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Training focus of Smokejumper story

by Ed Kemmick |

Mayer's article talks about PT testing, the first 24 hours, pay, and other aspects of training.

Two hours before he was scheduled to jump out of an airplane and parachute 1,500 feet into Hebgen Lake, Chris Young admitted he was feeling some anxiety. With more than 200 jumps under his belt, he wasn't worried about the parachuting part. It was the idea of getting out of the lake that he didn't like.

"My technique in swimming is sinking to the bottom and running like hell," he said.
The comment drew a big laugh, some of it nervous, from 14 of Young's colleagues, who would be making their first water landings with him.