By Amy Simpson Swiss
Photographed by Amy Simpson Swiss
I stood perched on the top edge of an elaborate 50-foot-tall steel structure, with a tangle of ropes, wood and wire all around me. The peaceful scene in the distance—rolling hills and tree-lined cliffs rising up around the Hudson River, as far as the eye could see—did nothing to calm my racing heart. I looked straight down at the crash pad several stories below me as my mind processed what I was supposed to do next—take a giant step out into midair for a free-fall to the ground.