[travel] Extreme interlaken Pt 2: Bungee Jumping

[mattbell]

The act of bungee jumping lasts only about 15 seconds or so. However, these fifteen seconds are the orgasmic moment at the crux of the several hours' preparation and reflection, the focal point of the day's conscious thought.

Because of this intense mental pressure and the massive sensory stimulation during the jump, my memory of the actual event was sketchy and had to be pieced together after the fact. The normal conscious thought processes broke down as my mind was overwhelmed with data. I was only able to piece together the experience in retrospect.

First, some background: The jump is around 400 ft high, about the same height as the Golden Gate Bridge. The jump is done over water, allowing the bungee operators to take risks with how close they get you to the water's surface. Based on your weight, the stopping heights of previous jumpers, and current wind conditions, they can roughly estimate what height your jump will end at. They can't guarantee a dunk, but they can try to get you as close as possible to the surface, leaving an element of surprise in place. Stories of people who survived suicide attempts off the Bridge often describe the last-minute revelations (usually a re-evaluation of their decision to commit suicide) of jumpers. This jump essentially allows you to experience the sort of thing these people go through (minus the expectation of death), with a life-saving deceleration at the end.

Here's what I experienced:

(countdown to 0)
T+0. I'm jumping backwards to heighten the experience. Thus, I'm facing the people in the cable lift as I push off into a backflip.
T+1 (-15ft) Mountains show up upside down, along with beautiful alpine lake above and the sky below. I'm screaming a nice primal scream The weightlessness and mounting rush of air as I'm disoriented and falling away from my field of view are intense. Prolonged weightlessness is a very unusual feeling, and it's something most of us (with the exception of skydivers) are not prepared to deal with. It's rare as an adult to get a completely new physical sensation.
T+2 (-60ft) Facing the water now. I stop screaming. Nothing's really under conscious control. This is interesting because I didn't scream on roller coasters, tandem skydives, or even my first bungee attempt. Going backwards is definitely more intense.
T+3 (-135ft) The smooth ripples of the wave equation happening below in the alpine lake are a nice aesthetically pleasing gooey spread of mathematically derived wrinkles. Huh. Time to start screaming again.
T+4 (-240ft) Wrinkles are growing fast. Might hit the water soon. I should get in position. Arms locked in a fist above the head. Face pointed toward the horizon so the top of the head hits the water instead of the face. Fists should break water first, then head. (Do not under any circumstances be looking at the water when you hit it. You'll look like a bunch of hoodlums beat you up)
T+5 (~-350ft) Really slowing down. Damn, looks like I won't touch the water. Not even close. I hear the a voice from the boat on the water surface radio “12 meters”. I'm going up.
T+6. (~-350ft). Gotta look at the cable car for the photographer to get a good photo. Tiny little cable car far away.
T+7-T+40 For the next several seconds I bounce up and down, and as planned, I use some of the momentum from the intermittent acceleration to get myself in a bit of a spin. Then the operators gradually lower the line until I've landed in the boat.

Everyone who had jumped was miraculously transformed into a relaxed, happy soup of endorphins. We all sat around making pleasant conversation.

Here's the one pic that actually came out well:


A couple of people actually dunked. I captured one on video. Here's what it looks like:

As I mentioned earlier, I was interested in reliving my jump experience from the summer of 1998 when I was 18.  Both jumps had a theme of power and purpose, but the experiences of the jumps were very different.  I've changed, and the jump has changed.  (The old 250ft jump I did was taken down in 2000 after a ride operator mistakenly used the wrong bungee and sent the jumper to their death.  The company offering the jumps went out of business but later reincorporated as Outdoor Interlaken.  To this day they do not offer bungee  jumping.)

Me in 1998:

Comments

[browascension.livejournal.com]

Beautifall!

[savorie.livejournal.com]

Can't wait til your mom sees that new picture. That is AWESOME. And I love your play-by-play.

[danea.livejournal.com]

I may work up the courage to do a bungee jump one of these days. :) I do have an extreme fear of heights when I feel there might be some danger of falling. e.g. I don't do well looking over the edge of a cliff with no railings, but have no qualms whatsoever about looking down from tall buildings behind glass or other barriers. Having done a tandem skydive, I'm not sure I could get out of the plane on my own. But...I may try one of these days anyway, to challenge myself.

(Also: I screamed on my tandem dive because they strongly recommended it as the best way to ensure normal breathing during freefall with the wind rushing into your face/lungs. ellric also screamed but for some reason it did not work for him, and he had a very tough time, feeling like he couldn't breathe.)

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

I don't do well looking over the edge of a cliff with no railings, but have no qualms whatsoever about looking down from tall buildings behind glass or other barriers.

I'm like that too. It's a rational fear of heights (as opposed to the irrational kind, where people are afraid even if they're strapped in and secured. So you should be fine. :-)