My Experience: Whistler Bungee

A week before bungee jumping I was nervous. Just thinking about launching off a bridge made my toes curl and not want to leave the ground. Despite feeling nervous, which is apparently very normal, I couldn’t wait to leap towards the beautiful Cheakamus River. As a first time bungee jumper I had no idea what to expect aside from the hopes of an incredible adrenalin rush.

The Whistler Bungee Bridge is located just south of Whistler off the Sea-to-Sky highway. My friend Suz drove to the bridge while we brainstormed the “best” way to jump off the bridge. We contemplated if we should attempt any tricks on our jump or if we should just free-fall. We decide on free falling as were both first time bungee jumpers and just wanted to experience the traditional bungee jump. We did decide that I would jump facing the river and Suz facing up to the sky so we could compare our jumping experiences afterwards.

We parked and after a short walk we were on top of the impressive structure known as the bungee bridge. The bridge itself reaches over 200ft above the Cheakamus River with spectacular views in all directions. As Suz and I approached the center of the bridge we were greeted by the owner of Whistler Bungee and a two friendly employees, all of who were keen to guide us to the check in area. We entered a cool little cabin just across the bridge, gave our names and signed waivers. They took our weight to properly match our cord ratio for jumping. Next thing we knew we were back on the bridge and getting fitted with harnesses. The crew was friendly and joked with us about who was going to jump first. Some how I was nominated to jump first. A safety speech and instructions were given. The procedure is pretty straightforward. Ideally, you jump, have fun and once a rope is lowered you then attach it to your harness and you’re pulled up flawlessly.

Pure excitement ran through my body as the Coast Mountain Photographer snapped a few “before” photos of me on the ledge and then the count down began. I thought I was going to need a big push to get my cemented feet off the platform, but I guess the part of me that wanted to fly was much stronger than my nerves because I launched off the platform on three. I let out a scream followed by giggles. It was AMAZING. The feeling of just falling so weightlessly was incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like it. The cord didn’t snap or shock my body, but rather, pulled me right back up, almost to the same height of the bridge as a recoil and it felt just like a second jump! This time I was prepared and loving it, nerves gone! I spread my arms wide and just glided as I enjoyed a surprise second “jump” feeling. I didn’t want it to end. As I finally settled into a static position, the rope lowered and I knew I had to come back up. As I attached the carabineer to my harness I secretly wanted to ask to do it all over again!

Suz jumped with ease and giggles. We both agreed we would be back to bungee jump again! Once out of our harnesses we walked back to the cabin like building to check out our photos. They were incredible! I couldn’t believe that one photographer could jump around to three shooting locations to snap multiple images of my jump; we simply couldn’t leave with out them! Another surprise was the free Whistler Bungee t-shirt that each jumper receives. Bungee jumping was truly a unique experience that I cannot wait to experience again and again. If you’re thinking about bungee jumping, head out to the bungee bridge and watch a few jumpers come up with smiles plastered on their faces and you’ll be itching to give it a go for yourself!

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