The Lost Prairie in Montana, in the north-western United States on the Canadian border, is one of the best skydiving locations in the world. The area is almost what its name suggests... located far from the crowds, in a beautiful secluded valley.
Access to Lost Prairie can only be made through a private airport surrounded by beautiful mountains, in an area peppered with gorgeous, pristine lakes. For this reason, it’s often voted the very best location in the world to drop out of an airplane.
You can go skydiving in Montana all year round, every day of the week... although the normal jumping season is from April to October. After that, it gets a little tricky, simply because of the minus 20 degree C temperatures in winter and snow drifts the size of a large 4x4. Why freeze your butt off and land in a snowy whiteout when you can jump in a t-shirt a few months earlier? An Active You travel tip, that one.
How do you sign up? The best option is to visit the official State of Montana Travel Information website at www.visitmt.com and go to the “Skydive Lost Prairie” section. You can also visit the Lost Prairie Skydiving website directly: www.skydivelostprairie.com (The official Montana Travel site also redirects users to this website).
The best thing about the adventure sport of skydiving is that there are relatively few physical constraints involved. This may come as a surprise to many, but the qualifying requirements for skydiving are pretty basic. You have to be more than 18 years old, with a recommended maximum weight of 90 kgs, and in a reasonably good physical shape.
Why 90kg is anyone’s guess as Newton’s Law says that an object falls through the sky at the same basic speed whatever its weight. It doesn’t matter if you’re the size of a house or skinny as a rake. Perhaps it’s the size of the impact crater?
Of course, if you have pre-existing medical conditions that might impair your skydiving experience – like a weak heart, respiratory illness, or tendency towards fainting spells and blackouts – it’s best not to take the risk. The better condition you are in physically, the more you will enjoy the experience. Nevertheless, very few people have physical or medical conditions that actually prohibit them from jumping although you’d have to ensure any pacemaker was strapped in tight….
Clothes? You have to wear comfortable warm clothing suitable for the weather, and lace-up running shoes. Having contact lenses or spectacles is not a problem, as goggles are provided to wear over them. You are provided with everything else required for the jump, including a parachute thank goodness.
Well, that’s just about all you need to know. For the rest, you need to experience the sheer exhilaration of jumping into a freefall, rushing to the ground at 200 km/hr, while enjoying a God’s eye view of the earth to understand the timeless appeal of this adventure sport. You may be a novice or a veteran... but skydiving in Montana is an experience of a lifetime.
