Video: Paraglider vs. Vulture

Here's a scary video to start the day. It features a paraglider floating above the Indian Himalaya, when he collides with a vulture, who becomes entangled in the glider's netting. Fortunately, the man is able to deploy his emergency parachute, allowing him to land semi-safely, at which time he still has to deal with the bird.

The paraglider is Russian but the video includes subtitles. Some of which will leave you laughing. I'm just glad that everyone was able to walk away in one piece.

Thanks to Gadling for sharing this video.

Near-Death BASE Jumping Experience

I would think that the last thing you'd want to do while BASE jumping is run into problems with your gear, aka the parachute that keeps you from plummeting to your death. Especially while riding something called "The Death Swing." But that's what happens in the video below, which I present as Exhibit A in the Case For Why I'll Never Go BASE Jumping.

Thanks to the Goat for sharing!



BASE Jump Chute Failure, Miracle Save! from Rock & Ice on Vimeo.

Christian Maurer wins Red Bull X-Alps 2011

While I've been mostly occupied with the Raid the North Extreme this week, another event was taking place in Europe that is definitely worth a mention as well. That's where the Red Bull X-Alps 2011 was taking place, which is a very unique race that is a demanding test of endurance, skill, and nerve as well.

For those who haven't heard of it before, and I'm one of them, the X-Alps is an event that pits endurance athletes on a non-stop race through the Alps, starting in Salzburg, Austria and ending in Monaco. Participants in the competition, and there were 31 of them, must travel either on foot or by paraglider. Yep, you read that right, foot or paraglider.  So, as a result, you have athletes running through the mountains, carrying their paragliding gear with them, while also scrambling to higher heights, so that they can launch themselves into the air and use their gliders to make progress.

The race got underway on Sunday, July 17th, and yesterday the first competitor crossed the finish line. That was Swiss athlete Christian Maurer who managed to glide the final 60km (37. miles) to the finish and land on a floating platform especially created for the event.

The rest of the competitors are expected to filter in between now and tomorrow, bringing a close to the race for 2011.

To find out more about the event, and see Maurer's winning ride, check out the video below.


Red Bull X-Alps: Day 12 from Planetmountain.com on Vimeo.

This Speed-Riding Video Will Have You Holding Your Breath!

Speed-Riding is an interesting activity that combines both skiing and paragliding into one exhilarating experience. Usually, speed-riders start off by skiing down the side of a mountain and as they pick-up speed, they also start to catch big air. Eventually they'll leave the mountain behind altogether and go soaring through the air, before eventually returning to Earth, hopefully on their skis once again.

The video below, which comes our way via the Adventure Journal, does a good job of showing off the sport. Caught on helmet cam, the video starts out with a typical skier out for a downhill run. But eventually that skier runs out of snow, which is when things start to get a bit interesting. I couldn't help but hold my breath as I waited for him to gain some altitude, and I can't be the only one to watch this video and fear for the safety of those skis.



Speed Riding Chamonix 3 juillet 2011 GoPro HD 960

Paragliding Mozambique

I caught this beautiful video this morning while catching up on the National Geographic Adventure Blog. It is a wonderfully serene scene from Mozambique, where adventurers Gavin McClurg and Jody MacDonald became the first people to paraglide above the deserts there.

The duo discovered this place while on their five year long Best Odyssey that has seen them sailing the world while looking for the absolute best places to kiteboard, surf, paraglide, and sail. Their journeys have taken them to the ends of the Earth, but they have found some amazing places to enjoy the activities they love.

What more can you ask for?



The Dune Discovery- paragliding where no one has before from Offshore Odysseys on Vimeo.

Himalaya 2011: Paragliding From The Summit Of Everest

As I mentioned in my earlier post, it was another busy weekend on the world's tallest mountain. By some accounts, there could have been upwards in the neighborhood of 200 summits, although we'll have to wait for the dust to settle before we know for sure. One summit, and more importantly, one descent, is worth nothing however, as Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tshering Sherpa flew a tandem paraglider off the top of the mountain, and had what must have been one amazing ride.

Many mountaineers will tell you that while the climb to the summit is a grueling slog, the descent can be just as challenging. On the way down you're exhausted from so many hours at altitude, and the adrenaline rush has long since worn off. But Babu and Lakpa avoided all of that by launching their paraglider from the summit, and gliding back down the Khumbu Valley in style.

The pair didn't descend back to Everest Base Camp however. Instead, they kept on flying, covering more than 20km (12.4 miles) in total, before landing in Namche Bazaar. That means they not only eliminated the tough descent back to EBC, they also took away a couple of days on the trail trekking back down the valley as well. I'm sure there are plenty of other exhausted climbers who would love to have been able to take this express flight as well.

I'm hoping that one of the two men on the glider remembered to bring a helmet cam for what has to be some amazing footage of their descent. Gliding above the highest mountains in the world, then slowly making a descent over the course of 20km, must have been amazing. Having made the trek just from Base Camp back to Namche myself, and covering that ground in two days, I can appreciate this method of travel. While their friends are still packing up and preparing to head down the Khumbu, Babu and Lakpa are kicking it in a Namche teahouse, enjoying good food, and shooting pool in the local billiards parlor. (I don't even want to think about how they got those pool tables up there!)

This is a very cool story, and hopefully we'll at least get some more photos in the days ahead.

Speed Flying In Utah

We've seen videos of speed flying before, but it seems like they are always taking place in the Alps near Chamonix or something. Today we have new one, courtesy of the Adventure Journal, that was filmed on Mt. Superior in Utah on a spectacularly beautiful day on the slopes.

For those who don't know, Speed Flying is a combination of skiing and paragliding. Basically, as you're hurdling down the mountain on your skis, you can use the paraglider to help avoid some of the obstacles in your way, like a 400-foot drop off a cliff or something. The video gives you better examples of course, and it all looks like amazing fun.



Superior, Speed Fly from Marshall Miller on Vimeo.