Free Fallin' just a short drive from Connecticut

Our intern, Pace University student, Janine Bowen, shares an adventure of a lifetime- skydiving

Every child has, at one point or another, tied a sheet around his neck like a cape, and pretended they could fly. As we grow older, we realize that we will never be able to fly through the sky “faster than a speeding bullet”, at least not without a little help. That help comes from Skydive the Ranch in Gardiner New York, where visitors can experience the closest thing to human flight that currently exists. Just an hour’s drive from Danbury, The Ranch allows anybody over the age of eighteen to experience the thrill of skydiving, and participation in the sport is easier than one might think.

Before the jump, participants must fill out some legal paperwork and watch a video, explaining what is about to happen. This part of the experience takes about an hour, but you can download and sign all of the paperwork and watch the video at home through The Ranches website, SkydiveTheRanch.com. After all of the paperwork is completed, you will be paired with a tandem partner, a professional skydiver who you will be harnessed to for the entire experience. The tandem instructors at The Ranch are experienced and friendly, and after a few short minutes with them, you realize you are in good hands. Every instructor went out of the way to make participants feel comfortable, making jokes and telling stories to calm the nerves that are bound to set in, no matter how excited you are to jump.

 Once paired with an instructor, participants are given a few minutes of practical instruction on what they need to do once they jump. Then, it’s time to suit up. A member of the friendly staff will fit you with a harness, hat, and goggles. You also have to option to wear a jumpsuit, which will protect your clothes during the landing, but it is better to just arrive in clothes you don’t mind ruining because on a hot day those suits can be very uncomfortable. As soon as you are outfitted with the proper equipment, it is time to board the Free Fall Express.

As the plane climbs higher and higher into the sky, the reality of what you are about to do sinks in and the excitement and nerves build. As soon as the plane hits 13,000 feet the door opens up and there is no turning back. Before we boarded the plane, my instructor, Denes Gutai, asked me if I liked rollercoasters I excitedly said “yes” to which he replied “this is nothing like that”. He was right.  The feeling of free falling thousands of feet is difficult to describe. Your stomach doesn’t drop like on a rollercoaster or a free fall ride at an amusement park and even though you are falling hundreds of feet per second, you don’t feel like you are going fast. The free fall lasts for only about a minute, then at around 6000 feet, it’s time to deploy the parachute and steer yourself down to the landing site. The video you watch before you jump explains how to do all of this, but the instructors let you be as involved as you are comfortable with. If a jumper does not want to pull their own chord, the instructor will do it for them while they just enjoy the experience. Once the parachute deploys, there are about five minutes before you hit the ground, during which you can do spins in mid-air or just enjoy the view. The landing involves some impact, as you land on your bottom and slide across the grass, which is why old clothes are advisable if you don’t plan to wear the jumpsuit. It took everybody a few seconds to readjust to being on the ground once they landed, but not one person looked like they regretted the experience.

Skydiving is truly a once in a lifetime experience, although it does not come cheap. One jump costs $219 and you can add another $119 to that if you want video footage and still photos of your jump. The extra cost for the photos and video are well worth it to see yourself during the dive. As an added bonus, you will be able to prove to all of your friends that you actually did it. If anyone is on the fence about jumping, whether because of the price or because of nerves, remember this piece of advice that seemed to be given by everyone I spoke to that day: If you have even the slightest inkling to go skydiving, do it because you will never experience anything else like it in your life.

To make a reservation to Skydive the Ranch, call 845-255-4033 and be sure to call at least a week or two in advance during the summer.

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About the author:

Janine Bowen is about to enter into her junior year at Pace University and is currently majoring in Communications: Arts and Journalism with a possible minor in Psychology. She hopes to graduate from Pace early and have a career in journalism. Janine is an avid music fan who participates in the Pace University Glee Club and loves to travel.