Bungy jumping

If you thought hiking in the Himalayas was crazy, bungy jumping is definitely the most ludicrous idea I've ever had.  Earlier this year I stumbled upon a place funnily named The Last Resort in Nepal that specializes in adventure sports.  I sent Peter the link, he expressed some enthusiasm in it, and in the interim six months I tried not to think about the inevitable jump.

We boarded a bus at 6am and pulled into a canyon a mere 12km from the Tibetan border in the late morning.  We got off the bus, walked over a suspension bridge toward the company's office, and then I looked down.  The distance - 160 meters (about 525 feet) - makes it one of the tallest jumps in the world.  My heart stopped.  Aaaahh!  This is the bridge I will jump off twice today! I nervously thought.  Twice?  Yes, I decided to try jumping of two varieties: bungy and a Tarzan-esque swing.

We were weighed in front of everybody and our weight in kilograms was written on our hand.  This is important information in determining the ropes to be used.  The jumpers were led onto the bridge, lined up, and told to wait our turn.  Nothing can describe the fear, exhilaration, and anticipation of being strapped into a harness and being put in line to jump next.  Adding to the anxiety were the screams of jumpers ahead in line.  I did the swing first.

The carabiners were triple checked, the jump master held me on the back and walked me to the edge of the platform, had me count to three, took a big breath, then was gently nudged me forward as I jumped.  Looking down, the river was getting uncomfortably close.  The platform seemed so close behind me... why didn't I grab it while it was still within reach?  The first split second was a familiar feeling of falling, then came a point of realization that I've never fallen this far in my life before.  I screamed loudly and for a long time.  The swing was 7.5 seconds of terrifying free fall and then a lot of pendulum-ing over the river.  I finished the swing shaking but feeling more alive than ever before.  I just jumped off a bridge and survived.  And was about to do it again, bungy style.

A film crew zoomed in on me being strapped in, on my petrification, on me saying something about being crazy to do this a second time in one day.  Now that I knew what to expect I was even more apprehensive about taking the plunge.  At least the swing felt natural enough because I sat in a harness. This time I was bound by my ankles, destined to go head first.  Those first few seconds of free fall were terrifying to anticipate.  Finally I was led, while walking like a penguin, onto the jumping platform once more.  I shook my head, refusing to go further.  More deep breaths.  My knees bent on their own accord (What are you doing, knees?), then the jump master pushed me head first off the platform.  

There went that falling feeling again, this time for just 3 seconds but more intensely because I couldn't see the rope keeping me secure.  I looked straight down into the river.  Just when I breathed a sigh of relief at being slowed by the elastic, I had another "Oh shit" moment when I realized that I was bouncing back up and was going to fall again.  Another scream.  This continued a few times until I was dangling feet-up and was lowered down to a crew waiting to unstrap me.  I covered my eyes while being lowered because I spun on the rope and became nauseous.  When the crew pulled me down I was laughing hysterically about what just happened.  They asked if I was okay and crying; their concern dissipated when I uncovered my face and they saw me smiling.

Now, rewatching the video or closing my eyes and thinking about the moment I jumped induces the jumping sensation.  Bungy jumping felt exactly like I expected.  That petrifying free fall, bottomless stomach feeling that I get every now and then was made even more intense and lasted about 100x longer.