First-time jumpers relive aerial glory

June 24, 2005

KATE KELLY/For the Frontiersman

Skydiving was never on Wasilla Middle School Principal Amy Spargo's list of things to do before she dies, but it was on Wasilla resident Les Dunbar's list of things to do on her 50th birthday. Both women enjoyed their first freefall flight this month with equal vigor - and exuberant voice.

"'Loud and Proud' is our motto at Wasilla Middle, and believe me, I was loud!" Spargo said.

Spargo laughed Wednesday about her June 4 tandem skydive, compliments of the "Toss Your Boss" fund-raising campaign cooked up by WMS teachers Tara and Jason Moore, experienced skydivers who work packing parachutes at Alaska Skydiving in the summers to support their unusual habit.

"This is our drug," Tara Moore said last weekend before heading up to 13,000 feet to get another freestyle fix above the Wasilla Wal-Mart. She will be working as a counselor at Burchell High next year.

Spargo, Dunbar and the Moores have one thing in common - they all believe in living life to its fullest, as do more than 140 skydiving enthusiasts from the Valley and such places as Iceland and Japan, who descended on the grounds of Alaska Skydiving at Mile 2 Fairview Loop last weekend for their seventh-annual Solstice Celebration "boogie."

And although Spargo's "Life List" includes more subdued activities such as seeing the Mona Lisa, walking on the Great Wall of China and getting SCUBA certified, she said she is glad she made the big plunge and won't count it out in the future.

"I've talked to the kids about being willing to do things outside their comfort zone," Spargo said before heading off for a 10-day halibut fishing trip in Prince William Sound. "The skydive was so exciting and so fun, if I made up my mind to never do it again, my life would be pretty unexciting, so I'm leaving it open."

Skydiving has always been on Dunbar's list, however, so she made reservations for the tandem jump two months ago, along with seeing grizzlies in Katmai National Park, to celebrate turning 50 before heading back to Prudhoe Bay for another three-week shift.

The grizzlies came first — for a reason.

"The most important thing for me was to see the grizzlies first in case something happened to me skydiving," Dunbar said with a smile while waiting to find out if her Sunday skydive was going to be canceled because of bad weather.

"The bear trip was fantastic. I was 30 feet from the biggest bear, known as 'Snaggle Tooth' because he had a tooth sticking out of his mouth from being in a fight with another bear. It was so cool," Dunbar said.

Although the crew at Alaska Skydiving managed to fulfill about 1,000 jumps during the solstice weekend, many who had been scheduled for Saturday and Sunday were canceled because of rain, wind and low clouds.

For a tandem jump, where a novice skydiver is strapped to an instructor the entire time, the plane must be able to reach at least 7,000 feet without worrying about clouds. Alaska Skydiving has a safety policy that prohibits skydiving through clouds, according to owners Bill Jones and Carol Redding.

So Dunbar had to wait two more days to make her jump, but was raring to go on Tuesday afternoon, which was clear and sunny.

"I'm ready! I'm ready!" chanted Dunbar as her friends videotaped her every move and secretly signed a homemade fabric "Happy 50th" banner they later placed in the "drop zone" for Dunbar to see as she landed.

Dunbar's friend, Dave Bogart, 51, was also skydiving for the first time that day, although as a pilot he had flown planes from which skydivers jumped. Dunbar and Bogart hugged before loading into separate planes for their 10,000-foot journey through the sky while other friends excitedly cheered them on.

Some of their friends swore they'd never do anything like that, while others became newly inspired by Dunbar's bravery.

"I wanna do it," friend Lisa Greenwood declared after Dunbar landed safely, making a tentative date for her birthday on Aug. 30.

Washington resident Jessie Farrington, who has made more than 8,000 jumps and was responsible for bringing up the 16-person caravan plane for the solstice event, said there are two kinds of people in this world.

"The people who skydive have come to terms with dying and just say, 'I want to live while I'm alive,'" said Farrington, who raised four children in drop zones - the children have all become skydivers. "Every skydiver's worst nightmare is to die in a car accident. When there is a skydiving fatality, it's usually because of a couple of human errors which occurred and we all analyze it and learn from it. My feeling is those who are afraid to die are also afraid to live."

Fear of life will never plague Dunbar, however.

As she lightheartedly checked her teeth for bugs and sprawled herself across her colorful birthday banner to enjoy a glass of champagne with her friends, her eyes lit up as she thought about the future.

"It's a little scary stepping out of that plane, but you couldn't slap this grin off my face for anything," she said as Bogart nodded in agreement with his own permanent smile.

"I want to do it again before the summer's out. I didn't think I would, but I definitely do now. It was a blast!"