15,000′ Hop n Pop

After the last jump, I had decided to pack my gear up and go home, but then it was mentioned that this jump was going to be a ‘high hop n pop’, jumping from 12,500 feet, and opening your canopy as soon as youre stable, and enjoying the views and the slow ride back down, how could i possibly refuse this, on a weekend where ive done so many firsts, i simply have to add this to the list 😀

Im kitted up, and on the plane, the plans changed slightly, theres now a group will exit, and 4 of us doing the high hop n pop, so we will be out last. On the way up, we also find out that theres an added bonus, this lift is going all the way to 15,000 feet 🙂

The groups leave the plane, the first of our 4 jumps, i wait, check my alti (15,300 feet) then i jump, no rolling on this exit, im out, im flat, i wave off, i reach, i pull, im open, still at 14,000 feet

The views are amazing, i suddenly also think that maybe this wasnt the best jump to NOT be wearing gloves for. I play about with my canopy, putting all my weight onto the front risers to see what happens, on the rear risers, which made the canopy nearly completely collapse, but, once i let them go, it opened back up again. I pulled one toggle right down to my hip, and held it there, this put me into a vertical spin / dive, where i lost over 500 feet in one single rotation. Driving into the wind, and going further from the DZ than ive ever been before, before losing my nerve due to how far away im getting, and turning and letting the wind take me back over the DZ, very quickly, then doing it again, untill lining myself up for my final approach, and landing next to the flags, nearly 20 minutes after leaving the plane

What an amazing end to a brilliant weekend 🙂