By Burke Jensen
Planning to jump out of a plane at 7,000 feet above the ground isn''t what most people dream of doing.
'My nerves were all crazy and I started shaking, wondering if I was going to die,' said Janae Rowberry, 20, a junior from Las Vegas, majoring in psychology. 'I thought, ''What happens if my chute doesn''t open?'''
Letting go of the plane and falling was accompanied by an exhilarating rush and peace at the same time, she said.
The skydiving addiction has seized some BYU students, and two skydiving trips to Calgary, Alberta, will be the highlight of the summer for several students.
The three-day trips are planned for April 24-27 and May 1-4. There are about 20 spots left.
Leszek Stachyra, 33, a junior from Calgary, Alberta, majoring in geographic information systems, and the organizer of the trips, said he expects the spots on the first trip to fill up within the next week.
Brett Blaser, 21, a sophomore from Bountiful with an open major, said he skydived after high school graduation, but he wasn''t planning on doing it again because it was so expensive.
'I saw this advertised and thought it''s amazingly cheap,' Blaser said. 'For this price I couldn''t pass it up. It makes me excited just talking about it.'
The whole trip costs $170, which includes everything - travel, housing, food and the jump. Each additional jump costs $30. Most jump zones charge $150 just for one jump, without any food or housing.
Noah Edvalson, 24, a senior from LaGrande, Ore., majoring in advertising, said he saw the flier on the wall but was disappointed with the original dates for the trip.
His graduation conflicted with the dates so he organized a large group that wanted to go in May, he said.
'I had to get a large group together before one was officially scheduled, so I''ve been going crazy calling everyone on my cell phone directory,' he said. 'Now we have a group of over 20 people and it''s planned for May.'
Edvalson said he couldn''t think of a better way to start off the summer.
'It''s always been something I wanted to do in my life and now I can check it off my ''to-do list,''' he said. 'It also makes for a great road trip and a way to celebrate my college graduation.'
The trip includes three days of activities.
One of those days is spent traveling to and from the jump zone.
Another day includes eight hours of intense training. The remainder of that day is spent skydiving.
'Most likely, everyone will jump on the first day unless it''s too windy,' Stachyra said. 'We''re very concerned about safety. That''s why we have the second day, just in case the weather isn''t good on the first day.'
If there is good weather on both days, the second day participants have the option to jump a second and third time.
Stachyra said last year all three groups were able to jump on at least one of the two days.
Some find the experience of skydiving hard to explain.
A lot of people think that it''s like being on steep roller coaster hill that doesn''t end, Blaser said. At first it is, but the rush changes after a moment.
'It''s like an intense calmness,' he said. 'It''s like it''s not really happening, and it''s like a picture below with the brown farmland.'
Rowberry said it was an extremely freeing experience.
'It''s beautiful and peaceful seeing the ground seven thousand feet below,' she said. 'You feel like you''re king or queen of the earth and on top of the world.'
She also said she experienced nearly every emotion.
While some view skydiving as an extremely dangerous sport, Stachyra said he doesn''t view it much different from other extreme sports.
'You can just as easily get hurt rock climbing,' he said. 'The University of Ohio even gives college credit for a skydiving class.'