Day 23 - five, four, three, two, one...

There was a brief moment between “One” and “Go” when I knew that if I didn’t jump then, I would never jump. You can’t allow yourself to hesitate standing there on the edge of a gondola... not even a little bit. “Go!” - and so I went, 440 feet down, surrounded by gorgeous Swiss Alps and a rapidly approaching lake underneath.

There are two prerequisites for bungee-jumping - being at least mildly suicidal and certifiably insane. Even though I qualified fully, I was fairly nervous for most of the day... up until I was falling down. There was no point in being nervous then. You are supposed to jump out of the gondola; I was told later that I just stepped out. I didn’t scream. In fact, I didn’t make any sounds, at least not loud enough for people above or below to hear (and the rest stays with me).

There are a few things you might want to know about bungee-jumping:

• 440 feet (124 meters) is aproximately the height of a 45-story building. Stockhorn (the jump we did) is one of the highest in the world.
• It does not hurt at all. Hanging upside-down can be slightly unpleasant, but unpleasantness is really the last thing on your mind after you have just jumped. Plus, once you stop bouncing around and get used to being upside-down, you can enjoy a fantastic view from an unusual perspective.
• At no point I thought I was going to hit the ground (well, the lake in this case). Granted, all jumps are different, but I didn’t come even close to touching the water until I got lowered to the boat.
• There is no way the bungee can snap. This thing was thicker than my wrist!
• If you consider bungee-jumping, do not - DO NOT - watch others jump while you are still on the ground. It looks way more terrifying than it really is.
• If you plan on committing suicide by jumping off a tall building - don’t. The speed of human thought far exceeds the speed of human fall, and after you jump you will have plenty of time to reassess your decision and regret it. But it’s too late. Personally, I wouldn’t want my last emotions to be helplessness and disappointment.

I was the second one to jump, and Greg and Jerry went right after, so we had an hour or so to walk around while waiting for the others. The location was absolutely fabulous; there still was some snow around. We had to go through a couple of tunnels to get back to the station. I swear, there were bats and bears inside, but they were hiding in the dark, so we couldn’t see them.

I don’t have photos of me jumping yet, but I’ve taken some pictures of other... eh... crazy people, so you can get an idea of what it looks like.

srah said on Monday, June 6, 2005 at 10:51 AM about Rebound!

It hurts my tummy to look at the pictures on this page.

O said on Monday, June 6, 2005 at 11:00 AM about Rebound!

I am assuming you are laughing, not feeling sick, right? :)

srah said on Monday, June 6, 2005 at 11:54 AM about Rebound!

You know what happens when you assume?

apete said on Monday, June 6, 2005 at 1:03 PM about My future summer house

How many houses are you going to own?

srah said on Tuesday, June 7, 2005 at 12:09 AM about My future summer house

If that's near the bungee jumping, I don't want to visit you. I couldn't handle people falling out of the sky all the time every time I looked out the window!

srah said on Tuesday, June 7, 2005 at 12:09 AM about More Alpine flowers

<3

O said on Tuesday, June 7, 2005 at 2:58 AM about My future summer house

Apete: the more the better. Isn't it the American way?

Srah: yes, it is right next to the bungee jumping lake... So it could get loud occasionally. But they don't jump in the winter, and there were ski slopes nearby!

tavares said on Tuesday, June 7, 2005 at 10:00 AM about Almost there!

i'm tellin ya they are trying to poke you with that stick! :)

apete said on Tuesday, June 7, 2005 at 1:42 PM about Almost there!

I'm sure that stick is better than nothing to keep those dangling people from getting your boat. I hate it when that happens. Stupid dangling people. :)

O said on Thursday, June 9, 2005 at 2:51 AM about Almost there!

Oh damn, what if I looked stupid when I was dangling?? I didn't think about it... Can't let other people see me looking stupid!

Eva said on Tuesday, June 21, 2005 at 8:03 PM about Rebound!

Gorgeous landscape, here, but fuck no, I'm never doing that!