No Limits - Fall Kick Off Fun
Watch us fly...(a little video of our day!) !This will take a couple of minutes to load...be patient....it's worth it!
On Saturday afternoon, 15 participants and two youth group leaders (and our wonderful photographer, Donna...who happened to be celebrating her birthday!) headed out to Canada Olympic Park to take a 'leap of faith' from the 90 metre ski jump tower.
With a little tiny bit of trepidation, we got geared up and went out for our instruction and test line training. After all successfully completing our 'flying position' and 'brake position', we boarded the bus to head up the hill to the real thing! Truthfully, the bus ride may be worse than the skyline itself...lots of twists and turns as you make your way to the top!
Up the elevator we went (the instructor said we were 12 storeys up...this is important...keep reading!) and came out on the Observation Deck of the 90 m jump. Looking down the jump alone is something to behold but knowing that you'll be cruising down there at a mere 120km - 140km is another. The first 'fliers' were pumped and ready to go...yet we had to walk down to the 'launch pad'. The instructor said, 'Don't look down...the stairs are see-through'...huh? And they were... Truly....this was the probably the scariest part of the ride (aside from the bus).
Hooked on the line and parachutes out the back of our 'hammock' looking harnesses, the fliers were ready to go. A prayer was said by the group (because Tina, one of the leaders, MADE them say it...she was the first to go). Then the instructor counted the first two down...3...2...1 And you're flying! Arms out the side, watching the ski jump quickly disappear below you. The fliers looked ahead to our landing area....it seems like you're up in the air forever...and you feel you're really not going all that fast (until you watch them come in at the bottom...then everybody's moving pretty good!). You pass over the orange barrel and that's your key to brace for the braking position. And it's not so bad....considering the speed you're moving at and coming to a stop...it's not that bad.
One by one, all 15 that ventured to the top of the ski jump tower came down! At the bottom, it was so great! Everyone had an adrenaline rush and was reliving their story of the zipline to their buddies...high fives, hugs...it was fantastic. And then came our fearless leader on anchor position... the last one down...screaming a big 'YEEEEEHHHHOOOOO' as he came in for his landing. Everyone was cheering...
So we survived the big line...now we get to have a shorter line to get to the bottom of the hill. The instructor said, 'do what you like...just remember you need to assume your brake position at your mark...' Then the fun really began...we had flailing arms, Va-Va was gracefully flying like a bird, others tucked up into the smallest ball they could become because they wanted to see how fast they could actually go...so much fun!
Our kick off was a huge success. Lots of fun stories, massive peer support, and knowing that we can face, maybe, one of our fears and be ok. Many thanks again to Donna, our 'Captain Kodak' for spending her afternoon capturing our adventure, Ryan, our instructor, at the Skyline and Kent and Cheryl-Lee for the great supper and fun at their place after!
One adventure down...so many more to go!
Way to go NO LIMITS!
You all rock!
Pics will be posted this week!