Holiday Card

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Every year when Christmas cards start arriving in the mail I get the feeling that I really should have sent some out too. Some years I do, some I don’t.

Most I don’t, really.

I did in college, but for some reason I moved away from it once I was out on my own.

And of course, now I’ve made some great skydiving friends who are sending me these wicked cool holiday cards and I’ve sent out jack squat.

So, I’m sending y’all this – consider this my Christmas card. I’m even leaving you with my two favorite skydiving photos from this year, courtesy of Norman Kent and our engagement photo shoot.

Posts might trail off a bit here in the next couple weeks, as I’m sure my readers will too as they head out to visit family or off to really cool places like Zhills (ehem Ms. Owen!) so if I don’t talk to you, hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a very safe New Year!

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

Work Stinks! Boogie — Recap and Engagement

Sorry it’s taken me so long to develop a recap of last weekend…life has been a bit of a whirlwind since we returned home on Monday from the Work Stinks! Boogie at Start Skydiving.

This was the second year in a row that Rick and I attended this event, and let me just tell you that it was beyond amazing. This year there were significantly more attendees than last. They also added a CASA to the mix which was a huge hit! At one point on Sunday there was about an hour and 1/2 wait just to get on this aircraft. We also heard on Sunday that they flew more than 1,200 slots between the Otter, CASA and two caravans. Not too shabby!

Let me back up a few days here. So we’d heard that on Friday jumpers were grounded for most of the day due to winds. We also heard that winds were expected to be just as high on Saturday…which stunk because we wanted to jump, damn it!

Rick had mentioned that he wanted to get in at least one jump on Saturday, high winds or not – this seemed a bit fishy to me. Typically, I’m very quick to sit out with any kind of high wind activity, especially if it’s not completely steady. I’m proud to admit that I’m a wind pussy…better to be safe than to have a canopy collapse.

Anyhow, so the winds weren’t bad on Saturday morning so we jumped on the first CASA load available. We planned a linked head down exit transitioning into sit. Lucky for us the head down stuck almost immediately and we were able to hold it longer than anticipated. It doesn’t do much for video effect, but there’s definitely some audio I recommend checking out in this one.

Yep, you heard that correctly! After a year together as freefly partners, travel buddies and best friends we’re getting married! Woohoo.

The rest of Saturday was a bit breezy for my liking, though we were still able to get in a helicopter jump from the R44 they had on hand. We did a three way with our buddy Justin. I’d show the video, but seriously, it’s not worth much. I need a wide angle bad…this camera just isn’t cutting it!

Later that evening the winds died down a bit and we were able to get in another jump with our buddy Jonathan. Our head down exit went to poo, and Jonathan and Rick had some collisions that were fun to watch.

Sunday was the day we did two jumps with Norman Kent for our engagement photo shoot. The first jump went to shit, there’s no doubt about it. We had really high expectations for the skydive, doing belly work, to freefly and deployment video. My head got the best of me.

But, on round two it worked out perfectly. Head down to sit, recreating our engagement jump…and it actually went even better than the first.

We had such a great time this weekend. We took it easy as far as jumping goes, got to hang out with some great friends, jumped the CASA and Heli, and of course spent some fun time together as a newly engaged couple. Good stuff!

Now I’ve got a lot of video editing ahead…both for Jump for Diabetes and Work Stinks! I promise, once we’re back to normal, full weeks I’ll be back on a regular posting schedule.

Have a great weekend!

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

Wingsuit Weekend

Between last weekend spent at the Ranch for my birthday and the long Memorial Weekend spent back at home (Skydive PA) I’ve got a lot of catching up to do – blog wise.

Today I want to touch on the event that was most exciting for me this weekend. (I promise, soon I’ll get to talking about The Ranch…but this just has to come first while it’s fresh in my mind).

Upon arrival at Skydive PA on Friday evening, I was prepared for a long weekend of freeflying, but that all changed when the beer light came on and my rigger brought out his wingsuit for me to try on.

After hooking it up to my rig and donning the suit, I’d decided that this was the weekend to give wingsuiting a whirl.

Saturday morning I went up for a solo jump to practice some head down moves, then went up again to prove to Rick that I can stick a head down out the door . Just as an aside, this was an incredible skydive. I went head down and he stood to keep relative – when I flipped out we were right there the whole time. We’re really getting it together!

So after a couple warmup jumps, it was time to get suited up for that first wingsuit flight.

Yes, for all those who are screaming “beer” in your heads, that case has already been purchased and drank.

I am extremely lucky to have Moe Viletto as my wingsuit instructor – and that he also had a wingsuit to fit me. After a few hours over the course of a couple days chatting about that first flight, the emergency procedures and how to go about find the “sweet spot,” it was time to become a bird!

Exiting last was strange. I’m used to seeing the tandems on my way out the door, not watching them go before me. It is nice, however, not to have to stress about the spot so much. When you’re a bird, especially one who is pulling a little high, making it back isn’t much of an issue.

Anyway – back to the first flight. So I’m crouched at the door, wings all tucked in and I huck myself out. That first jump I was nervous about opening up too soon and hitting the tail, so I stayed balled up a little longer than necessary, but when I came out of it and caught that first lift, I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing. The forward speed is incredible.

I had a flight path figured out and after doing my practice touches to make sure I could find my hackey with my new set of wings, I looked to my right to see him gliding next to me. What an incredible sight! For once I’m flying next to someone instead of looking down, hoping to get my speed up enough to catch the group.

Wingsuiting is an entirely different experience than a typical skydive…you’re actually going somewhere other than just down.

One of the things I’ve always said I love about freeflying is the speed, and that’s no exception with a wingsuit; difference being, the speed is horizontal, rather than vertical.

The rest of the weekend was spent obsessing over the wingsuit jumps. A couple sunset loads made me realize just how much my eyes have been missing during freefly. The sky is so beautiful, and the clouds are your friends. This is definitely something I want to continue experiencing.

Hopefully in the not so distant future I’ll feel comfortable enough to strap my camera back on my head and give you a little perspective of what it’s like to be a bird!

Until then, here are some pictures from the ground, captured by the lovely Sandy Weltman – love having you out at SPA Sandy!!

(Suiting up for the first jump)

(Sipping up our legs and getting to booties situated.)

(Beyond pumped from that flight…amazing!)

(Running it out with wings is a little more challenging!)

(Coming down from a beautiful sunset flight)

(If I look exhausted it’s because I am…but it’s worth every second!)

Blue skies!

Ashley

Flying with weight

A few weeks back I decided to open my wallet for a piece of equipment that I’ve been told time and time again I would eventually need to fly with, but I’ve been too stubborn to purchase.

I don’t like being told that I’m going to need something in order to accomplish what I want in freefall. Sure, we all need parachutes, that’s a given. But when I was told I would need a weight belt (or vest) to keep up with others in freefly (and on my belly too, though you’ll rarely catch me there), the stubborn ass in me came out.

“I can just stand and catch up if I need to.”

Well, that didn’t prove to work as well as I thought it would – even standing I’m still pretty floaty.

“Well then, I’ll go head down to catch up.”

Turns out my head down skills aren’t where they should be to stick with a group of sitflyers.

“Well, what’s 10 pounds going to do anyway?”

Turns out…a lot! I’ve been flying with the belt off and on the past few weeks, forgetting it at home once, doing some solos another time, but for the most part the belt has been on. Though until this weekend, I didn’t really realize just how much of an effect it has on my fall rate.

(The first jump I did with a weight belt at Zhills. You can see a little bulk in my lower back, but nothing too terrible. In fact, it’s the same jump as my blog header – you can’t even tell I’m wearing weight there! *Photo by Aaron Stocum)

Jump #1 at The Ranch entailed me in a sit, looking down at my buddy Tom. Once I realized a stand was going to be necessary, he was too far gone and I, for the life of me, couldn’t stick a stable stand .

So for jump #2 I strapped on an extra 10 pounds around my waist and off we went. On this jump, I was only very slightly above him, in fact, if I would have kept a better heading and focused on driving my hips forward we could have easily made a couple good docks.

I think I was in awe of the difference the weight really made.

The rest of the weekend I worked on my fall rate changes and focused on the differences the weight makes on my skydive. I was even surprised how much I could feel the difference under canopy and coming in for a landing.

Needless to say, I’m incredibly happy with the weight. Who would have thought a girl could get so giddy about putting on 10 pounds?!

Best part is, in freefall, I don’t really even realize it’s there. I tuck the buckle back between my rig and lower back and, aside from the little jelly roll appearance it gives under my clothing, I’d never even know it was there on the skydive!

For all you floaty skydivers out there, I highly recommend strapping on a weight belt and giving it a go. It might just make all the difference in the world!

Blue skies!

Ashley

Carolina Revisited

Last week Rick and I took a trip to South Carolina for a long weekend. The main purpose of the trip was to visit his aunt who he hadn’t seen since the 80s, but our adrenaline addiction benefitted greatly when we heard that she lived an hour from Skydive Carolina.

So needless to say we spent some time at this Southern DZ!

The first thing you notice when arriving at Skydive Carolina is the HUGE LZ. H.U.G.E. It’s 70 acres! And there are outs everywhere – not that you frequently need them. Even I didn’t have a problem hitting my target

The only issue we really ran into was turbulence and thermals off the runway.

We were pleasantly surprised when we ran into a few jumpers that we met at the Everglades Boogie. We posted up near a group of belly flyers who made us feel right at home and got a chance to jump with one of the freeflyers who we also met in Clewiston.

On the last day of the trip we were able to jump with Justin, a friend from Skydive PA and now a resident of South Carolina – this was the weekend he made Skydive Carolina his home.

The first jump of the day was a little hairy for me – what with getting kicked in the face and almost getting clobbered by another freeflyer. Whew!

After spending a few days there, I have a good feeling that Justin will be right at home there. The people are so nice and down to Earth! There’s a strong community feel, very encouraging. Most of all, people are just there to have a good time – even the teams in training took the time to chat and share in a few laughs.

Another Southern DZ I highly recommend! If you decide to pay this dropzone a visit, tell Annette that Ashley and Rick said hi

Blue skies!

Ashley

The small victories

(This is the one where I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m full of myself…take note, this post goes beyond just me, to my partner and fellow freeflyers. These past couple weeks have been incredible for everyone!)

I’ve been saying it for months, and it’s so true – skydiving is all about the little victories. Some of the best jumps I’ve had are those where we come down talking about the small improvements we’re seeing.

The past couple weeks I’ve really seen improvement with me and my freefly partner. We’ve been lucky enough to jump with some incredible freeflyers on random skydives that were not only incredibly fun, but very helpful to the learning curve!

We’ve been working for months on our relativity and forward movement / side sliding in sit. Our last few skydives have shown incredible improvement in this. It’s like, all of a sudden, something clicked!

There’s something to be said for jumping in groups of 3, 4 and 5, where there’s always someone to dock on. You’re also forced to make it to the low man or you’re going to be watching that skydive from the outside. Now who wants that?!

(Fun three-way with Susie. I bailed out of the dock because I had too much forward speed.)

(This 5-way campfire turned into a couple of two-ways, but there was a lot of penetration going on up there! – Now would be a good time to remove your head from the gutter. Thanks ).

This weekend at Skydive PA I finally nailed a controlled stand to make it down to the group. What an incredible feeling! Standing had always been my weakness, but as a smaller jumper it’s a critical skill in freefly. So I’m pumped for this success.

Wishing I had the video to share from that 4-way freefly, but my camera died so you’ll just have to take my word for it .

On top of that, you can’t forget about the head downs, transitions, forward and side movement that were accomplished in the sky this weekend. Not only does it feel great to have these successes yourself, but when you’re able to witness someone else’s victories, it’s just as rewarding!

(Rick showing us what it’s all about! We had some fun under canopy. I’m loving the Sabre 1)

This is one thing I truly love about the sport – there’s so much to learn and there are always new ways to improve. It’s the ultimate self-improvement activity! And in the end, you have plenty of reasons to celebrate around the bonfire with a cold beer.

What areas have you seen yourself progressing lately – in and out of skydiving?

Blue skies!

Ashley

Video update: freefly

Wanted to provide a short video update – from my perspective.

The first is a two-way freefly with my partner at Skydive Pennsylvania in mid-March.

The second is a much anticipated 2-way sitfly with Christa. This was a long time coming – so fun. This girl and I do not get up in the air together enough!

The last is a two-way freefly with Rick. The video does not do this exit justice – it was SO MUCH FUN. At the tail end, if you’re paying attention, you can see his cutaway before my camera shut itself off.

Hoping for more freefly fun this weekend (and no chops)!!

Blue ones!

-Ashley

Experiencing Skydive City

After the Everglades Boogie we had about 2 1/2 days of rain. This was a good chance for us to experience some things in Florida we might not have otherwise.

On the way from Clewiston to Fort Lauderdale, we stopped at a place that offers air boat rides to see the alligators. Instead of taking the ride we walked around their exhibit and saw a bunch of different animals.

From there we decided to head up to Orlando to get some tunnel time. On the way the skies cleared a bit so we swung by Skydive Sebastian in hopes that they were jumping. It was pretty dead there – must be everyone had gone to the boogie down south.

(The deserted Skydive Sebastian)

We arrived in Orlando that evening to find there were no tunnel slots left. We watched some tunnel newbies and a couple freeflyers working on their relative sit. This was actually very educational for us, as I was able to see what the smaller of the pair was doing, while Rick picked up some tips on how to slow his fall rate a bit.

The next day due to lack of funds for sufficient tunnel time, we went over to DeLand in hopes of jumping. Two days spent in DeLand were a bust – aside from the PD factory tour which was pretty nifty. We also met some great people who worked in the skydiving industry. Though we didn’t get to jump, it was a good little visit!

(Picking oranges at Skydive DeLand – waiting for the skies to clear)

The next day we checked the weather and Skydive City in Zephyrhills seemed to be our best bet for jumping. So we got in the car and made the 2 hour drive. By the time we got there, the skies had cleared and the Pac was going up!

This was my first jump back after the cut away at the Everglades Boogie, and needless to say I was more than a little nervous. There were all sorts of thoughts running through my head and I continued to doubt my pack job (even though it wasn’t my pack job that I had to chop).

We jumped with a guy named Pat who was also a freeflyer. After getting my rig stuck on the door at exit, I was pretty much out of the skydive. It was a good solo sit, though!

The second jump was the sunset load where Rick and I worked on our relative sit, again.

We woke up on day two a Skydive City to a thick layer of clouds. I was bumming because I was two jumps away from my 100th, which I really wanted to get on this trip.

Well lucky for me the clouds broke up and the day ended up being perfect. I think it was the nicest day we had the entire vacation.

Pictures like this sure make me miss 70s and sunny!

Our first jump was a two way relative sit. We decided to do a train exit as that seems to help keep us together. On this jump, it proved highly successful. When we got back to the ground we were both extremely excited – we’re starting to get it! Between my posture and putting my legs down and Rick finding the trick to getting bigger our fall rate is getting there. And though it’s hard to tell with this wide angle GoPro, we were pretty close, too.

The next jump was my 100th. Aaron, a former Cleveland Parachuter himself, went up with us to get some stills and video, so we made it a 3-way freefly – or, did our best to, anyhow.

We didn’t stay quite as relative as we would have liked, but it was a fun skydive regardless. I did cork out once which is uncharacteristic of my recent sitflys, but I was back in the game quick.

Thanks Aaron, for capturing this jump for me!

If I can ever figure out how, I’ll post Aaron’s video here or on my YouTube channel. Stay tuned. For now, you get the jump from Rick’s perspective.

Overall Skydive City was one of the best experiences of the trip. We got to jump with some great people and had incredible weather. And I’ll definitely agree that they’re the friendliest dropzone around!

If you’re in the Tampa area, Skydive City in Zephyrhills is a must. If you drop by, give Aaron my best!

Blue ones!

Ashley

Everglades Boogie 2010

Being back in the cold and snowy weather of the Midwest has me pining for the sun, warmth and blue skies of Florida. I can’t help but day dream of the times spent in Ft. Myers, DeLand, Sebastian, Zephyrhills, and Clewiston.

Which is where I will begin my journey – the Everglades Boogie at Skydive AirAdventures.

This was the main event for us: the reason we chose Florida this time of the year as opposed to Arizona or Puerto Rico where other jump buddies were traveling this winter.

The Everglades Boogie caught our eye for a number of reasons: the high altitude jump, the skyvan, the Pitts biplane, and of course, the affordability of traveling to this state.

We kept our budget low by stocking groceries in a cooler and sleeping in our car most nights. Luckily our “midsize” rental ended up being a Dodge Journey.

Fold the back seats down and you’ve got the perfect sleeping arrangements… well, close to perfect, anyhow.

After spending our first day in Ft. Myers, walking along the beach, eating some mediocre seafood and watching the sunset over the Gulf, we headed to Clewiston for our first night around the bonfire.

(Sunset over Ft. Myers Beach)

To our surprise there was only one other group camping out that night – a couple guys who are regulars at Skydive AirAdventures. The following few nights were spent around the bonfire with these fellas.

Here’s video evidence that the times spent around the fire were quite entertaining:

Thanks to Rick and Lisa for the 8 kegs provided after hours. Oh the things free beer will entice you to do…

Anyway, back to the skydiving.

There are a lot of individual stories to tell from this event, but I’ll give you the basic rundown before we go into any specifics.

The first two days were beautiful, a little breezy, but nothing to worry about. The LZ was large enough where I didn’t have to worry too much about off landings. In fact, I only landed off once – into the packing area on the last jump of day 2. This made me think that it’s time to seriously start considering downsizing my canopy. With an exit weight of 135, it gets difficult to make it back to the dropzone on breezy days under my Triathlon 160. But that’s a topic for another day.

Thursday was the first day of the boogie and it was a little slower than anticipated, but by the end of the day the Super Otter was turning loads. To my surprise though, I couldn’t for the life of me get anyone other than Rick to jump on the sunset load. So I ended the day with four. Here’s a video compilation of these jumps.

I edited in a little commentary and music (Angels & Airwaves, one of my favorites!) for your enjoyment as this one is a little lengthy.

As you can see, we’re really working as a team to stay close and relative in our sit. Needless to say this trip gave us a great chance to practice … by the time we got to Zhills we were seeing incredible improvement!

Friday was another beautiful day. The skyvan showed up from DeLand too so our last three jumps were from a tailgate. It’s pretty fun to watch a huge plane poop out people like that.

The GoPro didn’t want to cooperate on Friday, but here are a couple of our skyvan jumps that day: another 2-way sit and a 4-way horny gorilla exit that looks pretty cool. Rick also had a close call with a swooper as you’ll notice at the end of the video. But it’s all good and everyone is okay.

Saturday was our last day at Skydive AirAdventures and the day we took part in a high altitude jump – and my first chop. Both of these will be discussed in greater detail later.

What I do want to take time to mention is how incredible the experience was at Skydive AirAdventures. The Everglades Boogie was run very smoothly, and though I’m sure it seemed like a madhouse to DOZs Rick and Lisa, they pulled it off successfully. There were a number of vendors there doing demos and selling their stuff including Performance Designs, EG Suits, Aerodyne, and more. I was incredibly impressed with the reps at PD…that’s all I’ll say on that for now.

Aside from the boogie, the atmosphere at this DZ is incredible. The regulars were welcoming and Rick and Lisa made us feel right at home. After my cut away Rick was quick to take me aside and make sure I was okay. Thomas is an incredible rigger who took the time to thoroughly check out my rig and repack my reserve as well.

This is definitely a DZ I’ll be visiting again in the near future.

The last evening there was spent around the bonfire, watching Jeff carve a block of ice into a closing pin shot luge. Not only is this guy an incredible wing suiter, he’s also an ice sculptor. Talents abound in the skydiving world!

(The finished product, ready for ice cold shots!)

We also met some fellow mid-westerners out of Missouri who we’re hoping to connect with again soon. If you’re reading, great meeting you Susan!

Thanks to everyone for making this an incredible boogie weekend. I was able to meet fellow skydivers and make some new friends. Can’t wait to get back in the air with y’all again soon.

If you’re ever in South Florida, I highly recommend heading over to Clewiston for a jump or two at Skydive AirAdventures. The staff will take good care of you.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from the first few days of our trip – in Ft. Myers and around the Everglades Boogie. (All photos below by Ashley Mead)

(Looking out over the Gulf in Ft. Myers)

(Attempting to feed the Heron – notice the shirt!)

(This little guy kept dive bombing for food)

(Sharing a sunset at Ft. Myers Beach)

(The PD tent during the boogie)

(Jet rides were available)

(Last night at the bonfire)

Blue skies!

Ashley

Mid-week jumps and weekend happenings

After an exhausting weekend in West Virginia for Bridge Day I really thought this week at the office would drag. But boy was I wrong.

Seriously, how is it Friday already?

I think taking a half vacation day on Wednesday to take advantage of the nice weather really helped. The temperatures got up to almost 70 degrees and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Perfect fall jumping weather!

So Rick and I headed down to Canton Air Sports to meet up with a number of our other jumping buddies who had the same idea.

A couple jumps was just the fix I needed…I was starting to twitch over here!

The first jump was a new two-way freefly attempt – one we had seen pictures of before, though we’re not entirely sure what to call it. Essentially, it’s a one-man sit with a head-down stinger. I was the stinger. And we actually pulled it off for a couple seconds. More practice is definitely in order.

If anyone has a name for this, please feel free to share.

The second jump was a high pull so we could play under canopy for a while. I’ve never pulled at 7 grand before, and given the amount of time I hung out in the sky, I’m pretty certain I won’t again for a while.

What can I say, I just get a little uncomfortable being under canopy for so long. But I did learn a little more about my Triathlon – how far I can push it with spirals, testing out front and rear riser moves. For anyone with a new canopy, I definitely recommend a high pull to help you get acquainted.

Hopefully on Sunday the weather will play nice and I can get back to the playground in the sky. If you’re in the NE Ohio area, come out and fly with me. Otherwise, here’s what’s going on this weekend around the skydiving community:

• 10/24. CSC Halloween Party. Live music, costume contest, bonfire and camping. If you’re in or around Chicago, this is a can’t miss DZ party.
• 10/24. RW skills camp. Also at CSC. Visit Dropzone.com for more information.

And next week there is sure to be numerous Halloween boogies to choose from.

Blue Skies!

Ashley