We get dropped in Parwak, then have a 15 minute walk. We keep looking back, west, scanning the sky for any glimpse of a paraglider, but we see nothing. Turns out it was there, but too far away to see. In the picture of Freddy and Aftab walking Tirich 
Mir is in the distance, about 45 km west of us. We later learned that at that exact time Brad was close to Tirich Mir, and he took a picture looking east. It showed the valley, including Parwak, and, much too small to see, maybe even us.
We had a wonderful visit with Aftab’s relatives, including lunch in a golden leaved apple orchard. We met Aftab's grandfather and several other relatives. They made us feel welcome, and the orchard setting was peaceful and serene. We were there about 4 hours, and for the first 2 I kept checking the two-way radio to see if Brad was online. He wasn't, and after 2 hours my battery was dead anyway.
When it was time to go we got a ride with Muzafar and Jamila. As we promised, we stopped at the home of Afayat Khan. And again, we were shown great hospitality. We had tea in the courtyard,
with the traditional fruits, but also with some super delicious homemade bread and cheese. Afayat told us more of the story of Sonoghor, the village across the river. In June a rock slide destroyed a third of the village. We had heard about it, and we accepted his offer for a closer look. A 20-minute hike brought us to a hill overlooking the river and the village beyond.Unprecedented rains brought rockslides from the valley above Sonoghor. Countless tons of rocks spread as they reached the village, in one area leaving rocks and slurry tens of feet deep and two to three hundred feet wide, and in another area creating a gully over 100 feet wide and 60 feet deep where there had been none. It destroyed over 100 households and covered their fields. The villagers were experienced with rockslides, although nothing of this magnitude. (CLICK the picture to enlarge it and study the damage.)
When they heard the tell-tale sounds they fled to high ground, and not one person died. Seeing the destruction was a dramatic and memorable experience for us.By the way, while we were having tea Afayat was called to his house. He returned shortly to say it had been a call from Brad saying he was back at the hotel. He called so we wouldn't worry. I wasn't aware of having worried, however the news did give me a measurable sense of relief.Our drive home, on that road in the dark, was deliberate, but safe, and we arrived at our hotel about 9 – happy, but tired. Then we saw Etiene. “Did you talk to Brad yet?” he asked. Something about his voice, the look in his eye told me it was something good, and one thing immediately came to my mind.
Brad's big day: When Brad first saw Tirich Mir in May he was intimidated by it. But he learned a lot, overcame his fear, and since July he's wanted to circumnavigate it, that is, fly all the way around Tirich Mir. To do that, in fact to fly any circular route, requires flying against the wind part of the time. He hadn't actually made an attempt before, because when conditions were right to let him get enough altitude, the wind was too strong to fly directly into it. But this time all conditions were right. It was quite an accomplishment. At one point he reached 7300 meters, about 24,000 feet! Sounds unbelievable without oxygen, but his track log verifies it. He wasn’t that high for very long, but he was still way up for a long time. His flight was nearly 5 hours from launch to landing, and it took a lot of skill, a lot of commitment, a lot of work and constant in-flight planning.
Brad was the first person to fly a paraglider around Tirich Mir. Being a proud father allows me to say that again (and being an obnoxiously proud father demands that I say it again): BRAD IS THE FIRST PERSON IN THE WORLD TO HAVE FLOWN A PARAGLIDER AROUND TIRICH MIR.
But please read on. When Brad tells anyone about it he points out that he was probably the first person to TRY to make that flight. There are many high mountains in Pakistan, and not many paraglider pilots here. Brad found and publicized the launch site near Booni in June. He's tried to get pilots to come, but so far only three others have come.
Brad is thrilled to have successfully made the flight. It's a great personal accomplishment for him, however, especially since he's been flying less than five years. As far as knowledge and expertise he does not put himself in the same class the sizeable number of legitimate world class pilots. As for the extent of his passion for the sport, however, he's pretty darn committed. Please remember that this is my blog, uncensored by Brad or anyone else. Please don't hold Brad accountable for the ramblings of his father. Thank you.
Other than the one picture with Parwak in the distant background, none of Brad's pictures of his flight are included here. You can read about it in the 10/24 "9 Day Push" posting at his website: http://bradsander.blogspot.com/ where you can also find pictures, and you can see the video he took at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwa-DyKbsj0
This is being written in November, and I’ve had time to reflect. Parents know that sometimes our kids make us very proud, and sometimes they scare the hell out of us, and sometimes they do both at the same time. My reaction to this is the same as several years ago watching his video of him driving his motorcycle across Utah. Me: “How fast were you going?” Him: “145 miles an hour.” Me (after exhaling): “Jesus!” (pause) “That’s really cool!” (pause) “I hope you don’t ever do that again.” It was a relief to me when he sold that motorcycle and bought an old VW van: top speed about 60.
So now my concern is oxygen at high altitude - or rather the lack of oxygen at high altitudes. Brad has spent enough time above 16,000 feet that he feels he's become somewhat acclimated. He realizes it's something to consider, however, and he said he's looking into it. He has time, as he left Pakistan’s high mountains for the winter and won’t be back till April. Till then he’s in Nepal.
No comments:
Post a Comment