5 Things You Should Know Before You Go Skydiving for the First Time

1. Your dive might be postponed

After my mom and I check in at the NZONE offices, we’re weighed and given release forms. I learn that any jump over 13,000 feet requires supplemental oxygen, so we’ll all be wearing masks in the plane. Thankfully, I’m not sick, hungover, stressed, or a smoker—all of which increase your odds of getting altitude sickness—though the thought of being so high up I’ll need oxygen doesn’t ease my nerves. 

After we sign the forms and watch an orientation video, an employee tell us that, because of low-lying clouds, our dive has been pushed back two hours. Delays are fairly common—especially in New Zealand, with its unpredictable weather—which is why the company recommends booking a dive at the beginning of your vacation, just in case. Despite assurances to the contrary, my mom is convinced we’ve missed our opportunity and is crushed. 

2. You might be bigger than your guide—and that’s OK

An hour later, we’re on a bus to the dive site. My mom’s nervously eyeing the sky, which is now completely clear, while I wonder what my instructor will be like. When I see him, I’m not disappointed. Greg Simpson is 6’1”, 220lbs and, after I shake his hand, he excuses himself, puts on his sunglasses, and leaves to complete the dive before mine, his sixth of the day. 

My mom’s guide is not so towering. He’s 5’7”, about her height. Actually, many of the jumpers around us have guides who are shorter and smaller than they are. When I ask Simpson about this later, he tells me not to worry: Size doesn’t really matter. In New Zealand, you need 750 jumps to become a tandem instructor, though NZONE prefers applicants with at least 1,000, so the staff are well-trained and well-prepared. The company’s tiniest guide, Noelle, weighs only 110lbs but handles customers who are far bigger. 

3. You can't think your way out of fear

My mom and I board the tiny plane with six other divers and the guides for take-off. When all the features on the ground have blurred together, I assume we’ve hit our jumping altitude and look back at Simpson. We’re at 5,000 feet—10,000 more to go, he says. A few minutes later, he passes me a tube to put near my nose and tells me to breathe normally. The plane’s almost too loud to hear anyone but the person beside you, but my mom’s joking with an instructor. 

Real talk: Unless you’re as ice-cold as my mother, expect to be nervous. Simpson estimates that, in a year, only six or so customers decide not to jump when they’re already on the plane, though he sees a few customers crying every day. To keep his fliers calm, he doesn’t talk them through their fears. “The best way to go, for me, is to just change the subject,” Simpson says. 

4. You probably won’t master perfect “chute position”

As the first jumper leaves the plane, I try to remember the position Simpson wants me to hit in the air: arms overhead, head up, knees bent, and feet pressed together behind me, so I look like an upside-down banana. This shape makes it easier for an instructor to ensure you’re level before pulling the parachute; though Simpson later tells me only three or four percent of customers are able to hit this perfectly. In his experience, female gymnasts are best able because of the flexibility in their back. 

I’ve asked Simpson to backflip us out of the plane, and as soon as we’re at the edge of the door, we tumble into the atmosphere. 

5. Expect to forget—a lot

I don’t remember the backflip or if I hit the banana shape. Besides a very clear, very brief memory of what the ground looked like from about 11,000 feet, all I remember is Simpson letting me crank on the parachute, spinning in circles, then landing. 

On the ground, I ask Simpson about his first jump. He says he recalls exiting the plane, then nothing else until he was on the ground. In fact, it wasn’t until his fourth or fifth jump that he started to develop awareness in the air. Now, 25 years after his first skydive, he remembers every single detail (including your freakouts). 

My mom is the last person to land, and when I go up to her, she’s all smiles. “I’d go again,” she says.