If you knew you'd die skydiving...

[Smeger 0]

I'm a total newbie, so what I know you could write on the back of a stamp.

I've seen my Father die of cancer in front of me when I was 11 years old, both my grandfathers died before I was born, both my grandmothers died around the same time as my father, my uncle has a serious heart condition and I know that if nothing else will kill me it will be one of either cancer or heart failure. I'm 23 and haven't had chicken pox yet. If I get it in later life it may kill me. I am well aware of the reality of death.

There are only a few things I wanted to do in life that are:-

1.Swim with Dolphins
2.Chase a Tornado
3.Do a skydive
4.Go into space

I've done three of those and I doubt I'll get to do the fourth in my life time. I LOVE this planet, its awesome, theres always something interesting happening and I'd hate to leave it, but the inevitable will happen. At least with skydiving you have a rough idea of how you might die and therefore can prepare as much as possible to avoid it, thats more warning than most people get. The warning most people get is "mind that bus", "what bus" SPLATT!!!

I've always said to myself from a very young age that I would do anything to be able to fly for one day, so I'm willing to risk my life for it. I'm not sure that I would want to give my life for it, but I can think of a million worse ways to go than in doing something you love.

Its important to remember that everyone dies, not everyone lives. So, yes if I knew I was going to die from it, so be it.

In any case your statistically FAR more likely to die driving, but have you stopped doing that?

[freethefly 6]

I am well aware that each "next jump" could be my last so I say "HELL YES, GEAR UP". I can think of worst ways to die. HIGH SPEED DIRT, BABY!

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

I've been all excited to jump on a particular weekend and something in my gut just felt wrong regardless of the nice weather/day so I went with my gut and grounded myself that day and jumped the following day instead. There are also times when I'd love to say "okay..one more" but for some reason it's the better decision to pass on that "one more"

_________________________________________

[Tonto 1]

Well, reading this thread I'm releived to find that 58% of skydivers are so eager to die.

Of course, that the 58% generally has fewer than 1000 dives pleases me even more.

Statistically, Murphy is always looking for the low guy. With attitudes like this so prevalent in the sport, coupled with inexperience, arrogance and ignorance, I'm statistically more likely to survive than one of these people.

Of course, it's depressing to have spent 12 years instructing people to be safe only to discover their true attraction is not to the Blue Sky - but to the "High speed dirt!" beneath it.

I have little doubt why whuffo's see us the way they do now. This has truely been a revealing thread. Either the majority of us are ego driven liars, or we're truely nuts. Hobsons choice, I guess.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[LawnDart21 0]

If you stood at the door of your jump plane tomorrow, and told each jumper that was about to board the plane: "This WILL be your last jump, you are NOT coming back from this jump." The plane would take off empty, despite all the "High Speed Dirt!" mentalities out there. It's all talk.

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[Tonto 1]

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If you stood at the door of your jump plane tomorrow, and told each jumper that was about to board the plane: "This WILL be your last jump, you are NOT coming back from this jump." The plane would take off empty, despite all the "High Speed Dirt!" mentalities out there. It's all talk.

That's why I used the term "ego driven liars."

When I'm on the ride to altitude I see a lot of people coping with their fear. For some, it's fear of injury or death, others, fear of forgetting the 3rd point, and still others, fear of losing face. Sit in on a post dive debrief and listen to all the bullshit excuses on why the dive was a fuck-up. Some people stop just short of "I got stuck in a cloud" with crap like "My visor fogged up." Funny how that happened to near everyone in the world team in Thailand - and they came back with a world record. Just do a little experiment on your next dive. On the ride up, scream bloody blue murder at 4000ft, and watch people's reaction. They all just shat themselves. For nothing.

I think I'm too serious for this forum right now. Maybe it is just like the bonfire, where everyone is near perfect on the NEXT dive, while they drink to forget their fuck-ups on the last one.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Mikki_ZH 0]

No, I would never make another Skydive again!
Skydiving is fun but I would not die for it. I know that I could die but the reason that I'm still doing it is because I very much hope that I don't die.
I am extremely surprised that more people voted that they would continue even if the know that they will die doing it.
I also BASE jump but even there, I would not make another jump if I knew that I'm going to die doing it. I accept the fact that I could die but I keep jumping because I also know that I have a big chance surviving this sport.

Michi (#1068)
hsbc/gba/sba
www.swissbaseassociation.ch
www.michibase.ch

[IanHarrop 42]

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I've been all excited to jump on a particular weekend and something in my gut just felt wrong regardless of the nice weather/day so I went with my gut and grounded myself that day and jumped the following day instead. There are also times when I'd love to say "okay..one more" but for some reason it's the better decision to pass on that "one more"

Thank you for proving one more time that you are much more than just a hot, skydiving goddess.

You're smart too!
(Of course you're still hot.....)

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[wmw999 2,447]

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where everyone is near perfect on the NEXT dive, while they drink to forget their fuck-ups on the last one

If they drink enough, they didn't fuck up, right?

And if I knew that my next skydive would be a fatal one, I'd wait until I was dying from something else. A really, really, long time. Because if you know and go anyway, it's suicide, right?

My lack of fear of dying (right now at least when it's not close) is surpassed by my lack of interest in dying.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[kbordson 8]

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That's why I used the term "ego driven liars."

t

Your misunderstanding or refusing to open your eyes to the differences that others may have.....
It's honestly not that I'm suicidal or "ego driven".... it's my belief set.

As I'm leaving in a few short hours, I don't have time to restate my thoughts, so I'll just let you assume that you know my psyche diagnosis.
But.... just enjoy it all.

Karen

[pds 0]

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I'm a total newbie, so what I know you could write on the back of a stamp..
..
..

In any case your statistically FAR more likely to die driving, but have you stopped doing that?.

nope. not true. no way to make it true. people survive serious car wrecks every minute of every day.

in skydiving the threshold between minor injury and sheer destruction is minute. in other words, is a relative matter of severity.

to make your analogy valid you would have to skydive as much as you drive, with as many idiots in the air and in landing patterns as you share the road with.

then the disparity becomes even more apparent.

skydiving is not safer than driving on the road.
skydiving is not safer than almost anything a person could reasonably be expected to volunteer to do. (not counting crazy shit like fighting fires and working on a fishing boat in the bering straight)

skydiving is a life-threatening pursuit with the option to mitigate the danger with vigilance, diligence and education.

and you should wear sunscreen.

trust me on the sunscreen.

sky

namaste, motherfucker.

[linny 1]

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Of course, it's depressing to have spent 12 years instructing people to be safe only to discover their true attraction is not to the Blue Sky - but to the "High speed dirt!" beneath it.

I have little doubt why whuffo's see us the way they do now. This has truely been a revealing thread. Either the majority of us are ego driven liars, or we're truely nuts. Hobsons choice, I guess.

t

again... that's just your OPINION!

ever thought it to be okay that people view life in a different manner and live by a different creed than you do?
well, it happens, and that's what makes life beautiful.
if everyone lived according to Tonto's views (or anyone else for that matter) then life would be fucking BORING!!!

Live your life and stop judging others

Quote

I think I'm a little too serious for this forum right now

I was thinking just that. Your negative attitude bugs dude.

[Vallerina 2]

What about people who smoke? If you smoke long enough, it will kill you. Same with obesity. Lots of people do things that they know will kill them.

For me, since I know that I could die skydiving, I've accepted what would happen if it comes to that (I think this is much easier to do if you don't have kids.) If I was told that I would get shot while going out with friends, I doubt I'd stop hanging out with them.

And I'm not even a person who thinks skydiving is the end-all! I actually do other things in my life. I am much closer to my whuffo friends than with most skydiving friends. I don't think it's everything, but I've already accepted that it can kill me. I've fully accepted that....hence if I hear it's going to happen someday, I don't think it would change me. Now, if it were to happen on my next jump, I'd do what Wendy said!

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[LawnDart21 0]

I think this thread has fractioned into two questions.
1) If you knew you were gonna die skydiving someday, thie next jump or on any jump through 20+ years from now, would you still jump?
and
2) If you knew you would die on the next jump you made, would you do it?

To anyone that answered "Yes I'd keep jumping" to question #1, thats certainly not an "insane" answer, and yes, everyone has different views on "Carpe Deim", and how they choose to live. I don't agree with a "yes" answer to #1, but I don't have to, we all are entitled to live our lives as we see fit. And I would respect everyone's opinoin on this one, yes or no. There are good reasons to answer either way.

As for #2, if any one answered yes to this question, then, again I say I think Dr. Phil should be called ASAP.....lol. If any sane person went to board a plane and were told that they would not survive, no one would board it. This isn't the big wave off Bell's Beach in Point Break, and you guys (and gals) aren't Bodey......
"We'll get him when he comes back in."
"He's not coming back."

So yes, I applaud all views to question #1, but I think anyone that answers yes to #2 is "posing", unless, say they are 100 years old and don't want to learn a new hobby.......

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[Conundrum 1]

You know what nevermind, it's not even worth it.

• Quote

[rwieder 0]

every time i exit an aircraft to do a sky dive i know it might be the last thing i do. so, i stay prepared for that at all times. i'm quite confident that i will not die in a skydiving related incident, but more likely on a drilling rig where i work, it's way more hazardous than skydiving.

but to answer your question, yes i will still skydive even though the likelyhood of dying is ever present each and every skydive.

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[TheBachelor 5]

Funny, but I recently made a statement on this subject to my father. I told him that if I ever died skydiving, the enjoyment I've gotten out of the sport would have made it worth paying the ultimate price.

So, I answered "Yes", I'd still do it.

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

[nate_1979 9]

I am *NOT* eager to die.. I dont wanna die any time soon.. I want to be able to get thousands more jumps if I choose to do so.. HOWEVER, If I was told that I would die *SOMEDAY* skydiving, I would not quit... This was an open ended question on the time frame, could be I die skydiving 20 years from now, I would quite frankly be OK with that...


Now if I was told that I would die in my next 2 jumps, yes, I would probably quit, .. BUT that is NOT what was asked.

YES, I feel that if I died skydiving I know that I would go in eather "out" or after having pulled every handle / string / whatever I could all the way to the ground trying to stay alive.. This does NOT make me eager to die, just shows that I have the desire to live life to it's fullest until my card is up..

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

[flyclearjohn 0]

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Well, reading this thread I'm releived to find that 58% of skydivers are so eager to die.

Of course, that the 58% generally has fewer than 1000 dives pleases me even more.

Statistically, Murphy is always looking for the low guy. With attitudes like this so prevalent in the sport, coupled with inexperience, arrogance and ignorance, I'm statistically more likely to survive than one of these people.

Of course, it's depressing to have spent 12 years instructing people to be safe only to discover their true attraction is not to the Blue Sky - but to the "High speed dirt!" beneath it.

I have little doubt why whuffo's see us the way they do now. This has truely been a revealing thread. Either the majority of us are ego driven liars, or we're truely nuts. Hobsons choice, I guess.

t

Interesting. I found myself wondering if the 42% who would quit really understand the potential danger in our sport.

[SkiD_PL8 0]

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Well, reading this thread I'm releived to find that 58% of skydivers are so eager to die.

Of course, that the 58% generally has fewer than 1000 dives pleases me even more.

I am well under the 1000 mark so what? I didn't see anyone saying they were eager to die, simply that it was going to happen anyway eventually one way or another and they would accept the risk. If the question was "If you knew you would die the next time you made a skydive would you still jump?" I am sure the answers would be different, but that was not the question people were answering. All I can say is that if I knew it would someday get me I would continue jumping and do my best to make sure "someday" was far away and not the next load I was on.

Greenie in training.

[Zenister 0]

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Well, reading this thread I'm releived to find that 58% of skydivers are so eager to die.

i think your projecting something into the original question... it isnt about being 'eager to die' its about being 'eager to live'

there is a VAST difference between being told 'skydiving will eventually kill you' and being told that 'your next jump will kill you'..

but anyone who isnt prepared to accept that 'the next jump might kill them'.. is probably in wrong sport...

there are infinitely more options, motivations and approaches to living life (and anyone particular experience of it) than the two categories you've created...

'nuts' is relative to your personal risk level...

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[jdonovansmith 0]

We all know we are going to die, so do we stop living? We could die, on our next jump or a 1000 from now, yes, but we could die in a car accident, so do we stop driving? I doubt it. We could die walking on the sidewalk by a drunk driver swerving, but do we stop walking? I doubt that to. I say, do what you love...skydiving. The comfort I have is that when it's my time, it's my time.

[heidihagen 0]

she is NOT asking you to quit the sport. she asked "if you KNEW you would go in ON YOUR NEXT JUMP" (which would classify as suicide btw)... its alarming how many answered yes.. i'm a little confused why too!
i just don't understand why anyone would give up the rest of your life for a few minutes of fun. yeah, we all have to die sometime, but knowing and not knowing when are totally different.

also, the driving vs skydiving analogy is over used and inaccurate. yeah, this is just a students opinion.. but c'mmmmon! how much time do you spend in the car? probably more time than you spend in the air, right?
plus: driving - huge steel structure with air bags to protect you. skydiving - nylon.
does that keep me away from the dz? nooooooo... but it does make me more cautious.
odd topic, but interesting thread nonetheless.

i didn't lose my mind, i sold it on ebay. .:need a container to fit 5'4", 110 lb. cypres ready & able to fit a 170 main (or slightly smaller):.[/ce

[Girlfalldown 0]

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....would you still do it? If for whatever reason, (and for the sake of argument) you just knew for fact, that you would die one day from a skydiving accident, would you stop jumping? You have no idea when or how you would go in, could be the next jump, could be 1000 from now

If I knew I was going to die for sure on my NEXT jump then no I wouldn't jump but that's not how the question is presented.

I like this thread.

--------------

(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[ladyskydiver 0]

Actually, you're incorrect. The original question did not say your very next jump as you can see below.

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...would you still do it? If for whatever reason, (and for the sake of argument) you just knew for fact, that you would die one day from a skydiving accident, would you stop jumping? You have no idea when or how you would go in, could be the next jump, could be 1000 from now.

I voted "yes, I'd continue skydiving." I know that every single time I get out of the plane, I could die. Do I want to die? HELL NO!!!! Do I understand the risks involved in skydiving? Yes. Do I know that I could be seriously injured or die while skydiving or hell for that matter even at the DZ? Yes.

If I was told that I was going to die on my next jump - no if ands or buts about it - my question would be....will I die if I don't jump? You can die at any point and time in life - there are no guarantees except death and taxes.

To give you an example, prior to me starting skydiving, I could have been killed in the following instances:

1) I'd been hit by a car (8 years old when it happened)
2) I've been in a couple of car accidents (one where the car flipped over)
3) Had a car drive through the bedroom window of an apartment that I lived in

These are things that happened that are non-skydiving related and any of them could have killed me. They didn't (luckily).

I hate pain and the whole thought of death, but I don't know how (or when) I'll die. When my time comes, I hope it's while I'm sleeping (you know the whole hating pain thing ), but if it should come when I was skydiving know that I will have pulled every damn handle there was, beat the hell out of my container to try and get something out, and tried to do the best damn PLF anyone ever saw.

Fact is - I'll die one day. How is a mystery so is when.

Life is short! Break the rules! Forgive quickly! Kiss slowly! Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.