Our accommodation was roomy and comfortable and we soon got settled in. We were due to meet with Stein later that day to sign the necessary documentation and to complete an introductory BASE course before attempting our first jump from Kjerag. Stein is a local jumper who discovered the site back in 1994 and was the first to jump from it. Stein is also in charge of the Norwegian BASE association and membership to the organization is necessary if you wish to get plenty of local knowledge regarding the site as well as guidance to the exit point, which could take forever if you didn't know where you were going. Word came later that day that Stein would be unable to join us until the following morning so we took the opportunity of visiting the landing area which is only accessible by boat.............and by parachute of course. Evar operates a small boat, which he uses to ferry jumpers from the landing area back to Lysebotn and to assist any poor "unfortunate" who ends up landing in the cold deep water of the fjord. The boat is aptly named "BASE 1".

The landing area was kinda hairy with very large boulders scattered around a small grassy area. It didn't leave much of a margin for error. If you were to undershoot the grassy area, you were faced with landing in water or on large boulders. If you over shot it, the same applied. If you were to open low and could not make it back, you were faced with the prospect of having to land on the small rocky shoreline a little further down or take a dip in the fjord. Satisfied that we had seen enough we returned to the boat and headed back to the campsite where we spent the remainder of the evening chilling out with a few beers, watching BASE videos and discussing the exciting week which lay ahead of us.

Sleeping that night proved to be a little difficult. I must have tossed and turned for hours thinking about the coming week, let alone my first jump which would surely be sometime the following day. This was to be my second ever B.O.C. jump as well as my first ever "stowed" BASE jump. I was also a little concerned about my track, which wasn't a problem in a skydiving environment but was something I had never had to think about on a BASE jump before, but eventually excitement gave way to exhaustion and I managed to get a few hours kip in the end.

We arose the next morning to find that the weather was once again on our side. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing lightly up the Fjord. Today would be the day for sure!

Stein eventually showed up with some friends later in the afternoon. They had spent the previous day BASE jumping and had actually managed to cover all four objects in order!! This included a "virgin" bridge, which had never been jumped up until then. We had passed underneath it, the day before, on the way to Lyesbotn

It was introductions all round before filling out the necessary bit n' pieces, officially joining the NBA {Norwegian BASE association} followed by a quick gear inspection. The course was basic enough but covered all the necessary criteria for giving one the best opportunity of making a successful, safe jump from Kjerag. With that out of the way, all that remained was to pack and we would be on our way.

We spent the next hour or so, meticulously packing our chutes, paying maximum attention to every fold, every line. It had to be perfect. It was at this point I started thinking of the reserve I didn't have! I would be jumping BASE specific equipment, which only carried one chute and no reserve. Gary and the lads had already derived a great deal of pleasure in reminding me of this fact as often as they possibly could. Gary and Ken would be jumping skydiving equipment with some BASE modifications. John "The Ledge" Kavanagh also had skydiving equipment but without any modifications, which weren't essential for a BASE jump of this altitude.

When everyone was ready we climbed into Ivar's truck to begin the short ride to the starting point of the climb. The road was narrow and steep with a series of hairpin bends, which were a little unnerving for a nervous passenger such as myself. The uphill drive took us through a long tunnel, which disappeared into the rock, and must have been over 200 meters long, adding to the whole sense of mystique and uniqueness about the place. The mood in the truck was tense with everyone firmly focused on the task ahead but that didn't stop the occasional "wise crack" from surfacing every so often. Ten minutes or so and we were there. Everyone clambered out of the truck, collected their gear, a quick pose for the camera, and we were off.

The climb consists of three hills - "Wakeup hill", "warmup hill" and "Hell hill" but the truth of the matter is that they are all hell hills and anyone who tries to tell you any different is on copious amounts of steroids. A single minute up the hill and the Paddies were bollixed. It really was a mammoth task if you weren't used to this sort of thing. The only thing that took ones mind off the physical torture from time to time was the sheer beauty and ruggedness of the surrounding landscape. There were patches of snow dotted all over the grey mass of rock, which increased in size and number, the higher we climbed. There were also a few rivers along the way also which made for welcome resting points where we could rest and catch our breaths for a while as well as refilling our water containers. I must have spent at least an hour of the climb mentally going through every detail of the jump over and over in my head, from exit to opening. It must have been a funny site to look back and see me struggling to climb with my eyes closed and my arms swept back in a track position.

Three hours, 2 pints of sweat and a puke later, we were finally there. The exit point lay in front of us and free-fall was now imminent. The jump order was agreed and we were now ready to "get it on!"

The next fifteen minutes or so were spent gearing up, going through some practice exits and generally shitting bricks. With that out of the way Stein gave the go ahead for the first jumper {John} to go.

When John was ready he walked to the edge, collected his thoughts for a while, raised his hands aloft and disappeared over the rim with a nice stable head high launch. There is something very surreal about seeing something like that happen right in front of you. After ten seconds or so his canopy opened facing away from the cliff and he was now floating gracefully back to earth. Another forty seconds or so later he touched down in the middle of the landing area.

Next up was Gary who chose to do a running exit. "Have a good one", I exclaimed as he bolted off the overhang and into the void beneath him. Gary too, had a nice opening and had managed to put a good distance between himself and the unforgiving cliff-face behind him. As with John, the landing posed no problem and Gary was safely back on the ground in no time.

Next one to go was Ken who had also chosen to do a running exit. His exit was head high and stable and he quickly disappeared out of site. I waited anxiously for an open canopy to appear below. Sure enough, there it was, flying away from the cliff face. I watched Ken land safely and suddenly it was my turn.

No words can accurately explain how I felt standing on top of that cliff waiting to go. I cant speak for the others but I think it was possibly one of the most intense, scary moments of my life to date. My mouth was like carpet, my stomach was in a knot, my knees could barely support my body weight, but the one thing that stands out the most was the overwhelming feeling of just being ALIVE! To be standing there, in such spectacular surroundings, with a breeze in my face, a rig on my back, knowing that I would shortly be leaping off the edge of a very large cliff, was indescribable.

Stein signalled for me to go when I was ready and wished me luck. I walked to edge of the overhang and looked straight down. "Wow, fucking amazing" I thought. I looked straight out and then slightly up to pick a point to focus on during my exit.

"C-YAAAA!" I shouted as my body tilted forward. My feet had not yet left solid ground but the jump had already begun. I was now committed and there was no going back .I pushed off vigorously at a forty five degree angle as my body departed the ledge behind me. "C-ya Dave" came the reply from one of the guys as I disappeared beneath the rim. Seconds into the jump I knew my exit had been perfect as the wind began to scream in my ears. I maintained a hard arch for the first three or four seconds before lengthening my legs and slowly easing my arms back into a track position It was at this point my brain was pounded by a visual explosion of the cliff whizzing past behind me. It was unbelievable. I could see the ground moving by underneath me as my track started to kick in. It was the most amazing feeling I had ever experienced in freefall and I didn't want it to end- AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! I counted to what I thought was about fifteen seconds {which turned out to be twelve} before deploying my pilot chute. A split second later my canopy exploded open and was 100% on-heading. I could barely breath from the mega rush experienced in freefall. I released my brakes and headed for the landing area. The canopy ride was beautiful. The breeze coming up the fjord was stiff and when I made my last turn for final run-in, I found myself coming straight down with virtually no forward speed. I landed softly at the very edge of the landing area. The buzz was amazing. I gathered my gear and went to join the others who were already fixated on the exit point waiting for the next jumper to go. Everyone was blown away by the jump and couldn't wait to get back up there for another one! We made a number of jumps off Kjerag that week making it a trip which none of us will forget for a very long time indeed.

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