Sky High Harvest Host

I’ve stayed at over 175 Harvest Host locations around the US and Canada and have had so many great experiences: the hosts, the locations, the hospitality/generosity. It’s been wonderful being part of the HH program.

That said, one of my favorite stays and adventure was at Parachute Montreal South Shore.

Harvest Host

Parachute Montreal

I was up in northern Maine and thought Parachute Montreal would be a neat place to stay and watch the skydivers. I had no intention of partaking in the skydiving as I am a bit afraid of heights. But as is typical for me, plans change.

About a week before my planned arrival at Parachute Montreal, I changed my mind and booked a jump time. No backing out now.

I arrived at Parachute Montreal earlier than expected, maybe nerves, maybe wanting to get it over, maybe to give me time to think this whole thing over again.

Well, the time to check-in arrived and I walked into the lobby to register and prepare for this adventure. Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous at all, well maybe a little. I got the paperwork done, watched a short video about what to expect and went to meet my tandem partner. 

He gave me a full run through of what and how things were going to happen. He was a true professional and made me feel at ease. We even joked around a bit, but otherwise everything was very professional and I got great instructions.

Once everyone was suited up, we headed out to the plane. It’s getting real now. No turning back. We had about 15 jumpers onboard. Most were tandems but there were also a few solo jumpers as well.

We were jumping from 13,500 feet, so the ride up took a bit. It was loud in the plane, so it was difficult to hear anything but the engine and the wind. But with some shouting and hand gestures we were able to communicate.

I had paid a little extra to have a videographer jump with me to document everything. I needed proof that I went through with the jump!

 The videographer was awesome, during our ascent we played rock, paper, scissors to pass the time and lighten the tension for everyone. We surprisingly tied 3 times in a row which got everyone cheering. Finally on the 4^th try I won, hopefully a good sign for things to come.

Well, it was finally time to attach our harnesses to the instructor and prepare to jump, definitely no backing out now that I was strapped into another human being! And we were going to be first out the door.

The door opened and my instructor tapped me on the shoulder and gave me the thumbs up, and we duckwalked to the door. The videographer moved out the door and hung on the side of the plane as we finished up our final checks.

Another thumbs up and we rolled out the door!

 We were in freefall for about 60 seconds and it was thrilling. The views were amazing. We were going about 120mph, but it didn’t feel like it. The adrenaline rush was amazing. 

The videographer was soaring around us filming and came in and grabbed my hands twice which was really cool. We spun around a few times, a few spins to the left and then several to the right. Ok, enough of that, pop the chute already.

The chute deployed perfectly and we began to slowly float back to earth and towards the landing site. The instructor let me steer the chute for a minute or two which was cool. We were able to talk at this point, and he was pointing out things on the ground, the views were incredible.

As we neared the landing zone the instructor reminded me the position for landing. And we slid in with a perfect landing. The adrenaline was still pumping as we stood up and high fived.

What an amazing time. The smile on my face was from ear to ear. I couldn’t believe that I actually jumped and enjoyed it. After a short celebration we went back to the office and debriefed and I headed to my RV. I was exhausted and wanted a nap, but I was too pumped up to sleep so I went outside and watched other jumpers for the rest of the afternoon.

What a day, what a stay!

Will I jump again? I’m not quite sure. I actually booked again 3 weeks later to stay and jump but the weather didn’t cooperate. Windy and low cloud cover prevented jumping that day. If I do jump again it will be with Parachute Montreal.

Thanks Parachute Montreal South Shore for being part of Harvest Host and keep up the great work!