Skydiving Into a Vineyard in Lake Chelan Washington
There are two ways I said I would ever try skydiving; if it was somewhere really beautiful or something really unique. Skydiving into a vineyard in Lake Chelan, was both! Skydive Chelan is the only company that allows regular jumps directly into a winery where you can end your adrenaline-pumping experience with a glass (or a bottle) of wine!
As someone who’s terrified of heights, when Visit Lake Chelan asked me to experience this exciting combo, I immediately emailed back and said “That sounds amazing but I am afraid of heights so no thank you.” But after a little coercion from my producer Kristin Herman, I decided, what better place to face my fears than the only place in America where you can land in a vineyard!
To start the day, we headed to Tsillan Cellars (our landing location) for a quick wine tasting and to pick out our post-skydive wine of choice. Then we were chauffeured to the Skydive Chelan center. We jumped with owners Todd and Sonya Higley who have a combined 30+ years of experience and over 16,000 jumps! Todd ran us through exactly what was going to happen as well as going over all of the safety precautions that are put in place. We were told there were three things we were in charge of: 1. Have fun, 2. arch your back when we leave the plane so we don’t flip, and 3. put our feet up for landing. Well I got two of the three…
After about 30 minutes of explanation, it was time to board the plane. We flew up to our elevation of 11,200 feet and once again, Todd and Sonya went through every clip and every step to reassure us of what was about to happen.
Once the door opened, we stepped out onto the platform and there was no turning back. The one thing I did forget to do was hold my harness and arch because I managed to do a swan dive, head first, out of the plane. Thank goodness for the experts, and Todd was quick to correct the position for the chute opening. What I thought would be terrifying and feel like dropping out of the sky, felt more like floating with a peaceful calming sensation. It was bizarre, but it truly felt like flying and it was the most free I’ve ever felt in my life.
After the parachute was opened we had a leisurely mile-long float to the ground. Once, the largest natural lake in Washington, Lake Chelan is stunning to fly over with it’s bright blue waters surrounded by the Cascade Mountains. From above, you can also get a real scope for the amount of wineries surrounding the area. Then it was time to land in one!
The only thing better than the moment you jump out of an airplane is the moment you land to people cheering and wine! We slid into the vineyard and Kristin immediately ran over with a glass of wine for a cheers. Not only would I skydive again but I cannot recommend Skydive Chelan enough! They truly are experts at what they do and reassured a scaredy-cat like me the entire way. If you’re looking for somewhere to try your first jump, or just looking for the most unique place to land, Skydive Chelan is where it’s at!
To learn more go to www.skydivechelan.com and watch the full episode below.