Those seeking the adrenaline of freefalling while surveying 360-degree views of the Flathead Valley’s surrounding mountain ranges will have their chance this summer with the opening of a new skydive center at Kalispell City Airport.
Starting May 15, Skydive Glacier Country is offering tandem skydives Friday through Sunday until Sept. 30. Parties of four or more can call to schedule private skydiving sessions during the week.
Owners of the company, Beth Short and her husband Luke, met while skydiving around 15 years ago. Both in love with the sport and in search of a retirement hobby, they opened Skydive Missoula in Stevensville last summer to great success, Beth said.
“We saw we were getting a lot of customers from up in the Flathead, and we were also aware that the operation that was up there in the past in Whitefish had shut down,” Beth said.
Skydive Whitefish previously offered tandem jumps from the North Valley before closing in recent years. “We felt like there was a need to fill up there,” Beth said.
At Skydive Missoula, staff fly a twin-engine skydiving plane that drops skydivers out at 13,000 feet above sea level, giving participants a full minute of freefall before parachutes are pulled. In the competitive realm of skydiving, every minute counts, Beth said. She and her husband have both set multiple state, national and world records in the sport, including four-way group skydives that involve making formations with three other people during a 45-second freefall.
“Trying to learn a sport in 45 seconds at a time is quite the challenge,” she said. “It’s definitely a passion pursuit for those of us who are in it.”
They offer student training at the Missoula location for those interested in becoming a licensed skydiver, and the Shorts also sponsor the University of Montana Skydiving Club to help grow competition at the collegiate level. While they may expand services in the future, they plan on offering only tandem jumps at the Kalispell location during the first summer as they refine operations at the busy city airport.
Tucked off Ryan Lane at the back of the Kalispell City Airport, Skydive Glacier County will take a pair of tandem skydivers and their instructors flying up in a cone-like pattern above the airport, per instructions from the Federal Aviation Administration. Then, at around 12,000 feet above sea level they’ll jump, freefalling for 45 to 60 seconds before parachutes are pulled and eventually landing in a grassy area near the company’s hanger at the airport.
Veterans and first-responders will receive a 10% discount on jumps, and on their opening day the company will announce the winner of a raffle for a free jump on their social media page.
“We’re really excited about this new location, and we think it’s going to be great for all the people that live up there as well as the tourists that are coming to visit the national park,” Beth said. “There’s a lot of people who want to skydive, so we’re thrilled to be able to provide that.”
For more information, visit skydiveglaciercountry.com or call 406-407-7092.
