Skydive Monterey Bay
721 Neeson Road, Suite 1, Marina Municipal Airport, Marina
888-229-5867, www.skydivemontereybay.com
They use complex gear, customized airplanes and their own language to describe altitudes, chute deployment and dying while doing what they love doing most. (It’s called “going in.”) They soar through the furthest reaches of human experience at 120 mph from the highest tandem drop point in the world (18,000 feet up), shooting video, smiling their asses off and screaming at the top of their lungs. They are the most exclusive of tribes, but they are also among the most welcoming – and imminently qualified to safely baptize neophytes in this time-of-your-life ritual. Even gorillas.