View from the Pier

Kate hails from Shenandoah Valley Virginia, where we attended high school together. In re-connecting recently, we compared notes on teenage years as self-admitted square pegs in round holes and our respective journeys to becoming women comfortable with who they are today. Among the similarities we discovered is a shared love of adventure and travel—although Kate’s exploits are more daring than I can claim…yet!

I hope you find this conversation with Kate as uplifting as I did and are inspired to take the plunge out of your comfort zone in 2012!

“There is no try, there is only do.”

Yoda

Meg: I can’t believe you sky dive for a living!

Kate: Yes! I am a professional skydiver. What I do specifically is coach skydiving and arrange-organize events. These events differ from place to place. I do not teach first jumpers but instead work with experienced individuals and groups to improve and perfect skills so they can move forward in their discipline. My specialty is large formation skydiving, the discipline in which jumpers exit multiple aircraft and maneuver their bodies in free-fall to all join in on an intricate formation high in the skies before separating to open their parachutes. These events often translate often into state, national and even world records.

400 way Current World Record. 2006. Thailand

For example, I’ve organized the Polish National Large Formation Skydiving record the last four years running—it now stands at 113 people from over 30 different nations. Other events I work at are called “Camps” and are aimed at training experienced jumpers who have made from 200 to 20,000 skydives.

My colleagues and I have to check the requirements for the desired record and then follow them specifically. Obviously a Women’s World Record needs to be 100% women! The FAI (Federation Aeronatique International) sets the criteria and ratifies some national and most World Records and has very strict rules

The record criteria differ depending on the type of record and the country. For example the current Australian national record of 113 was actually set in Perris, California and had 75% Aussies and 25% other nationalities; on the other hand, the Russian record of 201 persons set in 2011 was set in Russia and was 100% Russian jumpers.

I currently hold 14 FAI World Records in skydiving–many of which I organized. Those records include the 181 person (all female) world record skydive (California) which raised over half million US dollars for breast cancer research and the current 400 way world record set in Thailand in 2006.

The locations vary from the mundane such as skydiving centers, or dropzones, in California, Texas and Florida to the exotic–beach landings in Ubatuba, Brazil or a mountain village in Voss, Norway. Spectators are always welcome to cheer the groups on—many dropzones are very spectator friendly and you can always choose to make a jump—even your first jump—while you are there!

Meg: When was the first time you went skydiving and can you describe the experience?

Kate: In 1978, when I was a freshman at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. A fellow student mentioned we could make a skydive for $40 at nearby West Point (not the military academy which is in NY). In those days, the equipment was old military surplus gear with round canopies–think paratroopers—and the jumps were static line, which means the canopy is opened automatically when you leave the aircraft. No free-fall in those days until you had made at least five jumps.

I signed up and was, understandably, terrified, looking out of the tiny Cessna 182 at the ground a mere 3,000 feet away. When I took the “leap of faith” it was an incredible moment for me. At that time I decided I needed to find out more about this “sport” and planned to make 100 jumps–no more, no less. I was completely hooked well before reaching that goal and have never looked back!

When I started jumping it was a hobby, a phase, but oh-so-fun and eerily addictive. The sport was filled with wonderfully odd, funny, and smart people. Emphasis on odd. As a square peg in a round hole kind of gal it was incredible to see an entire lifestyle filled with square pegs who were funny, smart and doing great things. I fit. So I stayed.

In order to fund my obsession I had to start working harder than my “normal” job of waiting table and bar tending in Colonial Williamsburg. I started first with packing parachutes and then moved towards an instructor rating–introducing others to the same thrill I had experienced via static line and military gear. Meanwhile I had upgraded my own gear to a “fancy” type of round canopy–no longer military surplus but not the wild and crazy new “Square” parachutes that had recently been sighted at the dropzone.  One needed 100 jumps to try out a square. I got my chance at jump #97 and loved it. More money needed–more work at the dropzone.

Meg: How did you make the transition to becoming a professional?

Kate: After graduating from college, while my feet were on the ground in Virginia my head was hook line and sinker in the clouds. I need more blue skies, more airplanes, more jumps. My life was poured into a Subaru and I headed west to the fabled land of California–where we heard tell they were doing great and wonderful things in skydiving. It took about six months to get there–bar tending here, waiting tables there, hiking elsewhere–all the time forging friendships I have to this day across the country. Point-in-fact: I recently encountered a jumper whilst in Australia who I had met in 1982 in Oklahoma–small world–eh?

I eventually made it to California.  I spent my first winter living in the back of a broken-down bread truck in the parking lot of the dropzone. And I jumped. And packed. And instructed. And upgraded to the local skydiver “ghetto” — a set of dilapidated travel trailers about 1 km from the dropzone. And I met a student. And we hung out. And he moved in. And we bought (for $1,000 and debts owed) the parachuting gear store located at the ghetto–the “alternative” choice to the approved store on the dropzone. And we changed the name to Square1 Parachute Sales. Then we moved onto the dropzone. And we grew and grew and opened another store in Arizona, and another in California, and an internet store, and now we’re the largest distributor of sport skydiving gear in the world.

We moved out of the ghetto and into a real house. Got cats. And furniture. And a wedding ring. And 80 hour work weeks. Fast forward 15 years: Splittsville…but still great friends and business partners. In fact I stay at Tony and his new wife Jen’s house when I’m in California and was there last year when she had her second child. Eventually I met a boy at one of my Camps. Cute. Danish. We’ll get to that part of the story!

Meg: Can you describe a little about the nature of skydiving as a sport?

Kate: Skydiving as a sport has progressed far beyond the old “jump out of an airplane on a hope and a prayer” days. It has evolved into a highly technical and respected sport that supports local, regional, national and world competitions and demonstrations. The gear has also progressed—my first jump was on surplus military equipment, my current gear is state of the art—light (about 7 kilos) with a high performance elliptical main canopy (a modern version of the “square” parachute mentioned earlier), ultra safe yet responsive reserve canopy, and automatic activation device that will help me out if I’m unable for any reason to deploy my main canopy.

Meg: How many people engage in sky diving worldwide?

Kate: It’s hard to estimate this as there isn’t an international group that tallies such things. In addition many people make just one jump—are they “engaging” in the sport? USPA (United States Parachute Association) estimates 20,000 a year in the U.S. but the number of regular skydivers is, I suspect, much lower.

Meg: Is it more popular in some places than others?

Kate: Think warmth, good weather, open areas for landing. Ergo: Southern California (inland), Texas (Houston), Arizona (south of Phoenix), Florida (north of Orlando) are the largest U.S.-based drop zones.

Meg: Is there a limit to how many “dives” you can do annually?

Kate: No limit—other than time and money. Most “fun” jumpers go out one or two weekends a month and will make 150-200 jumps a year. A serious team jumper or instructor can make 1,000-2,000 jumps a year. I average about 400-500 myself.

Meg: What are the risks or misconceptions?

Kate: One of the funniest is the thought that you go up when you deploy–or open–your canopy. That’s physics—a natural law.  The reason people think this is the aerial camera person is still falling while filming!

The other misconception is that landings are hard. In the “old” days under round canopies? Yes—like jumping off a table. Owie. The new square or “Ram-air” canopies can actually be flared (like an airplane) to turn forward speed into lift on landing and one can literally do one-foot stand up landings jump after jump.

The last misconception is that one needs to be a “bad ass” to be a skydiver. One of the wonderful things about this sport is that freefall is a great equalizer and men and women can play and compete on a level ground. In fact many of the world class teams are mixes of men and women. The sport actually welcomes smaller, lighter people and one doesn’t need to lift weights or be overly muscular to skydive. Of course being in good shape is an advantage to any sport so I still recommend training mind and body no matter what you want to do in life.

Meg: Can you describe a couple of your most memorable skydiving experiences?

Kate: Ooh, so many! The Women’s World Record 181 way, when I knew the last gal had docked, which means taking grips on the formation. A formation is the term for when people hold hands or legs to make “snowflake” like constructions high in the sky. We had done it! This was the 4th Women’s record I had organized over 10 years and it was a LOT of work—a labor of love indeed.

Large events like a World Record can be years in the making. One needs a location that can handle the event and aircraft that will lift the number of people involved. Normal skydiving aircraft usually carry about 20 people so to build a formation of 200 you’ll need about 10 planes—these need to be sourced and brought in—usually at great ferry expense. And, of course, we need the people to take part in the event. Women in skydiving make up about 15% of the population so to get 180+ women who are all able to skydive at World Record ability I had to reach out and train for over a year. In the end we had participants from 31 different countries join us on this skydive.

Base Jump from Kjerag

Another memorable experience was not a skydive per se but my first base jump from Kjerag in Norway–a 3000 foot cliff high above the Fjords. Again–an extreme leap of faith–even as a very experienced skydiver this was a big step for me. I’ve made 33 more since then from various objects in Europe and the U.S. Woo hoo! B.A.S.E. stands for B(uilding), A(ntenna), S(pan), E(arth) –the four main categories that comprise fixed object jumping—in other words, not a plane or balloon. In addition to the jump in Norway I’ve also jumped several antenna in Denmark, some cliffs in Switzerland and bridges in the U.S.

Hmmm, one more? I’d have to say training on competitive teams in skydiving. Not a “jump” but certainly an experience to join in with three other like-minded people and put all one’s talent, heart, courage and effort into training and, eventually, competing at the national and/or international level. I am currently on the Danish National Women’s Skydiving team (4 people), the “Danish Divas,” who will represent Denmark at the World Competition in Skydiving to be held in Dubai November 2012.

Meg: Can you tell me about the Danish Divas?

Kate: The Danish Divas represent Denmark’s first foray into the sub-discipline of all female competition jumping. Denmark has long fielded teams in mixed categories—but not all women. Since the FAI recognizes all female teams we decided to compete this year. We come from all over Denmark (albeit a small country) and professions include doctor, IT specialist, and promotion manager. What we all share is a love of laughter, skydiving, adventure, travel and wine. Our funds are very limited so a lot of our training isn’t in the form of “real” jumps but we meet once a month and practice competitions as if we were going to jump them—visualizing the maneuvers we’d do to build the various formations.

Meg: How did you come to live in Denmark and can you describe your life there?

Kate: My husband, Carsten, is Danish. I met him on a skydiving event in 2002 and we stayed in touch and saw each other occasionally at skydiving events worldwide. In 2006 I was at a place in my life where I was ready to make a change–a big change–if it meant happiness and love was part of the equation. That meant selling / giving away much of what I owned in the U.S. and packing some big bags and moving to Denmark to “see” if it would work. Danish immigration laws forced our hand and we were married 87 days later (90 day visa would have required me to return to the US). 5+ years later and I’m still loving my life. Carsten has a 12-year old son (Aslak) who spends about half his time with us and I’m double blessed to have a wonderful son in my life now.

Kate and Carsten

I’m thrilled with living outside the U.S. America is a very insular nation and our views of the world reflect that. Forty percent of Americans don’t own passports? Aye yi yi! I’ve learned that the average Dane knows more about American politics than the average American. The U.S. is the 800 pound gorilla that stomps about affecting the world without always being aware of its actions and repercussions. It’s healthy seeing it from the outside. While I’m a legal Danish Resident (equivalent to a green card) I’m still a U.S. citizen and until I have the authority to hold dual citizenship (Denmark does not allow that) I’ll hang onto my trusted blue passport.

The bad thing about Denmark is, well, (sigh) the weather. We’re equal on latitude with Juneau, Alaska and surrounded by the North Sea. This equals a lot of wind, clouds, and close-to-freezing horizontal rain. Four-five hours of daylight (if you can call it that) right now. Of course the summers have glorious all-you-can-handle daylight as a flip. While I’m not in a hurry to move back to the states I’d consider a warmer location. Right now South American is a personal favorite. I’ve travelled to several countries there and I like what I see. I could settle in Uruguay easily I think!

Meg: Do you have fear when you are sky diving?

Kate: The fear of an experienced jumper is different than that of a novice. The novice is all “what if my parachute doesn’t open.” The experienced jumper is more “what if I forget the maneuver expected of me in free fall.” Performance anxiety replaces gear fear–I suspect that is similar in many sports. Honestly, airplanes scare me more than parachutes. You know that saying “why would you jump from a perfectly good airplane?” My response is “you haven’t seen the planes we’re jumping from!”

Meg: You must meet a huge cross section of people with all kinds of different motivation for trying skydiving–can you describe two or three who made the biggest impression on you?

Climbing Up the Hove Antenna

Kate: Ironically many people start because of a fear of heights–I say ironically because skydiving doesn’t always get rid of this fear, yet the jumpers continue. Others start on a dare or a bet. No matter why a person makes their first jump they decide on their own if they want to make a second. It’s the second jump that is really difficult to make because that one is all on your own doing. My mother made a jump–but only one!

I’ve had no end of inspirational people help me and coach me through my life—although I didn’t recognize all the lessons at the time and indeed I am not sure that they recognized they were teaching me at the time. I admire people who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true. I’m not talking about monetary price—I’m talking about commitment to an ideal, not matter what that ideal is.

One of my colleagues and mentors is Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld (or Dan BC as he’s universally known) a truly amazing man and I’m proud and thankful to be able to work closely with him on many projects. When I talked about “dreaming dreams” he is the epitome of that statement. I am enriched for the time I’ve spent with him. I’ve known Dan for years—in fact my original journey west from Virginia included a stop at the skydiving center he managed at the time. Dan’s journey through life has been nothing less than miraculous—including his survival and subsequent triumphic comeback from a devastating airplane crash than took the life of one of his teammates and severely injured Dan. Today he manages the largest skydiving center in the world, Perris California, which I am happy to call my “home” dropzone. He is also my colleague in organizing events. He has written a book entitled “Above all Else” and I STRONGLY recommend that you read it! His recent TEDx Talk in Brussels, Belgium has broken all records for youtube video views. In short, he rocks and I’m proud to call him my friend and confidant.

The number of friends, colleagues and family who enrich my life whether I see them daily or annually is too long for this article, but every person I’ve crossed paths with has affected me. Some more profoundly than others but I’m changed for knowing them none-the-less.

Meg: What role does faith play in your work/life?

Kate: If you mean religious faith then not at all. I’m living this life as well as I can. I think “Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure” summed it up quite nicely: “Be excellent to one another.”

Without bringing in a religious tenet I’d say that the Buddhists have a pretty good outlook on life. Action and reaction based on one’s own actions.

Meg: Many moons ago when we were kids we went spelunking together with a group of others. I only went once and was terrified. Can you speak to what motivated you to try caving, and if there are other adventurous pursuits you have explored?

Kate: Caving! I miss that. No Karstian topography in Denmark. Ironically, my love of rocks and nature led to my degree in Geology at William and Mary. I still look outside of car, train and plane windows at the road cuts and mountain ranges as I pass through, over or under them. Caving was something else “fun” to do. I luckily do not have confinement phobias so I don’t mind dark tight places. Exploring the world around us is part of the adventure.

The True Summit. Mt. Rainer, Washington

As to other pursuits, I’m an Advanced Open Water Scuba diver and enjoying diving with my family–our son Aslak just qualified with his Open Water rating so we’re looking at more dives in our future.

I’m a good skier and we’re doing a family ski trip after Christmas. I enjoy mountaineering and have summitted Kilimanjaro and Mt. Whitney, among others. I run for fitness and try to stay outside as much as possible–summer/winter/rain/shine.

My husband Carsten is an accomplished mountaineer with a first ascent in Kyrgistan last summer to his credit (Peak Kathryn–named after me!) and he ice climbs across Europe. He’s also done expeditions to Pakistan and China in recent years. He’s also a world class skydiver and base jumper and joins me on many of my adventures. He’s a PhD (post doc) physicist working with both the National Danish University and in the private sector with an X-ray facility.

My favorite travel companion (other than Carsten) is my trusted Kindle (ebook). Whenever I’m in the US I download a ton of books so I always know I have great reading material. I try to alternate fiction and non-fiction to balance out the yin/yang. Another “must have” for travel are my noise cancelling headsets. Mandatory for the screaming kids on the plane. Ipod and Bose go a long way to making the flights bearable.

Meg: Your work takes you all over the world–can you describe one or two particularly memorable experiences in those travels that occurred on the ground?

Kate: I am blessed that my vocation and avocation are one and the same–allowing me to travel. The most incredible gift skydiving has given me are my friends worldwide and my husband. A recent experience was my trip to Venezuela to attend a friend’s wedding on an island off shore. We were supposed to jump there but the aircraft did not come through so we were “forced” to spend a week experiencing Venezuela off the airport. Bliss!

I travelled to Thailand to participate in the current 400 way world record. Thailand is called “the land of smiles” and this is for good reason. The country and people both exude warmth that amazes me each time I’ve been there. I have desire to see much more of Asia. One night I was at a wrap party for a skydiving event near Prachuap (south of Hua Hin) held at a military air force base. The festivities drew on and I was exhausted so I decided to walk the 3+ miles back to the hotel. It was about 10:00 pm but I have never feared being a woman alone in Thailand.

After about 15 minutes on the street a tiny scooter stopped and hailed me and asked if I wanted a ride. I gratefully accepted (dancing shoes and walking shoes differ somewhat) and climbed on the back of a tiny scooter driven by what looked to be a 90-year old woman who didn’t speak a word of English–she smiled toothlessly at me and I indicated the hotel I was staying at and we slowly (over laden as we were) putted back. This level of kindness is amazing anywhere in the world!

I can say that I’ve traveled both in groups and completely solo and I love both methods. Each has advantages and I don’t eschew one over the other. I’ve never feared being a woman traveling alone, although I have traveled in places (Russia, Quito, Caracas) where traveling alone man or woman is unsafe and un-recommended. I’ve never been robbed or accosted but I do practice “safe” traveling habits–not being flashy or overdressed for the area. People actually tend to be surprised that I’m American if and when it comes up. The trick for that is to not wear running shoes unless one is actually preparing to make a run. That and white socks.

The more I travel the more I want to see other cultures and areas. I don’t care if I’m in a tent or a 4 star hotel–I just want to be there and experience life!

Meg: With year-end approaching, can you look back at 2011 and share some of your adventures?

Kate: 2011 has been an amazing year for me–in a long line of amazing years. I was lucky enough to visit six of the seven continents.

January found me in Dubai skydiving for Denmark as part of the “Lady Vikings”—the precursor to the Danish Divas. We had a great time doing the competition but also took time to explore the suq’s (markets) of “old” Dubai and spend a day in the desert seeing how the original Bedoin tribes lived life.

February was our annual family ski trip to Austria where we stayed at a small inn. Our son experienced his first “Black Diamond” slopes while we enjoyed the small village we stayed in. March took me to Uruguay–we were jumping at Salto, which ironically means “jump” in Spanish but describes a series of waterfalls by the river near the city. Salto is also known for its famous hot water springs and spas and the local Argentineans and nearby Brazilians will go there on the weekend to “take the waters.” We joined them after every jumping day! We also spent time in Buenos Aires—the European city of South America—where every native considers themselves an “Italian” or “German” or “Spanish”—not Argentinean. The home of Tango and the famous Parilla–or grilled meat– where people don’t think of heading out to dinner until 10:00 at the earliest, which made for long days and lively nights.

April brought me to North America, specifically California for some camps aimed at training people wanting to join in on the next 500 person formation World Record, followed by a whirlwind trip to Australia for an event was called Skysisters, aimed at bringing together skydiving women from across the globe. The idea was to bring in mentors– experienced jumpers and coaches like myself—and make us available to help coach or just “hang out with” jumpers who attended. While the event was aimed at women men were more than welcome to attend. Let’s just say that the parties were epic. The dropzone we were at was north of Brisbane and I was thrilled to see kangaroos each morning and evening “hanging out” on the landing areas and even the grass runways. Then scuba in Cozumel Mexico—a small island off the coast where we enjoyed the natural beauty of the reefs.

In May, it was Ubatuba in Brazil—on the coast below Rio is a small resort area where the Brazilians go to relax, surf, sun and dine. The airport we were using abutted the beaches and we could take an afternoon stroll to enjoy an Acai (Brazilian fruit) smoothie between jumps.

Summer in Europe was highlighted by a trip to Poland. We visited Krakow and the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp—the day was suitably gloomy and dark and tears ran down our faces as we saw the documentation of the horrific atrocities committed there. We also visited the famous–and far more cheery–salt mines of Krakow—impressive indeed and a national treasure when salt was a more valuable currency than gold. Then on to Zakopane on the Slovak border—the mountainous playground of both the Poles and Slovaks. We enjoyed an invigorating hike up the mountains there before returning to Warsaw and exploring the cities and museums.

We spent a week in Berlin—we had the good fortune to have loan of a friend’s apartment so we had a base camp, as it were, for the week and enjoyed daily bike rides through the city along with tours of the East/West Germany and , of course, Check Point Charlie and the remnants of the Berlin Wall.

Then Canary Islands–owned by Spain but located in Africa–with Aslak to enjoy some scuba on the volcanic islands. The culture is more Spanish than African but has a healthy mix of both.

Over Fall break, back to California then to the U.K. for a weekend of training followed by Venezuela and Margarita Island. Venezuela was amazing—we saw Angel Falls, the world’s largest waterfall, by small aircraft, circling above it to admire the drop. We also took a boat ride to an eco lodge deep in the Orinoco Delta where we stayed in traditional native huts perched precariously over the water and enjoyed boat trips in dugout canoes to see the abundant wildlife—I look forward to returning. In contrast Margarita Island is the playboys’ playground of Venezuela—a tax haven punctuated by fancy resorts, high-priced bars, and wind surf and kite surf villages.

Now I’m in Denmark again but will be in Colorado after Christmas for a ski trip with friends.

Whew! Kind of scary when you look at it like that.

Of all the countries I traveled to this year, the one that probably had the greatest impact on my husband and me was Uruguay. Amazing country. I’m ready to move there. Huge middle class eliminates a lot of the upper to lower class gap seen in Latin countries. Uruguay was the first country to issue lap top computers to all students over age 9 with wireless internet and it has the highest per capita enlistment in the UN Peacekeepers. Even though Uruguay is a South American country it has no national religion and 100% freedom of religion and gays can serve openly in military and office. It’s tiny, nestled betwixt Argentina and Brazil, and enjoys a temperate climate with an abundance of great wine and beef. In fact the two major exports are beef and software. Go figure.

Meg: What “life lessons” do you think you have learned through your vocation?

Kate: Tolerance for things that aren’t just as one expects it to be. We’re not home anymore. I roll with the flow much more than I used to and I see inflexible attitudes in many “novice” travelers–American and non-American alike.

Another life lesson: Eat the food. Don’t hide in culinary comfort zone. Enjoy!

Actually one of my favorite sayings runs along the lines that people are more afraid of “what if” than “why not.” I think the world would be a better place if more people lived and acted on the premise of “why not.” It’s just my life mission statement. Why not!??

I see too many people living a “What If” life. I couldn’t do that. I don’t have a ton of money, and live in a small flat above a bar and ride bikes and take trains. But I followed my passion—both in terms of work and heart. It’s worked for me.

I realize this all comes off like I am a superwoman on prozac in a world where unicorns fart rainbows. It was not, is not, that easy and I do not mean to make it sound like HEY YOU–DO SOMETHING. It just worked out for me.  Plenty of tears, frustration, penny-pinching and cold feet—literally, it is freaking cold here in the winter–but I still would not trade anything out in my life. My happiness and contentment factor grows every year. I like me much more now than I used to.

www.uspa.org

www.skydiveperris.org

www.danbrodsky-chenfeld.com

www.p3skydiving.com

www.dubai500.com

www.FAI.org

www.square1.com