“A long experience, full of ups and downs” — V Buck Prib

by Loni Rahm, photos and original information submitted 

Chelan skydiver, V Buck Prib 26, won gold for the Advanced Class at the June 27th-28th Florida Canopy Pilot Association meet, held at West Tennessee Skydiving outside Memphis, TN.  V won gold for both distance and speed, landing him with the overall top spot, while the accuracy component of the competition was waived due to weather.  This was the second competition for the skydiver this year, after taking silver in his class earlier this year in Florida.

Prib, born and raised in the Methow Valley and owner of Hungry Mountain Tree Service in Chelan, began training at Skydive Chelan in 2014 under owners Todd and Sonya Higley.  V quickly fell in love with the sport and specifically with swooping, in which canopy pilots (skydivers) jump under small, very high-performance parachutes in order to gain incredible speeds and power.  To win a swoop competition, the canopy pilots are judged on their distance, speed, and accuracy.  They must pass through gates and/or land on specific targets at high speeds in order for a jump to earn points.

V reports that “consistency is key”

“After I had my first strong distance run, I knew I just had to score for the second one, and it would keep me in first.  So rather than trying to go as far as I could the second time, I made sure to make the gates and get a score”, he said. “It takes less than a second to screw up and then you are left with a zero for the run.”

In a phone interview with LCN, Prib indicated that the multi-day competition is a “long experience, full of ups and downs”.

He participated in 25 jumps over the course of the event and confessed to occasional performance anxiety.

Although he was quick to admit he was “so nervous”, his final summation of the experience was simply “I had a blast!”

When V is not jumping into the Chelan Airport, where passerby call the ambulance mistaking his speed for an accident, he can be found gaining altitude with Hungry Mountain Tree Service climbing high up and removing trees.