We've seen speedflying in multiple videos before, but usually it involves a skier floating down the mountain with a parasail attached to his or her back. In the case of this video, it appears that professional mountain biker Kilian Bron is taking the sport to the next level by speedflying on a mountain bike instead. He catches a lift from good friend Eliot Nochez, who helps him drift down the mountain, before eventually dropping him off on solid ground. In the process, it looks like a new adventure sport is born.
Showing posts with label Paragliding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paragliding. Show all posts
Video: Speedflying at Night in Chamonix
Speedflying (aka Speed Riding) is the combination of skiing and paragliding down a mountain. The combination of the two activities opens up opportunities for skiers to soar over sections of a mountain that would normally be impossible to shred, while safely dropping off big cliffs along the way. In the case of this video, the skier is Valentin Delluc, who decides to add 20 meters of LED lights to his parasail and make a night descent of the Bossons Glacier above Chamonix in France. As you would expect, the video is quite spectacular. Check it out below.
Video: Paragliding Over Broad Peak
A couple of weeks back I posted a story about how extreme paraglider Antoine Girard set a new record by launching from 6500 meters (21,325 ft) in the Karakoram and then caught some thermals that allowed him to soar high enough that he actually climbed up to the summit of Broad Peak. At the time, I mentioned that there was a GoPro video of the flight, but it hadn't been released yet. Now, we have that video, which you'll find below. As you would expect, the short but breathtaking video includes some great shots of the Karakoram as Antoine soars up above those massive mountains. This one was definitely worth the wait.
Extreme Paraglider Breaks 8000 Meter Mark in Pakistan
According to Brad Sander, an American adventure pilot living in Pakistan, Antione approached him a few weeks back inquiring about renting oxygen bottles for the flight. Sander called Girard's accomplishment "the flight of the century," while helping to fill in some of the details about how all of this came together.
Apparently, Antoine shoed up in Pakistan with a friend in tow. Unfortunately, that friend was part of the French military, so his entry visa was denied. This caused Girard to scramble his plans some, but he met up with some other paragliders in country that helped get him acclimated. After that, he took off for the Karakoram, where he spent three weeks exploring the area and making flights around the mountains there, including the 8126 meter (26,660 ft) Nanga Parbat.
Once he learned how the thermals in the area worked, and became accustomed to the weather conditions there, the Frenchman hatched a plan. Climbing up to the Baltoro Glacier, he camped for a couple of nights while he made his preparations. On July 23, he took flight, gliding over the famous Trango Tower on his way to Concordia, a place where few paragliders have ever flown before. From there, he could see Nanga Parbat, K2, and Broad Peak.
After he got the lay of the land, Antoine was ready to go for it. He climbed above 6500 meters (21,325 ft), then set off in his paraglider. Catching thermals he was able to rise higher and higher, eventually reaching the summit of Broad Peak itself, which sits at 8051 meters (26,414 ft). This makes him the first person to actually fly to the summit of an 8000 meter peak in this manner.
Antonie is currently in transit back to France, but we're told that he has GoPro footage of the flight. You can bet that we're eagerly waiting to see how that turns out. It should definitely be very interesting. In the mean time, you can read all about his adventure here.
Video: Paragliding with the Northern Lights
The Aurora Borealis (aka the Northern Lights) are one of the most spectacularly beautiful natural phenomenons in the world. Lighting up the night sky in a variety of colors, they are a humbling sight to behold, and what better way to experience them than from the seat of paraglider? That's exactly what pilot Horatio Llorens did when he traveled to Trømso, Norway recently, and his experience is captured in the video below. As you can imagine, it was quite a flight.
Video: Snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue Paramotors into the Alaskan Wilderness
Extreme mountain snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue is well known for going to great lengths to reach some of the most remote areas of the world. In this video, he shows that spirit once again as he and his team use paramotors to fly into the Alaskan wilderness to reach places that no one has ever snowboarded before. This is certainly a unique way to travel, and very different from taking a helicopter into the backcountry, which is the way many of these videos are shot. In the clip below, you'll fly along with Xavier and his crew through some beautiful landscapes before they drop off and snowboard down some incredibly steep slopes. It is an impressive display all around.
Video: Hiking and Flying in Norway
Hiking and paragliding in Norway sounds like a wonderful proposition, and this video makes it look amazing too. The two-minute clip provides some impressive shots of the landscape, which looks great from the ground, but even better from the air.
Hike and fly Liadalsnipa (3031 ft) // Norway from Marius Beck Dahle on Vimeo.
Video: Paragliding the Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway holds the distinction of being the highest paved international road in the entire world. It also provides access into one of the most remote and rugged places on the planet. In the video below, a trio of paragliders travels to this famous road, located in Northern Pakistan, to explore the mountains from the air, and set some new records in the process. The 41-minute short film provides an intriguing look at this part of the world, as well as some breathtaking footage that will leave you spellbound. Make some time to watch this. It is worth it.
KARAKORAM HIGHWAY from SEARCH Projects on Vimeo.
Video: Extreme Lives: Kingdom of the Clouds
Nearly 15 years ago a documentary on paragliding called Kingdom of the Clouds was released. It became one of the seminal works on the sport, telling the tale of two Brits, Rob Whittall and Bob Drury, who traveled to Nepal to fly over the Himalaya. The quality of the video below isn't especially good, but the excellent filmmaking shows through none the less. If you've got 40 minutes to spare, this is definitely worth your time. It is very well done, even if it is being shown at VHS quality levels.
Extreme Lives: Kingdom Of The Clouds [2000] from Kym Fielke on Vimeo.
Video: Everest Paragliders Get Mainstream Press On 'Nightline'
In the spring of 2011, Sanobabu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tshiri Sherpa captured the imagination of the climbing community with their astounding feat of climbing Everest and then paragliding off the summit. Their flight lasted 42 minutes and covered 15 miles, before landing in Namche Bazaar. Anyone who knows the Khumbu Valley realizes that that is a heck of a long way to glide and that the views must have been spectacular. Last night their story was told on the news program Nightline and the video from the show can be found below. It is always great to see someone from the world of adventure get some attention from the mainstream media. It just doesn't happen all that often, but this story was handled very well.
Thanks to my friends at Nat Geo Adventure for sharing.
Thanks to my friends at Nat Geo Adventure for sharing.
Video: Paragliding Over The Pioneer Mountains Of Idaho
The Pioneer Mountains in Sun Valley, Idaho is without a doubt a beautiful destination. But thanks to the video below you can get a view of the place that is unlike any other. It features some spectacular footage that was captured on a GoPro camera (Of course!) by paragliders sailing the skies above. Quite a nice way to take in the scenery.
The Higher You Get, The Higher You Get - shot on GoPro from Offshore Odysseys on Vimeo.
Video: Wingsuit Proximity Flights
We're overdue for a good wingsuit video and I came across this one this morning on YouTube. It features some great flying but more impressively, the wingsuit pilots are getting very close to some dangerous objects. There are all kinds of scenes of the person buzzing through trees, carving the side of a mountain or zipping between towers or other man-made structures. At 17-minutes in length its a little long, but considering how adrenaline inducing it is, you'll probably exhausted by the time you get to the end. This is a great compilation of some excellent wingsuit flights.
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.
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.
Exploring The Himalaya By Paraglider
When most of us think about Himalayan adventures, our minds conjure up images of mountaineers in their down suits struggling to summit 8000 meter peaks or even intrepid trekkers exploring mountain passes. But the Himalayan Odyssey team wanted to explore those iconic mountains in a different way, and from a very unique perspective.
The expedition got underway a few weeks back, with Brad Sander, Antoine Laurens, and Mike Laengle, setting out to explore over 700 miles of Himalayan territory, stretched out through India, Nepal, and Sikkim, not on foot, but on paraglider instead. The journey is expected to take approximately six weeks to complete, and with much of it being filmed and photographed along the way. The team is also joined by guest pilots along the way, adding new faces to the expedition for some of the segments.
A typical day for the Himalayan Odyssey crew is to get up and check the thermal air currents to see how they'll impact their daily travel. If all is well there, they'll climb up above 2000 meters and launch out into the open skies, riding those thermals and traveling from one valley to the next along their route. As the day whittles away, they'll scout the ground below for a good place to camp, only coming in for a landing when they've found a a good site to pitch their tents.
While exploring the Himalaya from a paraglider probably is its own reward, the team has other goals in mind as well. Besides having an adventure of a lifetime, they're also exploring the amazing Himalayan culture, while also working to raise awareness of the plight of the Himalayan Condor, a bird that is dying out at an alarming rate.
You can track the progress of the expedition on the website, and follow along on their Twitter account as well.
Thanks to Alan for the tip on this one!
New Extreme Sport: Skyaking!
The crazy gang over at Get Outdoors Go Blog posted this video earlier today and I thought it was fun and worth sharing here too. It's a little clip of some "extreme athletes", and I use the term loosely, parachuting out of a plane in a kayak. The free fall is kind of fun, but the landing is the best part. :)
Amazing Speed Riding Video!
I've posted a couple of speed riding videos in the past. It's the crazy adventure sport that combines skiing and paragliding into one activity, and then sends the participants now impossibly steeps mountain slopes. The video below has that and more, with skier Antoine Montant hurling down a mountain, sometimes on his skies and sometimes floating through the air. The views are spectacular, and you have to watch until the end for a wipeout and tumble that look pretty scary. Fortunately, he was okay, but still...
Thanks for the video Lou-Phi!
Thanks for the video Lou-Phi!
Bear Grylls Sets New Paragliding Altitude Record
The Telegraph has the lowdown on a new paragliding record set yesterday by Bear Grylls, as he soared over Mount Everest in a gas powered paraglider.
Grylls, who is also an Everest Summiter, took off from 11,600 feet from his base camp in Eastern Nepal. The flight lasted four hours, and he manged to climb to a height of 29,500 feet before turning back and returning to Earth in his paraglider that was powered by a small, four stroke, gas engine.
Gryllis smashed the old record for paragliding altitude by more than 10,000 feet. However, he vows that his days as a daredevil are over, saying this was the scariest thing that he has ever done, and that he just wanted to return to his wife and children. His record still needs to be verified by an independent source, but he feels confident that will stand. Besides, it's not like he beat the old record by a few feet or anything.
Thanks to The Piton for this one.