Higher than ever before: Paragliders fly high above Hunza

Talk about their adrenaline-pumping experience and realising their dream.

ISLAMABAD:

Three paragliding pilots seemed to be as comfortable breaking the world record recently as lounging around in a quaint guesthouse here on Thursday. They flew to the vast and remote Hunza Valley, scaling peaks and glaciers as high as 7,000 metres above sea level, outdoing the previous record made by their friend and fellow paraglider, Bran Sander.

Horacio Llorens from Spain, Hernan Pitocco from Argentina and Tom De Dorlodot from Belgium sat down with The Express Tribune to share the human side of their journey to where no man has dared to go before. Traversing their journey, Firelight Productions has compiled a 90-minute documentary ‘Above Hunza’, to be released in six months time.

Depicting the strength of collective adventure, Tom, a seasoned pilot commented, “It was different this time because we were a team of good friends. Coming from three different countries and speaking three different languages every day. The first 10 days in Hunza were all about breaking the ice, getting to discover the place.”

Horacio reminisced over the trip in a similar vein, “I think it’s much better to go together, especially into the vastness. You can always rely on someone if something happens. We’re always on radio contact- if somebody gets low or tired, we can cheer him up.”

Hernan interjected, “Also you need a friend up there. You’ve seen so much that you need somebody to share it with. So yeah.”

When asked about any unfavourable incidents along the way, Tom said,” Well, we had an accident at the end of the trip, that we’d have been better to avoid. But it was just that- an accident. No big deal. Someone got hurt. We were travelling with a photographer from the National Geographic and another pilot when it (the paraglider) crashed and it took us a while to take it out of the mountain. Yet, it was big enough to be memorable, without any ground support. But it was an amazing trip and everything was perfect.”

He also talked about flying into the precarious and unfamiliar territory in extreme weather conditions -- wearing thick overalls and inhaling oxygen out of a contraption that could be rendered faulty at any moment, and there is no cellphone connection.

“It’s really impressive when you’re flying that high. In Europe, you’ll get as farther as 3,000-4,000 metres high peaks. But here you realise, that you’re like a small dot [in the universe].”

Describing the surreal images, Hernan commented, “You see the world from a different point of view [from up there].”

“Pakistan is a beautiful place and people who see the documentary will want to come here. I wish there were more paragliders here.”

All three held the people of Hunza in high regard for their kind hospitality. Their expedition was sponsored by Red Bull.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2011.