How do you stop water going up your nose when jumping of high stuff?

My boss has dared me to jump off this:

The Kornhausbrücke in Zürich, it’s about 10m high.

I’ve got time to prepare, it’s a summer thing and the local pool has boards up to 10 m high for training. 3m is no problem but on the 5m the water didn’t just go up my nose but down my throat. My basic entry position was feet straight but toes bent, lower body in tension and arms in a footballer freekick save the bllx style. Any tips? Am I better off crossing arms and holding shoulders? I’ve seen people have arms over the head to make a smooth entry but I’m not after style points.

Here are some of the big boys at play:

Am I better off crossing arms and holding shoulders?

Yeah, and pinch your nostrils with one hand I’d have thought.

I like to cross my arms over my chest & point my feet. I keep my mouth shut & breath out with reasonable force through my nose keeping a kind of “positive pressure”.

Holding you’re nose isn’t great coz your hand can be forced into your face.

I’ve gone off various cliffs up to around 70ft.

Higher is easier because you have a lot of time to stabilise yourself in the air before entry.

That’s just how I’ve done it over the years. There’s probably a prescribed way that someone might come along and divulge if we’re lucky…😁

I’ve been a coasteering guide for 20ish years and have jumped off many a cliff.

Holding your nose doesn’t really work as you’ll probably let go when you hit the water and I’ve seen some good cuts on faces from finger/thumb nails.

Crossing your arms across your chest does work quite well but less so on the higher jumps. 10m/30ft is a reasonable height.

I just tend to jump and land with my arms above my head and blow out of my nose once I’m under water. Doesn’t really work but o quite like the feeling of a good nose flush when it all pours out at a random time later that day.

TL:DR – it’ll be fine; worry more about keeping yer legs together and your body straight; don’t look down as you jump or you’ll get a face smack.

And don’t give in to peer pressure!

I nearly always have no breath when I hit the water – I need to take my glasses off so everything is just a blur so I’ve no way of gauging when I’m about to hit. If I could I’d probably breath out just as I was about the hot the water with the back up of holding my nostrils closed with one hand and cupping my groin with the other – as a kid on the high dive board (Edinburgh pool, I think) – I’d never dive, just jump off, but I always recall getting properly sore groin as things suddenly got violently moved around!

Tell your boss he’s a ****.
Or she is.

You could dive in, instead….

i could be wrong, but try tipping your head back just before splashdown

You’ll be fine, just land knees gently braced and rear wheel slightly first.

It’s all rollable.

Ooooh…. Something I know about. Not the water up the nose issue, I never got that. But I used to live ~3 min walk and swam there at least once a day over the summer. Personally I never did the running jump thing, just balance on the rail and dive, entering feet first and hands above your head worked for me. I don’t reckon it’s 10m and the moving water helps. The power station stuff always looked sketchy AF to me though, never remotely tempted by that. Off the crane at the back of Rote Fabrik felt like a similar height to the bridge but a harder landing. Consider two swimsuits on that one to avoid an unwanted enema. And peer pressure if the ferry was coming in when you were walking out was tough. Happy days. I’d say wait for the water to warm up regardless of your approach.

FWIW, I believe people have died jumping at all of the above, so be sensible about it.

I would try on concrete landing first, no risk of water up the nose that way.

I jumped off this – Devils Bridge at Kirby Lonsdale – my only advice is don’t look down. And don’t do it half pissed.

I did. If you do that then it putches your weight forward so your face hits the water. I nearly knocked myself out and splattered my nose all over the place. Blood everywhere. I am an idiot!

Tell your boss he’s a ****.
Or she is.

All of this. Is your boss 16?

Best keep your trainers on. That way when you smash into the layers of shopping trolleys, your feet wont get hurt.

Seriously though, you have checked theres enough depth ?. Because I for one wont be giving you anything should you need crowdfunding for a wheelchair.

If you don’t fancy my suggestion of concrete, how about waiting until it freezes? Ice won’t go up your nose.

Seriously though, you have checked theres enough depth ?.

The best way to check is to let someone else jump first.

Wetsuit & shoes help for protection & warmth in the water too btw.

Reckon my response would be “sure – you first.”

And don’t give in to peer pressure!

Pier pressure?

Wear a pair of old trainers if you want to help protect your feet, or just point your toes down

No need to hold your nose.

Other than looking like a wuss or a six years old child, your feet hitting the water first will disperse the water away from your nose.

My highest jump was 14m. That’s enough time to flail your legs and have a look around before hitting the water.

According to German language Wikipedia the highest point is 10m above the low water mark. In theory there should be more water running in summer due to snow melt.

höchsten Stelle des Hauptbogens etwa zehn Meter über dem Niedrigwasser der Limmat.

How do you stop water going up your nose when jumping of high stuff?

Don’t jump off high stuff. Simples.

Seriously though, you have checked theres enough depth ?.

It’s a well known spot for jumping.

Wikipedia even says so…..

Urbanes_Klippenspringen

Die Kornhausbrücke ist mit einer Höhe von etwa zehn Metern ein beliebtes Objekt für Klippenspringen

But seriously…. Holding your nose does nothing!

I need to take my glasses off so everything is just a blur

I was once somewhere where people were doing this off a small cliff, it looked great fun and was only (“only”) about 4m high so I went to give it a go… had to take my glasses off and then decided against it! Jumping off is one thing, doing it when blind as a bat is quite another.

Anyway, I can’t keep water from going straight up my nose even when ducking under at the swimming pool 😢

keep your legs closed, water up the nose is painful water up the arse leaks out…

‘Koff! 😳

Thanks for all your replies. I think lots of training on the 5m to perfect head position at the point of entry. Or dive.

It was more of a challenge than a dare but yes, my boss is about 16 when it comes to matters concerning social interaction.

@bajsykel I was doing some construction work for Migros at Limmatplatz last year so went swimming every day in the river. I’d get changed at Obere Letten, walk up and dive off the bridge by Schutz & Rettung and float down. I was only at Rote Fabrik once and that was to see The Young Gods about 15 years ago. They were good though.

Also – it’s off not of.

There is a byelaw to stop people jumping off Devils Bridge, you naughty lad @binners 😄

@danposs86 – it was a long time ago when I was young and stupid (and in this case drunk) and falls into the ‘what the hell was I thinking?’ catagory that my life was littered with back then.

I wouldn’t entertain such idiocy nowadays, obviously. Self-preservation being something I’ve learnt along the way 😀