The year was 1988. Xmas and holiday buzz was in the air. I had just got married and was looking forward to a romantic honeymoon (champagne, seafood, beach and sun). Instead I found myself in a major army style expedition with four other B.A.S.E. jumpers on our way to Frenchman’s Cap in Tasmania.
Frenchman’s Cap is Australia’s largest known jumpable cliff at 1100 feet high. The hike to B.A.S.E. camp is two full days or 25km of rough mixed terrain. It is a very scenic and powerful place.
The first day is long, flat and boring except for jumping between the mud pools and sinking in to your ankle or knee when you miss. This is good "dry" conditions, for when it rains the mud is up to your waist (as experienced by previous expeditions). 15km later or 8-12 hours (depending on strength, fitness and weather) we arrived at Lake Vera where there is good sleeping and lodging facilities. I took a muscle relaxant for my aching back (31kg pack - I only weighed 52kg) and fell asleep with my boots on.
The second day is fantastic, eventful and forever changing following the lake over huge root systems covered in moss, ancient trees and steep climbing over some terrain. It’s so beautiful it was easy to forget how hard it is. All of a sudden the forest canopy opened up to light and space and I was standing on Barren Pass, a ridge overlooking a valley. In front of me was Frenchman’s Cap in all its majestic beauty. It looked enormous yet it was along way across the Valley. Now the terrain was open and we walked following stone pyramids along the ridges enjoying spectacular views of lakes and mountains and dreaming about jumping "that big rock".
Finally we arrived at Lake Thore, a small glacial lake near the B.A.S.E. of Frenchman’s Cap. There is a small hut and a few small open places for tents. The landing area was extremely tight and surrounded by dead trees. You have to clear a ridge under canopy otherwise it takes between 4-8 hours (depending on fitness) to hike back to camp, so you need to shorten your freefall. If it gets dark or you are injured, you are in big trouble!
I was the least experienced of the group with only a hundred skydives and 17 B.A.S.E. jumps at the time. I watched the more experienced guys do 2 jumps each and land in 6 different places, so I decided to land in the lake near the edge in shallow water. It might have looked like a "girlie" or "typically Pernilla thing to do" but it felt safe and gave me confidence.
The climb up from the campsite to the exit point took 50 minutes. The view up the top was beautiful. The exit point was wide, flat and open. I took my first look down over the edge...wow, the height.
I went though the steps with myself and Nick for a minute and then geared up.
It was different with so many people around me. Pressure! Syman on the right
hand side with camera, Nick on the other. Andrew behind me and Tony somewhere
else. I stepped out on the exit point and moved my feet out as far as I could
without falling. I took 10 deep breaths and counted my self off "Ready,
Set, Go!". I felt my body in freefall and then I pitched my pilot chute.
The canopy opened straight and on heading. I heard Nick screaming "Yeah
Pernilla!". I turned around and looked at them. I was open really high. I
flew over the top of the ridge and saw two guys taking photos. They looked
really small and I screamed hello to them.
Then turbulence hit my canopy. I was prepared for it but I still got scared. I
had some lift and some cells shut down but they re-inflated on deep brakes. I
flew around the lake looking up at the canopy all the time. I landed just at
the edge of sandbank and stood up in knee deep water. Yahoo! I was super happy.
My happiness was short-lived to see Syman flying in fast avoiding the trees. He crashed in and badly injured and dislocated his shoulder. The injury was serious so we radioed Wilderness Air. Back then the National Park was "Ranger friendly" and we had prearranged radio communication. It was a while before we had contact so it was helpful that we were prepared with a well stocked medicine bag and pain killers.
Eventually he was lifted out by helicopter. We received a radio message the next day saying that he was OK and enjoying a hot breakfast.
I landed in the water for all my jumps there. It was better to be wet (and perhaps delayed drying the canopy out) but safe. Why push the envelopes and perimeters on landing, when that's only the means to survive after a great rock rush!