At the end of March 2011 I went to Nepal. The plan was to climb Mount Everest. At 8,848m it is the highest mountain in the world. Not only was I planning to summit the mountain but I was also aiming to become the first woman in the world to solo pilot a paraglider from the top.
On the 12th May 2011 at about 8.30am, after eleven and a half hours of climbing I stood on the top of the world!!
Sadly the conditions were too bad to even attempt to fly. (There were 60km/hr winds, it was -50'c and the visibility was poor). The following morning the conditions had improved but it was still quite windy. I attempted to fly from the South col, which is just under 8,000m. However, it was too windy and I couldn't launch the glider. Click the image on the right to see.
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Background
Why did I attempt to climb Mt Everest with the aim of becoming the first woman in the world to fly from the summit? There are a couple of answers; a long one and a short one...
If something isn’t an option, you don’t consider doing it. However, if something becomes an option, you start to wonder about the possibilities. And that is basically how this whole idea came about.
Everest was not an option.
And then one day....
….just 5 years ago I climbed my first mountain. I was 24. When I was 23 I hadn’t even considered climbing a big mountain, let alone Aconcagua, a 7000m peak in Argentina. It came about quite simply; my friends were off to climb it and I wanted to go, too. I had very little experience but I was reasonably fit and very determined.
I didn’t think too deeply about the trip afterwards, I just knew that I had really enjoyed the experience and was keen to do more of this mountain climbing malarkey. It wasn’t long before I was off again and this time the mountain I climbed was a bit bigger. And guess what? After this mountain came another, even bigger mountain and that’s when someone said to me, ‘You’ve climbed Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world? That qualifies you to climb Everest, doesn’t it? Are you going to?’
And all of a sudden Everest became an option.
The idea was in my head but I kept quiet about it. In fact for a while I continued to say to people who thought I might be interested in climbing the big one that it wasn’t really for me, I wasn’t particularly interested and, after all, even if I could get in physical shape to give it a go, how on earth would I organise the logistics or finance such a big expedition?
Anyway I was busy working on another plan that was taking up all of my free brain space. This next project was the combination of three separate dreams I’d had over the past ten years. I wanted to climb Mt Blanc, I wanted to ride a motorbike to the south of France and I wanted to fly from the top of a mountain on my paraglider. I realised I could do all three in one amazing trip – I could ride a motorbike from my home in the middle of England to the foot of Mt Blanc, I could then climb Mt Blanc with my paraglider on my back and, once at the top, leap from the summit and fly back down! This thought occurred to me in June 2009 and I was on my way just three months later. In October, having successfully completed the trip, I found out I was the first British woman to have flown from the summit of Mt Blanc. More importantly, I’d discovered that flying from the top of mountains was possible and also a most excellent way to get down!
The record meant that I got some media attention and I was invited to do an interview on BBC radio. The presenter said to me, ‘You know what my final question is going to be: What next? How do you top that?’ And I heard myself saying out loud for the first time, ‘Well, erm, I’d really like to climb Everest.’ And then I heard myself saying, ‘I’d love to be the first woman to fly off the top of Everest’.
It took me by surprise! Climbing Everest was an option and flying from the summit was an option too. I’d secretly thought it, but now I’d said it and that was it. I knew from that moment I had committed myself to this wonderful and wild plan.
As well as the practical reasons for this whole thing coming about, a huge part of why I went for it is down to who I am. I am the sum total, like everyone else, not only of genetics, but also of all the people who have influenced me and all the experiences I’ve had. But to go into all that would be part of ‘the really long answer’, not just ‘the long answer’!
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Well why not??
I’m not mad – honestly! I made the decision to commit to this almighty challenge based on the fact that I have the relevant experience and skills. I have enough knowledge in both Paragliding and Mountaineering to give this trip a reasonable go without taking unreasonable risks.
I learnt to paraglide in the summer of 2006 and have gained experience in all aspects of flying, including flying from the summits of high mountains. I have been fortunate enough to have flown with some of the best pilots in the world and am fully aware that I’d rather be on the ground wishing I was in the sky, than in the sky wishing I was on the ground. If the weather isn’t right, I simply won’t take off.
I began climbing big mountains two years before this, in 2004. In 2008 I summited Cho Oyu, which at 8,201m is the sixth highest mountain in the world and only 600m lower than Everest. Mountaineering isn’t just about physical endurance - it is equally as much about mental and emotional strength. I have never climbed as a solo climber; I climb as part of a team and some days I’m strong and my team depends on me and other days I’m weak and I rely on the people around me. I understand the importance of being honest about how you are feeling because it can be the difference between life and death. Personally, climbing mountains is about the expedition in its entirety. The summit is just the bonus.
Here is a summary of my climbs.
Mountaineering Background
Dec 2004 - Aconcagua, 6962m – Highest peak in the western hemisphere mountain. Summited.
July 2007 - Mustagata, 7546m - Reached 7,400m turned back due to bad weather. Snow boarded back down. Sept 2008 - Cho Oyu, 8,201m - 6th highest mountain in world (600m lower than Everest). Summited. Took my bum board to the top and became the world’s highest ever bum boarder!
April 2009 - Loubuche East, 6,145m. (Co-leader) Summited.
April 2009 - Everest Base Camp, 5,360m. (Co-leader)
July 2009 - Mt Rainier, 4,392m. Summited. (Co-leader)
Sept 2009 - Mt Blanc, 4,810m - Highest mountain in Europe. Summited. (Leader) Rode a motorbike from England to the foot of the mountain, climbed it and flew on my paraglider from the summit to become the first British Woman to fly from the top (officially recognised and recorded by the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom).
May 2011 – Mt Everest 8,850m – Highest mountain in the world. Summited!!!
Sept 2011- Cycled Lands End to John O Groats. Not quite a mountain, but a bike ride that’s 1024miles should not be underestimated.