FAST AF (f)

I’m trying to move my right foot onto a small step, but it keeps getting buffeted by the wind. When I do finally manage to make contact, the step proves to be a bit wobblier than anticipated — I make a mental note to be careful of it, otherwise I might fall off and plummet 12,000 feet to the desert below. Which is ironic, because that’s exactly what I’m committed to do next.

For years, I’d managed to avoid ever having to exit a functioning aircraft in flight. That was all about to change, as I signed up for the American Parachute Association’s Accelerated Freefall course, in anticipation of having to jump into the northern Rockies, later this year. While the motivation for undertaking this particular adventure might’ve been unusual, the methodology for achieving it