n^rr. ■ m ; larengTOT
\J
j Skydiving from a mile-and
a-half above the ground has
its ups and downs, but
mostly down
ALBANY It .ill began with .1 phone
i ,i 11
I c.in 11 * holin' from class one afternoon
to find my atvsvvcTtng machine fiii'.fn 1:I
pressed (ho button, listening to just .1!>. ...I
tin: lust vuk:e I expected to hear th.il duv
The message was left hv University |u
nior Drew Holmes, an instructor .it tin
Willamette Valiev Parachuting (dub He
heard I was interested in skydiving, and
what he said got me even more Interest
ed
T enl h o u s .1 n d I e e t o ! pure
adrenaline, Holmes said through my
machine
Yet looking down from the plane Sat
urday, 10,000 feet from the earth,
adren.dme was the last thing on my
mind Lib' itself seemed more important
But I survived, obviously, or else this
storv would never be (old through m\
mouth
! Trends who knew ! was going skvdtv
mg thought I was < ra/v Holmes who
has made his lair share ol lumps, joking
ly told me I was 1 ra/v And by the time I
finished mv two hour lesson Saturday
morning, I was convinced I was crazy
it made me wonder yvhat sort of pet)
pie actually go through with a jump or
do it as a hobby or a career Thrill-seek
ers ’ One timers'
It s a dillerent breed of people
Holmes said "Ninety fieri ent of tie- peo
pie vve never see them again Most
people just want to do it oru e to say, |
jumped out of an airplane
i l .t' ; o owner Mike Mitiee said the
popularity ol skydiving is at an all-time
high t <. i:nr i.I interest j).irki•!! by lln
I'nml lll-’.ik at. 1 two i utimrr tub.
.ifpa t mg skyd lving
Skydiving 1m-. become levs .ind l*-»s
: 1 ■ : ,1/y pel Mill Sp.it!, said Me l .re
IS .‘ill began tile skydiving business at the
kte v Its.!!e I'lytng (.'lub in January 1'lilrt
Thu lesson tiegun with u series of vid
■ t;[.i j - timing tile i ijii i puunt we
would be using during om tandem jump
• i !. i: : ; . : . r - :. :is,i ■
lus her lirs! jump hi .i tandem pimp,
vvhu h vs.. i -- first usi .1 iri i'lilj, .in inslriu
I,a :strapped lu the mpi-r l*.. k hi
Hindi' tin' jumper tilling
! .. i i til video-. students gi i
th;i ugh .i ■ :ii ui simulated ([.lining ev
«'U ; . iis! ta ;.: .. s! \ th ’si gn cd tn help the
t.ilidi'ill re.il Is the gr. until '..del V
Students .He taught huvv to exit the
p hi lie. and nine they've dune thill, limy
ale t 'hi t:. ivs h liy lor the tils' a.(100 |. et
ol !;. el.d; Ui, si the student re. a lies the
a .1)0(1 loot ii Vi i the alt 11 lull' Is induat
ed on .in altimeter worn on the ■.indent's
i ;.«■■.: t.h ■■ hid. US i Si pp. s‘.rd to pti ! 1
the I ipi ord
I haw- a vested interest in re.li long
tlie ground tv ith the i hute out.” Inslrtu
toi Vit ‘..ipi r told me with a smile
Sounds easy, right'
i had gone through ail the training in
linii". m in. head pi.lit.sod the motions
ha J reef a i: e tfi.it. a lid then I began to
experieni e my lirst leelings ol nervous
Juki' Ucrg waits in ltn< plane flower leiI)
ticlorc ascending to 10,000 loot and sky
diving (above lollI Jhe mad bomber al
ter touchdown jabovel
Story by Jake Berg
Photos by Ginger Sonme
lousiies-, 1 liikullv rrull/ed lli.l! I yvuspo
11 in l.iil oiirund u ii .111 miles from thr
sky
(illlp
I pulled up thi' blur lull ImicIv (met.ill-,
iuilurncil 11h tin* appropriate logo
tU.iKH) or Must”) over mv shorts .mil t
shirt, (nii let I my r up lor u crush helmet,
.iik! pi.ii ed u pair of wraparound goggles
on my l.iii* Someone made the comment
tli.it I li.. .lo il III,.' u ''mud Inimber
t in* mu.I part was sum right.
M. my tund.'iii purtm-r. siiMt'd iiu
in i tour-loop hum. ss th.it would hr
usrd nist prior to thr punp us our con
ni l ! ion Mr also tool rare ol thr para
i hut. whn h Would hr strapped to his
hail urn! hr to me though I Would
ai t null y j ,11 thr ripe oril
IS r s! .! into thr small Hitf ral!
III. Mill. ■■ Nape r and his student. I ni
vers tv '..‘ii.or I’.it Mala, h and the pilot
ol course I was really going to do this
H. ,y\
The airplane engine started, and I
Inn to SKYDIVE Pago 8
THE SAGA CONTINUES...
It’s Been A Wednesday Tradition Since 1989.
ft Vi**}1' 11
Eugene’s family owned pizza restaurant,
Track Town, has always stood for quality
pizza at a reasonable price. Starting Spring
term, the Wednesday medium one-item pizza
will be $6.95. But until then, Track Town
invites you to join them in the
Wednesday night countdown at the
current price of $5.95. 4
TRACK TOWN PIZZA I
1809 Franklin Blvd. 484-2799