AP Photo Archive
Children take turns jumping off a bridge outside of Mayalan, in the remote Ixcan region of Guatemala, Sept 23, 1998.

Bridge and cliff jumping for students

by Jessica Gallup GAL04010@BYUI.EDU Asst. News Editor

Screams ring through the air and are then quickly swallowed up by the sound of bodies falling into the water.

As summer comes rolling into season, many students may feel the vibe and may seem to be more into outdoor activities. Cliff or bridge jumping is one of summer’s varieties of enjoyable activities.

For many students, bridge jumping, cliff jumping, or jumping from anything is a major attraction.

“Last summer my friends and I went jumping up at Monkey Rock, about 15 minutes away from [Rexburg],” Jessilee Staggie, a senior from Mansfield, Texas, said.

“It was really fun, but I have mixed feelings,” Staggie said. “For one thing I wasn’t crazy about jumping into the gross water; with all the little things floating here and there!”

But even with “all the little floating things” Staggie still pulled through and completed the activity, and, for the most part, enjoyed doing so.

“Yes, it was a lot of fun, but I only did it once, because after the first time I jumped my whole leg went completely numb for about three hours. At first I thought I broke my leg,” Staggie said.

Height may be a problem for some, “I would love to go jumping, but it depends, because if the bridge is way high up, I don’t think so. But if it is low enough for me, sure!” Amanda Waken, a freshman from North Glenn, Colo., said.

“I love cliff jumping! I live near Lake Powell, and my friends and I always go jumping. As of right now though, you have to be really careful, because the water is quite low,” Melissa Jensen, a freshman from Paige, Ariz., said.

Cliff or bridge jumping, through the good and the bad, still seems to be quite popular,

“When my friends and I went jumping, there were at least 75 other people there,” Staggie said.

And with the activity being such a summer craze, people should and need to take common sense precautions.

“Now that I look back, I see how dumb [jumping] was, with the rocks being so high, and the water being so low,” Staggie said, “I had friends coming out of the water complaining, ‘oh my back!’, ‘oh my legs!’ If it were more safe I would definitely go again.”

At Monkey Rock, there are many sharp rocks, where in most cases are quite slippery.

The rocks range in height, with most about “two stories” and the water is “about five feet deep” Staggie said, so obvious precautions need to be taken.

As the summer season comes strolling into Idaho, cliff or bridge jumping seems to be one of many outdoor activities that people can enjoy, as long as safety and common sense is taken into consideration.