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| 9/30/2008 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Skydiving
Everest
Dolores-area resident Harold Watkins plans history-making leap from aircraft by world’s highest summit
Kristen Plank
Journal Staff Writer
Few will fall and many will watch as adventurists from all over the world attempt the first skydive over Mount Everest on Thursday.
It sounds like the beginning of a movie trailer, with famous voiceover artist Don LaFontaine capturing the essence of the event, but for Dolores-area resident Harold Watkins, it's far from Hollywood.
The Everest dive might seem like a tall order, but it also seems Watkins has been mentally prepared for such an adventure since the first time he heard America's popular song "A Horse With No Name."
America's following lyrics "The ocean is a desert with it's life underground / And a perfect disguise above," may have been all the segue Watkins needed to propel him into the fascinating world of exploration.
"When I heard that song as a kid, I was always interested in seeing as deep into the ocean as I could see," Watkins said during a Sept. 15 interview at his home before departing to Nepal.
While the song prompted Watkins into the dark depths below sea level in submersibles, a different motivation will take him thousands of feet into the air, above Everest, as one of the first skydivers ever to free-fall past the mountain's majestic peak.
top of the world
Thirty-four participants will experience the Everest jump, weather permitting. With Everest's summit peaking at 29,035 feet, the skydivers will travel 500 feet higher to jump out of a high-altitude aircraft at 29,500 feet, landing on the world's highest drop zone at 12,350 feet.
The lofty numbers would make most people quake when simply considering such a feat, but no experience is required for a tandem dive.
Skydiving participants run the gamut of experience, though, with the majority of the divers having had previous exposure to skydives. The incredible view and bitingly cold temperature may differ, but the wind ripping at the parachuting clothes and the sharp tug once the chute is released will feel like an old hat.
The few others without much diving experience, such as Watkins, will be along for the electrifying excitement.
But experiencing the full-body adrenaline rush is not the entire reason Watkins decided to go.
He doesn't exhibit the typical thrill-seeking or risk-taking behavior but instead is motivated by a unique vantage point the Everest dive will give him. Watkins' interest in seeing the planet from as many angles as possible has inspired him to travel over all parts of the Earth, in search of as many incredible outlooks as he can fit into his lifetime.
Curve of the Earth
In 2005, Watkins signed up for a trip with Incredible Adventures, an American adventure company, to fly in a Russian MiG 25 to the very edge of the atmosphere. The company orchestrated Watkins' trip to the Sokol Aircraft Factory in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, where experienced pilots fly normal citizens over the country and up to the very edge of the atmosphere.
The atmosphere, where time slowed, allowing every heartbeat and every second to fully embed itself into Watkins' consciousness.
"It was that minute when suddenly everything went quiet. There was no atmosphere and you can't hear the jets, and you look up and see the dark sky and the stars, and you look down and you see daylight, and then you see 180 degrees of the curvature of the earth," he said, reminiscing inside his sunlit home in Dolores.
"For me, that's the moment that is in my head."
This isn't the only moment of adventure Watkins revealed during the interview. He's been caught in storms while blue-water sailing with Nanc, his wife of 40 years, and broken his neck after crashing a hang glider during his younger years.
"Nanc asked me not to do that anymore," he said.
Not a reckless person
When asked how his wife feels about the Everest adventure, Watkins explained that she understands he's not a reckless person. Nanc elaborates on the difference in their outlooks when the two of them travel across the world.
"I like to explore from a historical perspective, and he prefers more of an adventure," she said, explaining she is "grounded in the ancients," whereas he prefers adventures in the skies.
Staying grounded also appeals to Watkins' brother, Wayne. As a triathlete, however, Wayne enjoys events where "you are a test to the Earth." This excludes skydiving.
"On the one hand, it's really cool that he's doing it, the high adventure stuff, but as a sibling I'm a little concerned as there are some degrees of danger to it.
"But Harold is one of those guys who never does anything halfway," Wayne said, admitting he and his brother share the competitive gene in the family of four.
As a kid, Wayne said, he remembers Harold as an amazing baseball player, participating in the various sports of his time. It wasn't until his 30s that Watkins became an avid traveler.
Having the opportunity to travel and see the world from such unique perspectives is not lost on Watkins, who is a law partner and part managing member of the Aspey, Watkins & Diesel law firm in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he flies to work.
He repeats how fortunate he is to be able to experience what the world offers. He also revealed his appreciation for his hometown of Dolores, including the local scenery it offers.
"I mean, look at where we live. If you actually take a look and see it, it's beautiful," he said. "That's why I live here."
While Dolores is a far cry from Everest, the Southwest Colorado's fourteeners - peaks rising higher than 14,000 feet in elevation - have taken the breath away from many hikers as they ascend into the sky. Which is precisely what Watkins will be doing.
Prepare to jump
Preparing for the Everest leap takes much more time than Watkins needed to accept the invitation from the U.S. adventure company Incredible Adventures.
UK adventure company High & Wild worked for more than two years to create such an event and left no detail to chance, which allowed interested parties from all over the world to participate. As the U.S. sales arm for High & Wild, Incredible Adventures was able to piggy-back on the Everest event, according to Incredible Adventures owner Jane Reifert.
The air is thin at 29,500 feet, so oxygen masks will be used during the dives. The temperature will drop to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit, so divers were prefitted with high-altitude gear. The free-fall speeds will reach up to 140 miles per hour, so any uneasy wavering must be left at home.
Imagining such a fall evoked similar impressions the MiG mission inspired. Time hopefully will slow enough to allow every sensation to be captured, to invade and fill the mind with endless puzzle pieces that will later be sorted once the feeling of euphoria has left the body. The memories of a lifetime will thus be captured individually.
Who would say no?
"What motivates someone to do that? I mean, would anyone say no?" Watkins asked rhetorically. "Of course I had to do it. It's an angle and a view that should just be breathtaking."
The jump is only part of the excitement for Watkins, with spectacular views encompassing the six-day trek from Kathmandu to the familiarization jumps before the final dive. The final jump for Watkins most likely will be a tandem dive with an experienced professional.
Watkins' law partner, Louis Diesel, who also will be jumping tandem, punctuated the simplistic nature of such a dive by asking, "Can you jump out of a chair? Then you can jump off Everest."
High & Wild put an entire professional team onto the logistics of the event. From there, making the transition from ordinary citizen into record-breaking skydiver is a snap.
Watkins heard of the dive, and the rest will be history in the making. But Watkins' adventures won't end there. Nanc jokingly said he's always coming up with something new to do.
His next feat? Riding a horse across the Gobi Desert. Perhaps this time the horse with no name will finally get one.
Reach Kristen Plank at kristenp@cortezjournal.com.
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