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Most people here will have come from a skydiving background, either as part of their planned route to BASE jumping or for its own sake and happening to lead to BASE eventually.

I wonder, did you get bored of skydiving? Are you bored of it now? I have <50 jumps but to be honest I'm bored as fuck. Well it's not "boring" as such - there are worse things to be doing, but when each jump costs me $50 equivalent it's not nearly fun enough. It's no more enjoyable, really, than swimming or riding my bicycle, or doing some other nice movement activity or exercise. There's no excitement, a little bit of fun (mostly on the ground and in the plane), and nowhere near enough time to practice new flying skills. I'd rather go to a tunnel for that, really.

Given the choice between, say, 30 skydives and a really quite comfortable/over-the-top skiing holiday for a week, at the same cost, I know what I'd pick.

Who here still skydives? Who doesn't bother? When did it get boring?

I'm going to leave it alone for 4-6 weeks now and see if it's enjoyable after that.

If skydiving is boring for you, then you're doing it wrong.

+1
But then again you do have a whopping 50 jumps so you have probably done it all already.

Set yourself some goals, work on skills, improve your flying. There is so much fun, skilled, exciting and even scary/stupid stuff to be done in skydiving that at 3000 jumps Im still not close to having done what Id like to be able to see, do and experience.

50 skydives is less than an hour of experience at a sport. Imagine somone saying about 1 hr of kung fu, judo or any other sport 'they've seen it all and are bored'. Try and set yourself some long term goals to push yourself to become a better athlete and student in a sport(s) where learning should never stop...

Buy a smallest possible velo or jvx. Excitment will soon be back.

What's the right way to do it?


I realise that this is sarcastic, so I'll attempt to invert and translate it:

"You only have a meager 50 jumps so you have not yet done very much at all."

Should I expect it to get more interesting and worthwhile again soon, then? Does skydiving typically start boring and get more and more exciting until eventually when you get to 7000 jumps you just piss yourself and collapse every time you see a patch of blue sky?



Yea, I guess there are always "new" things to do in any activity. In skydiving that basically revolves around wearing funny costumes and/or perfecting synchronised sky-swimming routines. I guess, a bit like swimming (since I just mentioned it), I can swim as well as I care to bother and don't get excited by the idea of "training" to swim really fast, or swim in patterns with other people, or swim in different pools around the world, or swim outdoors, or swim with sharks...

Swimming is enjoyable and I do it every so often, but it's also "boring" in the same sense that skydiving can be, I suppose. And imagine if the swimming pool was charging me £2000/hour! I could afford eight hours per year on my salary. If I didn't eat, and slept rough. As you point out below, one hour (or even 100) is really fuck all when trying to get "good" at something.


Note that I haven't said that - let's not bring it into the conversation or people will get confused. I know I haven't experienced much of skydiving yet and people can be much better at flying than I am.


Like a lot of impressionable youngish people today, I was first turned on to skydiving by BASE jumping ambitions. The only thing that motivates me at the moment, apart form the brief enjoyment that costs me a day's wages each time I get in the plane, is the idea that I ought to give BASE jumping a try one day soon.

Apart from that, all of the other parts of skydiving can, as far as I can see, be better enjoyed elsewhere. Paragliding seems pretty nice, a lot more mentally engaging and longer-lasting than a canopy descent, even with a totaly radical landing.

I expect BASE jumping gets just as boring, but I always enjoy hiking and just being in the mountains and other nice places, so perhaps it would remain as an occasional adjunct to that.

Skiing is another example. I can ski fairly well (I learned when I was young enough) and get bored of it pretty quickly each time I do it. If I go to the mountains for six days, I usually skip one or two to go walking or do something else. I definitely have to consciously challenge myself by taking on extremely difficult routes, or it's merely "pleasant" (like skydiving) but not exciting/rewarding/interesting. It can be difficult to find suitable challenges that are hard enough, but still achievable.

+100

learn a new discipline. im not a super experienced skydiver, but tracking does it for me, especially when you launch a 15 way trackdive like a bunch of crazed geese tearing the sky up. and also the afterparties are what really do it for me. viva lodi

are you skydiving because you want to base jump one day? If that is the case, I think base jumping is not the right thing for you. there are a lot simularities from base jumping to skydiving. I don't know one single base jumper who thinks skydiving is boring. the only reason why I (and most of my friends) don't skydive that much anymore is because it is difficult to do both (base and skydiving) at the same time. and we just enjoy base a bit more than skydiving :-)
But when I find time to go skydiving I really, really enjoy it. I can try new things that I would never try out on a base jump.
If you think skydiving is boring, find a new hobby. Every jump you do and don't enjoy is a waste of money. and don't start base if you don't like the princip of flying, you would do basejumping for the wrong reason in that case...

RE: the cost

Well buy a used SKY rig and your per jump cost
will drop significantly, more like $20 - $30 each.
I have several for sale if you are interested

RE: the boredom

Tracking or freeflying with cool people who are
experienced and skilled (as in probably won't
kill me) then yeah, after 4,000+ jumps it is still
one of the most exciting fun things I do.

FYI - every thing can get boring, I am a month
away from turning 40 and I can tell you that it
does not matter what it is - sex, drugs, BASE,
everything can get boring, if you let it. Taking
a break, setting a goal, visiting a new DZ, or
jumping from a new aircraft help perk it up.

RE: the progression

Learning to parallel park is boring but driving
a hot chick to the movies then screwing her in
the back seat sure made driving in high school
very exciting for me... all things you must first
learn to walk then jog then run. But if you bore
easily then you should definitely do something
cheaper and safer than parachuting, perhaps
you could walk around the mall making snide
comments about any one who seems happy.

Michi more or less said it, if the principal thought of flying is boring to you, definitely never get into base. Because it will be seriously boring to you. In contrary to skydiving, in base it will take ages to get to a point where you can safely fly with other people and you will never ever be able to do all the cool stuff in the air what you can do out airplanes. And as you mentioned that the cost is a factor... If you think base is free think again. You will end up spending all your free time, all the cash you will ever find and at the end of day you will be bored... And as a sideproduct you have a fair chance to seriously injure yourself or even get killed. It's definitely not worth of taking this risk over something which just at the end of the day is boring to you.

If you're not enjoying it, then do something else that you are enjoying.

It's silly to spend a bunch of time, money and energy on something you don't like doing.

Perfectly said, and with the bs drama you encounter at the dz it better be at least a little worth it!!

Burn some wingsuit flights low at the dz...you get a thrill and an applause.. and then get walked out by the dzo and dont have to pay. its the best of all worlds.

PEACE!

Glad i never hooked up with you Joker.
You would have killed me ;)

Have you tried CRW??

I love your work OuttaBounz

So are you saying that you only like to do things half-assed because you can't find the drive to keep your interest?

Skydiving can be as fun and challenging as you make it. So go out there and challenge yourself or stay away and take the ski vacation you talked about. It's not about money and how expensive it is, it's about having a good time. At 50 jumps you haven't even scratched the surface of what is out there in skydiving.

Seriously go challenge yourself, challenge your friends, get your friends to challenge you and beef up your skills. The only reason things are boring is because you make them that way.

If you can't be bothered to do that then you may be clinically depressed... so says Wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boredom

I didn't see anywhere that he said he was interested in BASE. But maybe I should have inferred that from his choosing to post here?

Preparing for BASE is a separate topic from skydiving. Being bored with skydiving is a poor reason to take up BASE. Doing the appropriate preparation (including skydiving training) is more part of the "BASE" activity than the "skydiving" activity, at least in my mind.

True, he didn't say he was interested in BASE. I just assumed it since it's a BASE jumping forum. I shouldn't have done that. And you're right about BASE being a separate activity to prepare for.

I fixed it for you....Please forgive me

Maybe this thread should be in the hangout section since it's not BASE related, wouldn't you think?


Edited to add:
Hey I wasn't completely crazy with my initial post... the OP said in another post "I was first turned on to skydiving by BASE jumping ambitions. The only thing that motivates me at the moment, apart form the brief enjoyment that costs me a day's wages each time I get in the plane, is the idea that I ought to give BASE jumping a try one day soon."

I can somewhat see where you are coming from. I too entered skydiving with base in mind and found the period of my first 50 jumps a little painful. Getting winded out, dealing with certain personalities at the dz, the ongoing cost etc etc... It wasn't so much the jumps themselves, just the whole situation. But from B license onwards things got a lot better! You can start doing multi-way jumps, I spent a lot of my solos tracking so have transfered those skills into angle flying with others, a skydiving discipline that is awesome! I love backtracking, hop & pops, love flying my tracking suit and have had a dig at CRW which is alot of fun too. Bring on the wingsuit!

I only have 150 something jumps but my advise to anyone coming through the early stages who is feeling a bit disgruntled by the whole thing is stick at it. At least till you have your B license and can start having fun with others. 100 jumps (in oz) and your wind restrictions are lifted, you can fly a camera, you'll probably have your own gear so each jump costs less and you don't have to answer to as many people (although there often seems to be someone telling you what to do!). I also found going to differnet dzs is a good thing! You'll meet more people you click with and will enjoy it all the more.
If you do all that and still can't have fun, you're a hard man to please.

Ive seen it on a few others posts... But I will give my .02

I wasn't bored with skydiving, but when i had about 100 RW jumps, it got too repetitious for me, I started not having as much fun on each jump as i wanted... but i didn't stop and move to BASE.. I started working on a new discipline, Freeflying.. And because I did, I became a better and more confident flier, I also regained the fun factor i was looking for... I have enjoyed every jump since then, and that was 400 jumps ago... I didn't start pursuing BASE till after i had years and almost 400 skydives.. And i had at least a year of ground-crew and mentoring before i made my first BASE.. Don't rush things.. Skydiving is an amazing sport itself... take time and experience it all... or at least try to... (U will never do it all)

I'll be there soon. Just need to find a job in Sundsvall. :)

Maybe you simply just suck in skydiving? :)

But seriously, I don't get the point of your post here. You want to quit because it's boring then quit and stop whining. You want some help how you can make it more exciting just ask straight e.g. "I've done some RW/CRW/accuracy or whatever and now it seems boring, what other things I should try to get more fun?"...

Ha Ha Ha! I was considering a straight answer when I realized that this had to be a gag. I've done around 50 skydives in the last couple of weeks and have to admit it gets a little boring, but it's my job. On the other hand those two spinning level 4's were kind of exciting, and I'm curious as to whether you were such a perfect student that your instructors found you boring? I'm off to the big walls next week for a little excitement, sorry I can't offer any hope for thrills in your future? be careful, regards B.

If skydiving is boring you, kill yourself. the only things more thrilling IF ANY in life cost more than $50 a whack...

Hmm, yea I'm not surprised.


I was an average student. No real problems, but not great either.


Honestly, on every lift I hope I bounce.


Do you really find skydiving "thrilling", still? I never hear that from skydivers - they say they still enjoy it, sure, but it's not a "thrill" after the first few jumps, for most. Are you scared and nervous every time?

I have <50 shark fucks but to be honest I'm bored.

Once I'm in the air I'm not bored. I rarely skyjump any more.

If you are not having fun any more then you should quit.

Let me ask - do you feel isolated at the Dropzone? Do you feel lonely?

When I began skydiving I was coming out of a period in my life where I was quite introverted (not an introverted person naturally but was during that time).

I found joy in canopy piloting and also freeflying but I admit I was feeling quite lonely because not too many people reached out to me (and when some experienced jumpers reached out to me I would go on a high and jump with them a few times but then I always decided to let them jump alone so I wouldnt "fuck up their jump" - even though I could fly a perfectly stable sit and I am sure they didnt mind a sit base to orbit around and dock on!!).

Anyways for multiple reasons I decided to take a break from skydiving. 7 years later I came back and decided from the get-go that I would be more outgoing and friendly (I had changed in the 7 years away pursuing other activities that fulfilled me as a person and made me happy).

I found multiple people to jump with in multiple disciplines! Too many disciplines in fact so I had to choose! I chose RW and wingsuiting. So I started on the path of learning to fly a wingsuit. Also started on the path of learning to fly camera as my goal was to fly video for a RW team (free jumps!!!).

You are right (for me at least) that skydiving isnt the "shit in your pants with adrenaline" kind of activity it was the first dozen or so jumps. THe first few jumps scared the shit out of me and got me high as fuck! Now the high comes from perfecting movements that I want to learn...such as flying 4 miles on my wingsuit from 13.5k'...or being able to film some group perfectly in frame.

That joy from movement is what keeps bringing me back to skydiving...its not an adrenaline sport for me really...although I am sure some adrenaline is released

You asked if people were bored of skydiving. They answered, now your just hating on people for liking something that you don't. If it doesn't interest you then why bother people. I bet you don't have real friends to bother. They probably found you boring and gave up after 50 beers.

Correct.


So far, so good.


I'm "hating on them"?


To find out their views on the matter


Only two. One is on holiday and the other doesn't talk to me much. Neither of them skydive.


More like 50 seconds.

Well, yes, in a way - but no more so than anywhere else. I'm socially incapable and possessed of deep-seated feelings of inferiority and inadequacy, so I don't like to force myself on people. I'm also weak and unpersuasive, so I've had trouble negotiating things like being taught how to pack, or getting advice about gear and "where to go from here".

It's not a skydiving thing, though - I'm a pussy everywhere. I guess with the sort of characters skydiving attracts, though, I'm especially useless at the DZ.

I don't think any of that contributes a great deal to my general lack of enthusiasm for skydiving, though. I'm essentially unenthusiastic about anything, and it would make more sense to see a common cause for all.

Geez man. Lighten up on yourself. You're depressing me.

I went back and found this person that could help. All you need to do is fill out the survey she created and she can fix your brain. Here's the thread, buddy. the head doctor
Good luck.
questionnaire

Damn! I don't know what to think?! How is your sex life? Do you love your father? Did you enjoy your last bowel movement? How many fingers am I holding up? Do you cut yourself? If a tree fell in the forest, would you make a noise? Do you like crunchy peanut butter? Do you compare yourself to Edward Scissor hands? Does a wood pecker make you smile? In other words, stop measuring yourself to the world, be your self, be happy, eat a corn dog and enjoy life!

I.m bored with skydiving. After realizing im a BASE god skydiving just did not hold the same appeal. Plus, the sky pussies were unwilling to recognize my god status. Mentioning pussy... I got bored that too. I realized gaping a chicks ass was way more extreme.




In all seriousness. Your not the first person to express a disinterest in skydiving after the inital rush wears off and you wont be the last. Maybe you will be able to find something more meaningful than the rush...maybe not. If not, it is probably best you don't continue. If you are constantly looking for that shit your pants experience in skydiving you will find it at some point and it wont be pretty.

"Bored of skydiving", I thought, so sad. Then I lol'd at a lot of replies here.

I also don't have a lot of jumps. I first got into skydiving because my long-term goals were BASE and wingsuit. I thought, I've always been good at sports, so I'll advance to BASE much sooner than they say... then I soon realized it doesn't really work that way and I don't want to advance before I'm 120% ready. Also I discovered freefly in the process and now I want to try to evolve in that direction just as much as I want to BASE. I can't possibly see how that can get boring, there is always something to learn, evolve, make better, and try something new.

I guess yeah it might be boring if you just fall out of the airplane each time, just to raise your jump count.

And yeah it's expensive, especially where I live (Brazil). Between skydiving and skiing I'd DEFINITELY pick skydiving and I'd laugh at whoever asked me such a stupid question. Hell, between skydiving and paying rent, I chose skydiving. Some people would disagree with that but they can politely go fuck themselves. Paying rent is boring. To each his own. No one is forcing you to jump out of airplanes, and if they were, I'd happily trade places with you. :-D

WHAT DA FUCK MAN! You would seriously consider taking two days out of six off your skis when you're on the mountain to go WALKING??? Are you British or something? Fuck that shit. You aren't bored of skydiving: You're bored of life! Please don't consider base jumping.

http://youtu.be/dXuT_Dh-McY

Not even after the heaviest Tyrolian afterski would I consider not being in the lift queue at 8:55 AM. The ONLY acceptable reason for not going skiing when on a skiing holiday is death or serious injury, or having sex with Lindsey Vonn in which case you can show up just before lunch.

I have absolutely no respect for people like you. As far as I'm concerned you might as well go see a soccer match. I hope you find some fun in your life. Try looking a bit harder. See if you can make someone smile.

Yes. I enjoy other things than just skiing from first to last lift. There's lots to do in the mountains.


yes


I'll consider it


Correct. I'm pretty much done here.



But if I go in... problem solved!


Gosh.


I'm not interested in football.

you ever considered learning how to paraglide or speedfly?

I like this guy. He is really funny in a british kind of way.

like these guys?

More of a dry humor...like these guys.

I like pizza.

CLO_hb,

Where do you skydive in the UK, what DZ.

Pm me if you like

It's a trap!

Yea, paragliding looks pretty nice. And you can do it "anywhere", at least compared with skydiving. I ought to try it some time. I seem to spending all of my money on sky things lately. But then most people just spend it on drink and drugs or fucking collectable figurines from eBay.

Why is it a trap??

It seems a reasonable question considering you're on a base jumping forum, you say you skydive in the UK, so come on, where abouts? Surely nothing to hide.........

No profile...Wont say where he jumps at...All there happens to be is this picture of him posting on the forum.



Hmmm...Might be a troll.

Some searching is expensive from the Start, but you must test all the parts in the puzzle. There is no way to see the right way from your start, because its cheaper.

Its 100 point more for me to find the right woman and all the rest here is only a good way to see myself on the borderline.

No skydiving is Not boring.....