A veteran skydiver of 25 years, Scott Cave says it鈥檚 always the loners with the most intriguing reasons for jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 feet.

鈥淲ho goes skydiving by themselves for the first time?鈥� Cave said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 always an interesting reason: a personal challenge, an irresistible urge, winning a bet.鈥�

On April 4, Cave and his team were taking up clients for tandem jumps at Skydive Vancouver located in Abbotsford鈥檚 Matsqui Flats.

He said he was matched with a 鈥渢all, good-looking kid鈥� in his mid-to-late 20s who was alone, and went by the name Lucky.

鈥溾�榊ou here by yourself?鈥� I asked.

鈥榊eah,鈥� he replied soberly.

鈥楾hat鈥檚 cool. How come?鈥�

鈥楳y fianc茅 and I were going to do it together but she died. I鈥檓 doing this for her. To finish it off.鈥欌��

Experiencing heartfelt moments are a part of the job, and a pretty common experience, according to Cave.

Even though his relationships with clients often only last 15 minutes, from when they leave the ground to when they set back down, he said the experiences can be 鈥渞eally profound.鈥�

After the parachute had released and the two floated back down to Earth, Lucky explained his fianc茅, Jennifer, had fought breast cancer for five years, Cave said.

鈥溾�楾his is Jennifer鈥檚 jump. Well done Lucky, you made it happen,鈥欌�� Cave said, relating back to his own suffering after his grandma passed away, an uncle died of cancer and his sister was diagnosed with terminal-brain cancer all in a six-week period.

鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 much more interaction with him than that.鈥�

He said the stories you hear in drop zones can be very personal, and every season a couple stick out. Last year, one of his favourite jumps was with a 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.

鈥淏eing able to share that experience with him 鈥� you and me are the same up here. It doesn鈥檛 matter that you have a hard time on the ground, we can both go do this.鈥�

The popularity of tandem jumps has made the skydiving experience much more accessible to people from all walks of life, according to Cave.

He said that it鈥檚 common to have people over 90 years old come try it for the first time.

鈥淚t all comes down to this fundamental experience. I鈥檝e watched it change lots of people鈥檚 lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ike this guy to honour his fianc茅, or they鈥檙e facing their fears or challenging themselves, or going through a major life transition.

鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible. You watch people鈥檚 minds explode.鈥�

After Lucky and him had landed, Lucky asked if they could take a photo together 鈥渋n a way that felt like it was more than the picture,鈥� Cave said.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檒l ever see him again. I might,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I know I鈥檒l never forget this human experience, born of tragedy and made pure by the sky. A bit of healing above and below.

鈥淗ow can I not love my job?鈥�