doesn’t seem possible to be both at the same time, I know, but that’s my opinion of them. As I noted earlier, there’s a good chance that if you haven’t tried them already, you’ll like them when you do. As for me, I’ll be happily watching you on the ground, with beer in hand.

Blue skies!

Ashley