Pinnacle adventures

Summer 2011

2011-10-27T10:04:00.019Z

Ben, under power, flying towards Hayling Island

The Summer started off well with some glorious Easter sunshine. The field in front of our cottage was empty until they planted maize in it which sadly meant we could no longer use it as a take off field. We flew from other stubble fields and used a field near the coast near the village of Hambrook. The maize has recently been harvested which makes it possible for us to use for flying again! Here are some flying shots taken recently... Michel Carnet - Reigning World Champion

Michel Carnet - aboard his Nucleon Wing

Mark Morgan - local boy

Ben Clowes - flying low near Selsey / Witterings

Ben Clowes on Cloud 9

Ben Clowes flying over the groynes

Ben Clowes over Chichester Habour

Sunset flying in October flying over Wittering Beach - packed with people!

Somebody's private airstrip! Nice!

Spinaker Tower - Portsmouth (Sunset)

Our usual take-off field in front of the cottage... The maize has been freshly cut...

Venezuelan Paramotor Adventure

2010-12-17T14:58:00.005Z

Earlier this year in January, 2010, our friends / sponsors at Hewlett Packard sent us into the depths of Venezuela to test out their latest LTO tape drive. The marketing campaign has just been launched and you can see some of the things we got up to here in this short video. The quality is not great but it will give you an idea of the amazing flying we did up on the Gran Sabana. Michel Carnet (the Paramotor World Champion) came with us and it was WILD!

Flying the coast (Weymouth)

2010-06-29T10:14:00.021Z

On Friday 25th June, I took off from Pulborough, from my friend Seymore's farm, at 9am. I had chosen to fly the Bailey 175 for fuel economy and I thought that I might just make it to a field near Weymouth on 14ltrs (160kms away). There was a 'Fly-in' that had been organised by Ben de Candole and there were going to be many pilots there. After 140kms I landed to refuel at Winterbourne Kingston (only 22kms away from Weymouth). I managed to hitch a ride from a friendly lady (whom I met in Scats, the farm shop!) to get some fuel in Bere Regis and got back to find the exhaust bracket had snapped! So that was it for me, or so I thought! My lovely wife, Diana, picked me up and I drove like a demon back to Sussex to pick up my other machine (a TOP 80 miniplane). The weather was set to be perfect and I wanted to experience the coast.

Here are some photos I took the following day - you will see that the sea mist rolled in but this added to the atmosphere...

Flying the entire length of Chesil Beach only a couple of metres from the ground was a highlight for me. Waving at the fishermen and the children. Everyone was smiling! What a day!
We landed on the beach at the Abbotsbury end and had a beer! We thought about a swim but we were wondering how we were going to take off again as the pebbles were very hard to run on. We carried our gear to the nearby field and took off from there. Sadly our host, Ben de Candole, had problems with his motor so had to be retrieved later and he got back to the field when it was dark. (from l to r) Colin, Ben, Phil, Paul...

Paragliders flying the White Horse in Weymouth - the wind was light and not much flying was had for them!
Evan flying back towards the field from the coast. You can see where the exhaust bracket snapped on my machine which was the reason I was unable to take off again to finish the final leg of the journey to the field near Weymouth!

80,000 feet above Earth!

2010-06-19T20:32:00.000Z

Near Space Balloon Flight, shot with HD HERO cameras from GoPro from Kevin Macko on Vimeo.

I saw this and it blew me away! Check it out!

Flying in the Lost World

2010-03-24T18:05:00.010Z

If you do not already subscribe to PARAMOTOR MAG then perhaps now is the time to. Issue 18 will include our story of flying in the Lost World and it comes out next week! You can see a handful of photos in the Photo Gallery on the right hand side
(click on Venezuela)...

Enjoy!

Danny MacAskill

2010-03-05T13:54:00.000Z

Quite the most astounding clip I have ever seen... Enjoy...

Venezuelan Gran Sabana

2010-01-12T00:55:00.011Z

We are currently in the Gran Sabana in Venezuela. A wilderness of savanah flatlands and magical Tepuis rising high out of dense jungle. Michel Carnet, Ben and I are flying paramotors and it is wild - like something out of a glossy magasine! Yesterday, we flew 30km over dense jungle and past a small tepui called Chiri Cayen before landing in an indian settlement where the locals looked bewildered when we landed on their football pitch. It was a surreal experience! We carry SPOT gps positioning systems and satelite phones so that in the case of real emergency we can still be found. A local pilot told us how his friend went missing and was never found - he was swallowed by the jungle. It is a committing place when you fly over the jungle. We have been having fun on the flat lands testing our Italian miniplane paramotors and our Dudek Synthesis 34 wings. We fly in the early morning at sunrise and late in the afternoon when the conditions calm down. It is very hot. Internet connection is slow but here are some photos...

HP Extreme Testing

2009-12-31T22:32:00.004Z

I’m off with my brother Ben and world paramotor champion Michel Carnet to the Gran Sabana area of Venezuela. Humid rainforest meets wide open savannah along with huge flat-topped mountains called tepuis which were the inspiration behind Conan Doyle’s Lost World. We will spend three weeks out there and hope to have some spectacular flying whilst avoiding the notorious bushmaster snakes, bird eating tarantulas and blood sucking vampire bats.

We will attempt to update this blog via our satellite phone from time to time. Wish us luck!

Speed riding Ben Nevis...

2009-10-27T11:16:00.002Z

Now this looks like a lot of fun! Gordy and Terry certainly looked like they had fun! Nice video lads!

Speed Flying descent down the West face of Ben Nevis from Antigravity Acro Team on Vimeo.

Avebury Stone Rings

2009-10-22T13:57:00.012Z

There has been good high pressure for the last few days. We flew for an hour or so as the sun was setting on Monday 12th October and then on the following day we flew from Denmead in Hampshire all the way to the Stone Ring at Avebury and back which is about 200kms in total. My brother Ben and our friend, Mark Morgan, joined us for the flight. We flew up past Preston Candover before landing at Wadwick Farm where my friend, Rich, is a farmer and he promised us coffee if we popped in. The offer was too good to refuse and so, after an hour and a half of flying we swooped in to land in his stubble field and he met us in his tractor and coffee was served. He is building a house on his land and they were making good progress - we had a guided tour before taking off again, onwards towards the famous rings... We flew up the most beautiful valley low over the ridges, over Coombe Gibbit (one of the best xc sites in the south)... ...and on towards Hungerford where we then headed west along the A4 towards Marlborough where we could clearly see the high street and the golf course. From Marborough, we flew high over some race horse studs before reaching the rings at Avebury which were quite spectacular in this clear, autumnal weather. We turned around at this point and we knew we needed just one more stop for fuel before reaching our cars which were now 100kms away. We we on the lookout for a suitable fuel station. We were all flying Bailey 4-stroke machines and just needed a good field that would allow us an easy take off. We spotted a Texaco garage just outside Ibthorpe and landed in another stubble field above it on a hill. Perfect for taking off again as it sloped gently down into wind. The garage man looked at me in disbelief when I told him we had to get back to Denmead (nr. Portsmouth) before nightfall. Once we had taken off, I flew over the garage and gave him a wave! I think he then understood? It had been a grand day out and we landed as the sun was setting. We passed 3 balloons in the still evening air and got buzzed by a microlight heading for the Isle of Wight in the distance. It was a joy...

Coastal flying in September!

2009-09-29T11:21:00.009Z

The forecast was good and on 24th September, Ben and I took off from our local field near Denmead in Hampshire. The skies were blue with puffy clouds. It was looking good.

We gained height and flew over the outskirts of Portsmouth to Hayling Island, before dropping down low having jumped the gap to the Witterings.
This was quality flying! We had about 12 litres of fuel on board and flew the coast all the way to Littlehampton before following the railway line and river up to Arundel Castle and then Petworth. The wind had strengthened from the west and we changed our original plan which was to fly to Brighton to land at the Dyke. So we headed home following the 272 to Petersfield and Butser Hill where we saw three paragliders trying to soar on the west slope. We cruised by waving and after 3 hours, (110kms) landed back at our field, in time for tea at Mum's... nice...

(photos of orange ReAction are Ben's and the ones of the Synthesis are mine)

Flat batteries

2009-08-10T14:49:00.009Z

Sunday 9th August was a beautiful day. I took the family down to Barry’s field just outside Guildford where there is a lovely field. There is lots for the children to look at, chickens, ducks, tractors, aeroplanes, model gliders, paramotors etc…

We packed a picnic (and took the Paramotor down too!) I had not flown for a good 6 weeks so wanted to check whether I could still do it! The plan was to find a shady spot, set up camp for Diana, Sebastian and Daisy, and have a picnic. They then went for a lovely walk and I took off with a plan to fly to Petworth (about 30kms away) via Charter House School, Dunfold (a disused airfield where they film parts of Top Gear) and on to Petworth before flying back to Barry’s field. I took some photos of Charter House School but then realised when I was over Dunfold, that my camera was flat – I had forgotten to recharge the batteries. This was annoying and it was even more annoying when my GPS batteries ran out too! School boy error!

I was only about 5kms from Petworth (over a place called Kirdford) before I decided to turn back to be on the safe side. I had a map, but still, I felt lost without my GPS. I made a mental note to practice more without the use of a GPS in case my batteries run down again!

Back at the field, an hour and 15 minutes later, Diana was out walking with the buggy and I landed and watched this enormous scale radio controlled glider being towed up by a (model) tug! It was very impressive! It was an acrobatic glider and I watched it fly upside down performing stall turns, 4 point rolls and doing fast fly by’s over the field. These gliders don’t come cheap – I believe that one would set you back about £4,000! The tugs are cheaper at around £1,500 - so I am told? Another great day out. Sebastian loved pointing out the all the gliders... (one of his first words!) Glidor, glidor, glidor...!

Daisy Alice Clowes

2009-06-12T20:23:00.004Z

Daisy Alice Clowes was born at 7am on 10th June, 2009 at the Chelsea and Westminter hospital in London. She weighed in at 3.67kgs and we think that she is the most beautiful baby girl in the world! Of course we do! She is a couple of hours old in this photo. Sebastian also loves having a little sister!

Mummy is tired but well (no drugs except for gas and air!) We are all very proud.

Scottish inspirations...

2009-06-05T13:57:00.002Z

I came across this video on the web and have to share it with you... What can I say... inspirational stuff... Well done Paolo Bellezze and friends...

Love it!

Latin Highlands from Paolo Bellezze on Vimeo.

Summer flying

2009-06-01T14:34:00.004Z

What a lovely weekend - easterly winds 18kph plus... we were staying at Mum's and Ben came down on Sunday. I had 'snuck' the glider into the car in the hope of getting a little flying in before our number 2 baby is born (due 3rd June!!). On Sunday morning we managed a little flying at Mercury but the wind was quite strong and verging on the 'not fun' so we landed and went home to mow the lawn.

Later that evening, after supper, we went back up to the hill. The was no-one there except sheep and Ben and I had 30 minutes or so of soaring up and down the ridge before the sun went down. No model gliders getting in the way so it was possible to fly right down to the end of the ridge.

Good to get some airtime and all good for the soul!

(Thank you Ben for the photo)

Flying around London on a paramotor

2009-04-25T16:02:00.017Z

The email came through from Michel…. “You fancy trying again, with just a small group of us…?” This was another opportunity to try to fly the circumference of London. This was to be without support and a true vol biv adventure over 2 days. The group was Michel Carnet, Laura Turner, myself and my brother Ben. We met at Barry’s field, just outside Guildford and took off at about 5pm. We should have taken off much earlier. It was a beautiful day with light winds and a thermic sky. By this time the air was quite buoyant and the wind had swung around, now blowing from the south, which was good for us because just before Lasham, we headed north and made good ground. We dropped down to follow the Thames over Henley. Low evening flying over the river was QUALITY! Onwards skirting around the airspace at High Wycombe now heading East where we landed for fuel at the dis-used airstrip at Bovington. Ben and I ran down the hill for fuel – Michel and Laura laid out the machines ready for a quick take-off to squeeze in some more kilometres before dark. We tried asking some motorists for a lift back up to the airfield but they were all in a hurry (of course!) and I nearly got beaten up by the boyfriend of the girl I asked – he must have thought I was trying to crack on to her – unlikely as she looked like the back end of a bus! Anyway, we sweated our way back up the hill where Michel and Laura had laid out our gear ready for squeezing in some more kilometres before darkness.

We landed south of Potters Bar in the dark (just inside the legal time!) and slept out under the stars in our sleeping bags and bivi bags. We were tired having flown about 132kms. A big thank you to Andy who met us there with some refreshments and a little fuel. Andy flies locally nearby so knows the area well. Sadly we could not persuade him to join us for a drink in the pub which was conveniently near our chosen landing field.

Up the following morning at 4.30am to get ready. A couple of muesli bars, some water and we laid our wet wings out from the dew. There was nil wind. We had to run fast to take off. We were soon flying into the rising sun above the M25. (The above photo of myself and Ben was taken by Laura)

The world was waking up. Over Epping forest and Stapleford airspace before heading south to Damyns Hall aerodrome. We flew straight over the Thames by the Dartford Bridge and over Dartford. I was shivering with cold – why hadn’t I packed some warmer gear – and I needed a pee! I thought for a brief moment of just wetting myself as I was desperate and thought it might warm me up. Fortunately, I thought better of it and held on… trying to concentrate on the route ahead!

We were flying into a headwind, so we dropped down low leaving Swanley to our right and flew low over the golf courses in a lovely valley. This was fun. We then rejoined up with the M25 and spotted a van that had caught fire and about to explode I think – long traffic jams had jammed up behind and the Police were on the case. We were now flying back towards Guildford but we needed fuel so we landed at Clackett Lane Services and filled up. The wind had now strengthened and launching was easy – a few steps and we were off, flying once again low next to the North Downs – very scenic and a good end to another wonderful adventure, when we landed back at Barry’s field… (total distance flown: 264km) all upon our doorstep! I told you that we would be trying again soon!! We all took photos, and Ben filmed the whole thing, we want to organise a lecture later in the year for St Luke's Cancer Centre (Laura's charity). The venue will most likely be in the Guildford area.

Now we are just dreaming of the next vol biv adventure and I have some ideas!

Watch this space and see you in the air...!

Windy conditions

2009-04-20T20:48:00.004Z

We arrived on a very wet Friday night with the promise of a good forecast for the weekend and for our attempt at circumnavigating London. Saturday dawned bright but the north easterly wind was just a little too strong. A few pilots did take off but most landed near Reading ending their day there. For us and everyone else, we decided to stay put hoping for lighter winds later in the day. By 4pm we were still waiting on the field and by this time had decided to drive to Damyns Hall where we had been due to fly to that day in East London.

Some pilots flew that evening as the sun was setting. We met the locals in the cafe and had a good feed which they refused to charge us for (THANK YOU Gary, if you ever read this!). Michel gave a briefing that night and we decided to be up early and out first thing. It was calm when we woke and we quickly sorted our machines. Ben, Luke and I were first off out of all the pilots. The wind was strengthening and cloudbase was only 1000ft or so... We decided to go for it heading off towards the Thames crossing it near the Dartford Bridge in cloud! We headed over Dartford and then were over more open country thankfully, waving to the golfers on a course below us.

We rounded a turnpoint at Chevening Park before following the M25 south of the North Downs. We had been travelling at about 75km/hour (groundspeed) but now we were being hit by rotor and turbulent air as we were now in the lee of the Downs as the wind blew over them before hitting us. It was very bumpy and we saw one pilot (Simon Harding) land by Clackett Lane Services. We were crabbing side ways along and trying to fly back upwind required full bar. It was rough and we decided to land near Simon and call it a day. We had only flown 34kms but it had been an experience. By the time we got back to the car at Damyns, everyone else had given up and we got home at 6pm - tired but happy after a fun weekend. Only about 7 pilots had taken off that day - 2 reached goal at Guildford in rough conditions. For me, it was not fun and certainly not worth the risk.

We plan to attempt the flight again soon... in better weather!

Thank you to Michel Carnet who organised the whole event and to all the volunteers.

Fowey

2009-04-08T10:54:00.007Z

Just back from holiday and the weather was perfect for flying. Sadly I put my back out and spent most of the holiday on my back, in pain, unable to even pick up my 15 month old son Sebastian! It was sad! We were staying in a beautiful cottage just 2 miles from Fowey on the south coast. My brother Ben came down and flew along the coast a few times trying to tell me it was boring so I wouldn't feel too green with envy! He lied! Check his blog for photos if you want to be green too! (http://benclowes.blogspot.com/2009/04/coastal-flying-in-cornwall.html)

The most exciting news is that we are gonna join the paramotor rally where pilots are flying around London over 2 days. If you want to join us please check out this link. The event is open to all competent XC pilots. Ben and I plan to give a lecture afterwards in aid of St Luke's Cancer Center, showing film and photos from the flight. Venue and date TBC.

The start and finish points will be Homestead Farm, a small campsite near Guildford. One of the aims of the circumnavigation is to raise money for St Luke's Cancer Centre, just round the corner from the campsite.

The confirmed 264km route (which was finalised on 14th April) will be flown clockwise, with an overnight stay at Damyns Hall aerodrome where there will be an evening BBQ and full English breakfast.

There is no entry fee for the rally, but both Homestead Farm and Damyns Hall aerodrome will charge small fees for the use of their facilities.

Details can be seen at the following link...
http://docs.google.com/View?docid=d7v5wp7_8cb2f4ccd&pageview=1&hgd=1&hl=en

Michel Carnet is organising the event.

Let's hope for sunshine...

Cornwall

2009-03-26T16:05:00.002Z

The good news is that I collected my Bailey 175cc paramotor on Monday. It is fixed. One of the bearings had broken resulting in quite a bit of damage. This was what caused the vibrations at 1,500ft a few weeks back. Basically, the engine had to be rebuilt and the crankshaft was also replaced for a larger and stronger one (all under the guarantee) - Delighted with the service. These machines are continually undergoing development and improvements are being discovered all the time.

The winds are howling and it is raining but I am hoping to fly the Cornish cliffs next week so I shall keep you posted with some photos if flyable...

Remember that the clocks go forward this weekend so we can spend even more time outside! Roll on the summer...

Big Fat Repack

2009-03-23T15:45:00.003Z

On Sunday 22nd March I drove to Reading with Ben to learn how to repack our reserve parachutes at the Annual Thames Valley Club 'Big Fat Repack'. I was very impressed with the organisation and we both learnt a huge amount. The day started with a lecture which showed us not only the basics of repacking a reserve but also how important they are and that they are not just ballast we tend to carry around in our harnesses. They do save lives and we, as pilots, need to know how they work. If in doubt, throw it...

A zip line had been set up across the sports hall. We clipped in at the top and then pushed off. My reserve is mounted at the top of my harness and the handle is on my right shoulder. I threw it and by the time I had reached the bottom, there it was, billowing out reassuringly behind me. I was amazed to see how quickly they do open when packed properly. It gave me a lot of confidence. Ben followed down after me and he too had no problems.

We then set about repacking them in pairs. The manuals helped and it took about half an hour for each reserve - bearing in mind, this was our first time and our attention to detail was great as we did not want to get it wrong! We had some questions and there was someone on hand to help us which was great.

After lunch, we drove to Liddington (NW site) just off the M4 and had an hour of soaring in the late afternoon in quite strong winds. The end to a perfect and very useful day. I would encourage anyone who has not been to go next year. I shall be packing my reserve next time and I will consider attending the Big Fat Repack again...

Thank you to all involved.

mini out and return

2009-03-18T12:54:00.009Z

Tuesday, 17th March. Light easterlies and blue skies. It was perfect. I got to the site at Mercury at 11am. There were about 9 other paragliders and a couple of hangies there. The wind was about 10-12mph and several pilots were not launching but I felt it was all right. Lovely ridge soaring to begin with - the aero modellers were also out on the far end of the ridge. The thermals started kicking in around 12.30pm and I caught one up to 2000ft above the ridge and decided to see if I could reach Whitewool (about 3kms away) where I could see about 4 paragliders soaring. There was lift everywhere and I had plenty of height. There was not much room to go any further due to airspace restrictions from the solent airspace, so I headed back to Mercury on full bar. On my Gradient Aspen 2, I made it with plenty of height to spare. It was great. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing in the lift chasing the birds. It was a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday afternoon!

Bring on the summer...

Emergency landing

2009-03-03T15:47:00.003Z

Last Saturday saw another spring day and we were staying at our friends who have a farm near Andover in Hampshire. It was the perfect place with plenty of space to take off from (so I slipped the old 4-stroke machine in the car together with all the baby gear, cots, bags, food and push chair! Thankfully, Diana, my wife, is used to this game!)

That afternoon I took off in light winds and flew around the farm taking pictures before flying on towards Ibthorpe where they live in a thatched cottage. I was circling above this little village, taking more photos, when the engine started vibrating violently, all power and revs were lost and I was losing height! I was worried that part of the propellor had come off causing it to become unbalanced? So I cut the engine at 1500ft and drifted down to land conveniently by the cottage but unconveniently 6km from my car!

I studied the engine and nothing was visibly wrong. I am still not sure what the problem was as I still have to get it repaired but I suspect that it could be the bearings inside? I'll keep you posted. A great shame as it was a perfect evening with a red skies and silky smooth air...

Flying in wave

2009-02-23T10:38:00.004Z

Saturday 21st February was a beautiful day. I was down in Hampshire and the wind was from the west. I had been having some problems with starting my paramotor and the last few attempts to fly were thwarted by flat batteries and the machine just not starting. It turned out to be the ignition gap that needed adjusting and now, I am delighted to say that it starts immediately... everytime... and Saturday was no exception.

The wind was 6 or 7mph from the west. A reverse take-off and I was airborne in a few steps. I took some photos of the farm then flew on to take some more photos of a friends house and on towards Butser Hill on the south downs where the paragliders were trying to fly. The air was very bumpy and as I was flying on my own I had plugged my headphones into my vario so I could hear the lift (and sink!). I found that there were large localised areas of big lift and I was going up fast on idle. I then flew towards Droxford and flew into an area of huge sink - so much sink in fact that I thought I would have to land. I flew back towards the farm and managed to escape the sink before hitting another area of lift and once again, I was rocketing upwards on idle (flying in a straight line!). I later discovered this to be wave conditions. Michel Carnet had been flying down in Brighton the same day and had experienced exactly the same conditions. A first time for me. I was only up for an hour and a half but what a beautiful day...

Hope you were all having some fun outside somewhere...

Skiing to work in London!

2009-02-02T10:56:00.010Z

Last night I was up at 4am... I looked out of the window and there was a deep blanket of snow outside with large flakes falling! I have not seen this much snow since I was about 10 years old when we really did have cold winters! Gosh, that makes me sound old!

So... I dusted off my mountaineering skis, found an old set of skins and skied to work! It was quite funny to see the reaction of people! I thought that I would get snow balls thrown at me and that people would think what an idiot, but not at all; everyone was in a jolly mood and most said "hello" or "what a good idea" or "can I take your photo?" etc. etc... Makes a change from London town in general!

The highlight was skiing down Balham High Street, when the Halal butchers gave me a big cheer! I was surprised, as I have to say, I did feel a bit of an idiot and a little self conscious, at first... by the end I was used to the funny looks I was getting and was longing for some steep powder! No such luck in down town Balham!

But it was fun for a Monday morning! Battersea to Balham on skis... (Mostly flat except for Balham hill, which is sadly, only a 'green' run!) Di, Sebastian and Uncle Ben came up onto the Common to take some photos... Thank you Uncle Ben for the photos!

Winter Flying (9th January)

2009-01-10T10:12:00.010Z

Ben and I drove down through the mist from London to Hampshire. I doubted that we would be able to fly at all - the forecast had promised sun but here we were in thick mist in the car! We passed the South Downs by Butser Hill and the skies cleared in front of us... Great we thought, we may still be able to fly...

We quickly got set up in the field near Denmead. My motor started but Ben's was flat due to the cold possibly? I went up for a quick fly and then landed as it is always more fun flying together. I flicked over the propellor by hand and it sparked into life.... Yeeeehaaaaaaaaaa... We were in business and before long we were airbourne looking down on the clouds and the wintry land below us...

Happy New Year

2009-01-05T16:53:00.002Z

The New Year kicked off well with high pressure drifting down from Scotland giving us a few days of cold, clear and crisp weather with some sunshine. I managed to fly on New Year's Day and on the following day at Mercury in Hampshire, as the winds were from the East. What a wonderful way to see the New Year in!

Now back at work and this morning, we woke to snow in the streets and then intermittent snow all day with more forecast this week.

Little Sebastian (our son) is one year old on Friday and he started walking just before Christmas!

Let's hope for a happy 2009 and hope you are getting out and about wherever you are...

150k from Portsmouth to Dorset

2008-09-29T10:54:00.015Z

For some time, I have wanted to fly from my mother's house in Denmead, near Portsmouth, to Cattistock in Dorset, where my parents-in-law live. I needed a light easterly air flow to take me there on my 4-stroke engine and it needed to be a weekend preferably. Last week, the forecast looked perfect and on Saturday 26th September at 11.20am I took off from a damp field near Closewood House, where my mother lives. I needed to fly around the north of Winchester to avoid the Southampton airspace before heading SW towards Fordingbridge, Blandford Forum and then Cattistock.

The visibility was not great but it was just about acceptable. I spent much of the flight at 800 feet mainly because it was cold higher up and I hadn't put enough clothes on! It was a glorious morning - as I flew over Meonstoke, I saw (Za Rowe) a friend of Mum's waving, so I waved back but she didn't see me. Then I flew low, over a huge traffic jam just north of Winchester: I waved at the cars again. Onwards towards Fordingbridge and Blandford where I flew over my old school (Bryanston). That was the highlight; to remember the good old days! I headed on towards Catistock and flew over Milton Abbey which was indeed a striking sight - we used to play them at rugby and I have given some climbing lectures there in the past. I could see the Cerne Abbas Giant carved in a chalk hillside nearby - (meant to be lucky for fertility if one stands underneath it) - before flying over 'Easters' where Anne and Ross were waving. I did a couple of circuits and landed at a private airstrip which belongs to Chalmington Manor. Thank you to David Woodford who greeted me there with his wife. I had done it - Thank you also to my dear wife, Diana, who arrived with little Sebastian more or less at the same time. It had taken me 2 hours and 40 minutes and I had used only 7 litres of fuel on my Bailey 4-stroke 175. What a machine.

Himalayan bivi flying (Brad Sander)

2008-09-23T13:31:00.005Z

The Way Back from Brad Sander on Vimeo.

This style of flying rocks! Check out Brad Sander who flew from Hunza, bivouac-style to Mastuj. He was with John Silvester on his Ozone Addict 2, north ridge of Rakaposhi then with an eagle before landing at 4,100m in an amazing SE facing huge meadow. The next day he flew to Mastuj but ran out of tape!

Great video Brad - loved it... Keep it up...

70 miles in the clouds

2008-09-01T13:19:00.012Z

Ben and I took a day off last Friday 29th August. We had planned a round trip from Denmead. The forecast was good and it promised sunshine. Sadly we got no sunshine but low cloud instead - we decided to go for it as the winds were light...

I took off first and had not done my leg straps up tight enough so back round I came to land with my body shaped like a banana - try as I might, it was impossible to haul myself back into the seat whilst airborne. I was sweating so decided to land and try again. I needed a 10 minute break whilst I drank some water and let my body rest...

Take two and the wing came up crooked so I aborted... Ben helped lay my wing out again and by now I was exhausted... Third attempt and I had to dig deep to get it right. Bingo and I was airborne and in my seat. I circled waiting for Ben. Soon Ben came over the radio... "Yeeeeeehaaaa..." Petersfield here we come... We had programmed a route that would take us to Butser Hill, Midhurst, Petworth, Arundel and on to the coast before flying to Portsmouth and then home.

The cloud was low and at times we had to weave to avoid flying in the cloud at 1200ft. It was atmospheric. We flew over Buriton and the barn that Diana and I had had our wedding reception in - that was fun... we flew over large country houses with heli pads, swimming pools and tennis courts; over large forests and even some nodding donkeys drilling for oil, I presume, near Cocking.We soon circled over Petworth House and the deer park having flown over some polo fields at Cowdray I think, before then heading for Arundel. The clouds looked thick down there so we decided to alter course and head along the South Downs back to Butser Hill near Petersfield. We flew low over walkers and mountain bikers and waved to them all. We then saw a perfect stubble field on top of the Downs and decided to land much to the amusement of the walkers who came up facinated by our machines. We shared a sandwich and then took off again.

By the time we got back to Denmead my fuel level was almost zero - lucky we had decided to cut our route short. I had been in the air for about three and a half hours altogether and gone approximately 70 miles as the crow flies.

Another wonderful day amongst the clouds! All for less than a tank full!
Thank you to Ben and Jeremy, the farmer, of course!

Shining TOR

2008-08-26T09:06:00.002Z

It was another top Bank holiday... Diana, Sebastian and I travelled up to Hathersage in the Peak District to stay with Michael and Mary. On arrival there were a number of paraglider pilots flying (as I suspected there would be!) at Eyam Edge. We got up there and I was too ill to even get the glider out of the car! The forcast predicted it would be one of the best days for thermic flying this year! I was gutted but know I made the right choice not to fly as I felt light headed and weak! So we sat in field and had lunch while Sebastian crawled all over us!

That same morning Ben had been flying around the Spinaker Tower in Portsmouth on his motor which made me even more green with envy!

Anyway, that night, Ben drove up to see us in the Peaks and the following day, in the evening, we were rewarded with some blissful soaring at Shining Tor in the Peaks as the sun was dipping. I would recommend this area to anyone who has not been here - it is very near the Cat and Fiddle Inn on the road from Buxton to Macclesfield.

I must have been ill as I took no photos! Sorry!

Evening PPG flight

2008-07-29T15:45:00.012Z

We spent the weekend in the country at Closewood. I took the motor down on the off chance using my homemade carrier for the car which works extremely well. The weather was perfect and the conditions were clear. I took off from the local farm and had an hour or so flying around. There were a lot of light aircraft about and I waved to them. Lots of cricket was happening and I flew as far as Corhampton Golf course, over Hambledon, Droxford (photo below) and Lovedean before flying over Closewood (above photo) before landing. Ben then had a go on my machine as he still has to pick his up from repair. I could clearly see the sea and the whole of the Isle of Wight which is where we want to fly next. Bring it on! (Photos were all taken on my mobile phone)

Annecy with the boys...

2008-07-29T15:15:00.008Z

I have just returned from a 6 day break in Lake Annecy with the boys. A big thank you must go to my lovely wife for putting up with me and my love affair of flying - Diana opted to stay at home looking after Sebastian while we camped, swam and flew our socks off! Over all I got about nine hours of flying in all together. One flight lasting 3 hours and 54 minutes - my longest flight to date when I flew from the Col de Forclaz to the Dents de Lanfons and over the Lake. It was extremely thermic and I experienced 14ups and 16 downs! I also had the most monumental total collapse of my wing - the wing tips touched and at one moment I could see the wing below me; half the wing then inflated causing me to pendulum massively before the wing opened and started flying again! It happened very quickly and I strangely became more confident having experienced this and how my new wing recovered. I absolutely LOVE my new Aspen II and cannot rate it highly enough. Dave and Sam both decided to land having seen me drop like a stone.

Sam then had his own epic as he was being blown backwards by the strong valley winds towards the lake. He ended up landing in someone's garden narrowly skimming a large pine tree with his butt before swooping down and landing safely much to astonishment of the family having lunch on the grass nearby! Nice one Sam! That night he dreamt about being in a plane crash - funny that! We ate Tartiflette each night, croissants and grands cafe each morning and generally missed lunch because we were flying! This is what I imagine heaven to be like! When it came to finally coming home which came around far too quickly the bonus was seeing little Sebastian and of course Diana. Sebastian was waiting for me in a cardboard box! Pure joy!

Flying en route to Basse Ham 2008

2008-07-16T14:31:00.003Z

Vol Biv across rural France

2008-06-30T14:05:00.017Z

There was a large paramotor meet on 28th and 29th June before the French Nationals in North Eastern France in a place called Basse Ham. Michel Carnet was flying there from Dieppe and he asked both Ben and I to join him along with Laura Beaumont and John Caston. I consider myself still to be quite a paramotor 'rookie' having done plenty of paragliding but only having done about 8 flights on my paramotor. I was apprehensive, nervous yet very excited to be flying with such an experienced group. We all caught the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe on Wednesday night at 1am. After a broken sleep under the stairs on the floor of the ferry, Michel asked me whether I dreamt of jets? I said no and he said that I would tonight. I didn't understand what he meant? Karl Hinzer was the back up driver, himself a very accomplished pilot flying in excess of 300 hours a year - he was catching a ride as the back up van driver whilst planning to fly once in Basse Ham.

Thursday dawned a perfect day and once we had found a suitable field free of crop we unloaded and put our machines and gear together. It was about 9am by the time we were ready to take off and soon we were all airborne. John had mistakenly put his propellor on the wrong way round so I felt relieved that even the pro's make mistakes. We followed our maps and GPS's heading for Laon and then on towards Rethel. As the sun came up it got more and more thermic and we got bumped around a fair bit - we were still able to fly hands off with this reflex wing technology. Ben was nearly sick - he had to swallow down some vomit! Nice! We flew over many wind farms, canals, forests and flat fields full of crop. As we were flying during the week we did expect to see some low flying mirage jets. One actually flew straight through our group above Laura and below John and I. Michel just cried out... Yeeeeeeee haaaaaaa! It was a near miss and my pants were by now brown. Those were the only two jets we saw on the trip. I was starting to see what Michel had meant!

We checked our fuel levels using mirrors to see the tanks behind us. Laura was flying a 2-stroke and therefore did not have the economy that our 175 4-stroke Bailey machines had. We circled a fuel station and landed after about 3 hours. We refuelled, had some lunch, checked our oil and checked for loose nuts and bolts etc... The wind had got up and so we were forced to wait until it died later in the afternoon by about 5pm. We all took a siesta in the shade under a tree. Michel had a shower and motorists stared at us as if we were aliens with our strange looking flying machines. At 5pm, we took off again and now the air was smooth with the setting sun behind us. The air was fresh and clean. A micro light came up and buzzed us, we flew low over the barley fields and saw deer running through them. It was, as John Caston said, QUALITY. We flew over Laon which was a very pretty town. The sun was going down as we landed on a small airfield near Rethel. We joined up with some other French pilots also heading for Basse Ham and that evening we all had beer and pizza in the local pizzeria. Ben and I slept between our motors and fell asleep looking at the stars and dreaming of jets! It was the end to a perfect day having flown about 263 kilometres. On Friday, we took off a little too late as we only managed 30k or so until the strenghening wind forced us to land in a hay field. Ben had been forced to land earlier as his machine had stopped. It turned out to be the 'big end'.

I had a wedding to get back to on the Isle of Wight on Saturday so the journey for me was over. I caught a ride to the train station and was back in London by 7pm that night. Michel and John finished the journey to Basse Ham flying the last few kilometres late in the evening in less than perfect conditions. Ben borrowed my machine and flew over 3 different countries in one flight from Basse Ham on the Saturday - I was very envious but lucky to have been able to take two days off during the week. Thank you must go to my wife Diana who was at home looking after our son Sebastian. I am extremely lucky to have an understanding and beautiful wife!

South Downs under power...

2008-06-06T15:21:00.002Z

What can I say? Pure, unadulterated and blissful flying over the South Downs under power. The photo shows Ben with Brighton and the sea in the background...

Iñaki Ochoa de Olza

2008-05-28T10:38:00.010Z

It was in Namche Bazar in the year 2000 when I first met Iñaki. He strolled into the lodge and greeted us all with a huge smile. We were off to climb Ama Dablam and I have to say that it was definitely one of the most enjoyable expeditions of my life. From this time onwards, I kept in touch and saw him when I next came to Kathmandu in 2004. He was a man of extreme modesty and in Rum Doodles he always insisted on paying for his food even though, having climbed Everest, he was entitled to free food. I remember eating there with Ben and Joby and chatting away about life, filming, photography, climbing and, of course, the next expedition – we had had to turn around on Everest that year before the summit and Iñaki always said that if you want to climb it you will… there is no rush! He was always hugely encouraging and passionate and had dedicated his life 100% to the mountains and friends. His home in Pamplona was full of climbing books, prayer flags and photos. One particular photograph that stuck in my mind was him on top of K2. He even had an exercise chart that he filled out every day which showed how long, the type of exercise, how much altitude had been gained etc. He was undoubtedly the strongest and most ambitious climber I had ever met. He was very clever and spoke fluent English, French, Italian and Nepali. He had stories of meeting with the Maoists on the way back from climbing Makalu – he and Joby thought they were going to get robbed or hurt but they ended up sharing their food with them before they helped carry their gear and heavy ruck sacks off their land! He thought the Maoists were friendly as he was able to communicate with them. He always said that Kathmandu was like his second home!

My brother Ben had climbed Cho Oyu in 2001 with him also topping out with him and Bob Jen.

In 2005, Diana and I went to visit him in Pamplona and he asked me if I wanted to run with the bulls with him. The following morning I met with him at the beginning of the run where we bought newspapers to roll up and then sang…

“A San Fermín pedimos, por ser nuestro patrón, nos guíe en el encierro dándonos su bendición…”

I was terrified, but Iñaki was a true local and ran every year for each day of the fiesta, so it felt strangely safe to be doing it with him! As we waited, he told me that his leg had been trampled on the day before by a bull. After the bull run we went and had a drink in the square before he drove with us in his car down to the seaside with him to relax on the beach and swim in the sea. When we got back to Pamplona, Diana and I went and had a drink outside in the scorching heat while Iñaki went and rode 100kms on his bicycle. Another example of his complete and total dedication. This day will remain with me always.

He only occasionally drank the odd half glass of wine and coffee was usually an expresso - he couldn’t understand why people had to drink buckets of it. He was passionate about Bob Dylan being fascinated by his lyrics. Dylan wrote a song called ‘Not dark yet’, where the lyrics sing, ‘behind every beautiful thing, there is some kind of pain’. Iñaki found the Himalayas both beautiful and painful to climb! He was a romantic and always had time for his friends who were more meaningful to him than mountains. He loved children and when our son Sebastian was born he said that this was better news than climbing any mountain. The other thing he enjoyed was Monty Python and the Life of Brian. At Camp 3 on Ama Dablam he starting quoting from it laughing and singing, “every sperm is sacred!”

He then said in his wonderful Spanish accent, “You remember that one? I went to a very special English Academy!” In 2006, Ben and I once again found ourselves in Kathmandu. We checked into hotel Thamel. Iñaki was also staying here and it was always lovely to catch up before an expedition and then to meet up afterwards again. He was a world class mountaineer – we were just amateurs but this never mattered to him - he had time for everyone.

On 23rd May, 2008, Iñaki passed away suddenly whilst trying to climb Annapurna (8.091m) with friends. He had turned around very close to the summit. It is a devastating loss to us all who had the good fortune to know him.

Happy Birthday Iñaki (29th May). My heart goes out to all your family and friends. You are now in a better place at rest high above the mountains and clouds.

No te olvidaremos…

Flying at the Blorenge

2008-05-08T15:01:00.010Z

The weather looked ideal... Ben and I took the day off and at 6am we set off hoping to fly Pandy - in Wales. It took us about 3 hours to get there and to our dismay, when we arrived, we noticed in the site guide that Pandy was closed throughout May due to cattle grazing! DOH! We were not happy! So, we drove to the Blorenge where we met up with a couple of other pilots, including Steve from Axis Paragliding who had been doing some tandem flights. At first the wind was light so our flights were not long but the wind increased and I took off and was immediately catapulted skywards on my new Aspen II. It felt so crisp and precise. It tends to pitch back upon entering the thermals but I can get used to this.
I followed a kite in a thermal and soon found myself over the back of the hill. It was getting late so I decided to run for the car which was parked at the twin aerials. I landed just short in the ever increasing wind strength but happy with an hour or so of flying in the fresh air. Ben sadly snagged a brake line on a rock and broke it upon launching so not such a good day for him. A long way to go but if you don't try you will never know what sort of day it could have been!I enjoyed playing with my new GPS connected to my vario and was impressed by the way it can tell me the wind direction in degrees. Very useful indeed. Still a lot more to learn but hoping for some XC flying sometime soon. Got back in time to put little Sebastian to bed and to relieve Diana. Thank you for letting me go! This is where I landed, amongst the springy heather not far from the car!

Wingsuit video

2008-04-30T15:33:00.002Z

Check out this wingsuit video which shows how low they can fly. The mountaineers are even waving at him! Nice...

Adrenalin Hunters via Zapiks

Flying on the Isle of Wight

2008-04-30T10:06:00.002Z

We have just returned from the Isle of Wight where we spent a long weekend staying in a beautiful thatched cottage in Afton (West of the Island - near Freshwater) It felt as if we were abroad somewhere and although it was just a long weekend, it felt like a proper break from the 'smoke'.

Before we left, I had joined up with the local paragliding club on the Island as an associate member. I met John Bentley (Treasurer) and he gave me a site guide and on Saturday, the weather was on our side and we managed to fly all day at Limerstone Down. A perfect site with wonderful views over the entire island with a soft grassy take off. The sun shone and I notched up another 3 hours or so on the Aspen II glider. A lovely 'machine'. Now all I have to do is decide whether or not to buy it!?

Diana managed to go riding with the local stables and so came back smiling too on the Monday morning while I looked after our little Sebastian! Now I am back at work watching the rain pour down the windows - at least its not flyable!

The good news is that I am hoping to pick up my mended paramotor from Paul's workshop on Friday?

A Bad Day!

2008-04-16T10:02:00.003Z

The day did not start well on 15th April. There must have been something in the air? At 7am, I loaded the car with toys; the paraglider and the paramotor. It was rammed full, so much so that Ben had to travel in a separate car. Diana was visiting a friend on the Isle of Wight with little Sebastian. On loading the car I noticed that something was different... all my CD's were gone? I then realised that some bastard had found the car to be unlocked (I was sure I had locked it?) and 'hoovered' everything up! I was not happy. Then on the way down to the Dyke I took the wrong turn and got lost! On reaching for my new road atlas I realised that the thief had also 'hoovered' this up too! The sun was out and it surely could get no worse?

We drove to the Dyke, winds were light but it was going to be thermic for sure. I noticed a single magpie flying across the slope - another unlucky sign! There were already a few pilots there waiting. We thought we would drive to the field and have a short flight on the motors. Having set everything up and done all the preflight checks, I pressed the START button and discovered that the battery on my machine was flat so it would not start! Ben had a short flight which was a good thing. We saw gliders getting serious height above the Dyke so rushed over there to try our luck. Just as we arrived the sea breeze kicked in and killed all lift by which time I had only managed some ground handling and a 2 minute flight. We packed up and went back to the field by which time Michel Carnet had arrived to show us how to start the machine with his hand. A good thing to know how to do in case one lands out! He had a flight and suggested I go for a long one to charge the battery up.

I put the harness on where Michel had landed, I was some way from the wind sock and Ben was infront of me. No problem, I thought, I can do this. The wind was quite fresh but definately flyable. The wing came up fast and I walked towards it as it came up. I then pulled the brakes forgetting I was on a reflex wing as I had been previously on the Dyke with my paraglider. Reflex wings do not tend to over shoot like paragliding wings. So, by pulling on the brakes I caused the wing to come back down causing me to be pulled off balance slightly - I increased throttle, took off, touched down again being blown 90 degrees to the wind. I should have aborted but instead kept persevering. I should have stopped the engine but as the battery was flat I suppose I did not want to in case it wouldn't start again? By this stage I was travelling fast being pulled downwind with the engine still going. Huge mistake. I hit the ground fast and did a huge headplant. It all happened so fast.

Fortunately I was wearing a helmet!
Fortunately the propellor hit the cage causing it to stop as I hit the deck!
Unfortunately the propellor is gashed - I need a new one!
Unfortunately the cage is now a jumbled mess and totally written off - I need a new one!
Fortunately I was not hurt and walked away from this!
Fortunately Paul Bailey has said he can repair it fairly quickly!
Unfortunately it will cost me an 'arm and a leg'! Fortunately not literally!

All in all, not a good day for me. I even forgot my packed lunch and had to share with Ben.
But some important lessons learnt and it will all be the same in 100 years. Toys can be repaired and it it all just materialistic so not at all important!

I couldn't bring myself to take a photo of the stricken engine, Ben took the one below once we had dismantled it - I could hardly bring myself to look at the damage! I know Paul will do a fine repair - his skills are immense.
Thank you Ben and Michel for support on the field - I'll be back!

Flying over Hogs Back - Guildford

2008-04-05T08:01:00.002Z

3rd April and I went to collect my engine. I met Ben and Laura at Barry's field and we had fun flying low along the A31 waving to the cars! Spring is definately on the way as I did not have to wear gloves.

Day off at Coombe Gibbet

2008-03-18T17:47:00.006Z

Once again, Ben and I 'bunked off' work and drove down to Wiltshire. The forecast was good and we hoped to get some airtime in. The wind was northerly and so we headed for Coombe arriving at 8.45am. There was already one yellow glider in the air. It appeared to be quite windy but in the winter, the winds always appear stronger - its the cold. I had my winter suit, plus 3 other layers. I had been longing for this moment to try the Aspen 2. Due to the strongish wind, I opted to launch a little further down the slope. I popped it up and was lifted into the air immediately. The wing was noticably faster than my old Topas and so responsive. I headed west over the trees to the end of the ridge. There were some punchy spring thermals around. Ben launched 20 minutes later to join me. Soon we were flying with the kites - this was the life. I tried out big ears and the speed system and the acceleration was easy. The air in parts was a little rough but I felt confident on the wing - I did have a small frontal collapse but it popped out at once.

I landed after 2 hours as someone had had an accident when he tried to top land. It turns out that he stalled the wing trying to top land. From the air, I heard him call for help on the ground before others ran to help him. The helicopter air ambulance arrived straight away. I think the pilot broke his arm quite badly which was a great shame. Ben and I had to get back to London after this as Ben had an evening meeting.

Another great day of flying... It was good to get back home to Di and of course little Sebastian too!

The calm before the storm

2008-03-11T12:53:00.003Z

For the last few weeks I have been gagging to fly my demo glider (Gradient Aspen 2) that Richard Westgate has lent me to try. On Sunday 9th March, Ben and I got up early and drove to Butser Hill, not far from Closewood. We got there at 9am and between us we managed lots of ground handling and about 20 minutes of flying between us on Butser's West facing slope. By 11am the wind was blown out. There were no other pilots there!

I loved the feel of the Aspen 2 on the ground - I found it very responsive and it flew a lot faster than my ancient Gradient Topas which I have had for about 10 years. I want to try it again in better conditions and ideally, I'd like to do some thermalling before I buy it but so far, it's looking good for the summer.

The weather is windy and rainy here in London which we hope will pass quickly by...!

Flying over Butser

2008-02-18T12:15:00.011Z

Sunday 17th February, dawned a perfect day for some paramotoring practice! That morning, Di, Sebastian and I went for a lovely walk around Sheepwash Lane and around Denmead Golf course and into Creech woods. Cold, frosty and crisp with ice on the ponds. We just needed permission to take off from a local field...
While I was out, Ben spoke to the local farmer and he very kindly allowed us to take off from the field infront of his house near Denmead. I fluffed my first take-off, Ben then took off and flew for half an hour or so while I was trying to work out where the wind was coming from - it was so light and the sock was all over the place. Eventually I was airbourne, narrowly missing a large oak tree! I wriggled into my seat and soon was flying with Ben trying to break through the inversion layer. I had stupidly forgotten my radio so we had no radio contact at all but we had a basic flight plan... I had always wanted to fly over Closewood House, before we knew it, Ben and I were flying above the pig farm next to Closewood and surrounding area - what pure joy!
10 miles away, I could see the Radio mast on top of Butser... so, I put my Dudek ReAction wing onto fast trimmers and pointed that way... following the familiar roads, cutting corners where I could... Flew over the Warrens - did not look like they were home, past Catherington (where we used to tobbogan when we were small) over Clanfield and on to Butser. The wind was stronger up here and I was on full speed bar checking my ground speed. I saw them walking dogs and stopping to look up at me in this strange flying contraption! What a feeling! Something I have wanted to do for a long long time.
By the time I had returned to the farm, still airbourne, Ben had landed as he was cold - he was laying his wing out a second time and I watched him take off again from the air. I saw him head off towards Droxford so I followed and we flew together for a while, over the Griffiths' house where they were playing tennis! I wonder if they saw us? Over Hambledon and the church where we got married, on to Droxford over the Slaters' and then over the fields until we were over the Wilson-Youngs! The sun was setting in the distance, the engine was purring and we were LOVING this! Our first XC on a paramotor. My winter flying suit kept me warm but I could have done with some warmer gloves. My fingers are prone to the cold having previously had frostbite before in several finger tips.

Ben flies a lot slower than me due to his wing (APCO Karma) and he was making slow headway but I flew back over Creech woods to the golf course where we had walked that morning then did a low pass over Closewood again before flying back to the farmer's field. Ben landed first and then I came in rather fast; frighteningly fast actually. I turned to avoid Ben and ended up doing a downwind landing... luckily the ground was soft and I got away with it but I did fall flat on my face! I was more worried about my new machine!! What a day. Ben came over with a massive grin on his face... "I can't believe you forgot your radio" he said! I had been airbourne for about two and a half hours and only used 7 litres of fuel! These Bailey 4-strokes really do just 'sip' fuel!

Thanks to brother Ben who had remembered his camera up there! Great shots!! Thank you also, VERY MUCH, to the extremely kind farmer! You know who you are! No names on the internet in case you get inundated with noise and other pilots choosing to land in your lovely field! And, Thank you to my lovely wife Diana, who was waiting patiently at home with Sebastian - next time we will try not to be so long!!!!

Sebastian climbs Butser!

2008-02-11T15:58:00.000Z

What a wonderful weekend we have just had! Cold, crisp and sunny - Just how we like it!

On Saturday, Di and I took Sebastian to Butser Hill in Hampshire. This is where I flew my radio controlled model gliders years ago with my father and these days, when the winds are northerly, I now fly my paraglider here. I love this place as I have happy memories here. Sebastian loved it and he climbed to the Trig Point! He could see for miles although it was cold and crisp.

On Sunday, I went down to Devils Dyke on the South Downs and had a lovely and smooth evening flight as the sun was setting in the west over the sea. The skies were red and it was special. I got back in time to feed Sebastian before putting him to bed. What a great end to a very memorable weekend. Roll on the Spring!

January 2008

2008-01-17T16:33:00.000Z

It's been a while since I posted anything here. We have been busy with more important things like BABIES!!! On 9th January, Diana gave birth to the most hansom baby in the world! Of course, we would say that! He is called Sebastian Peter Clowes. More photos at http://www.dianaclowes.blogspot.com/. Here is a photo:

On another note, the weather has been awful - just as well really as we have been busy with nappies etc! We are off to the country this weekend but I doubt it will be flyable. Richard Westgate has sent me a DEMO paraglider to try out. It is the Gradient Aspen II. I am VERY excited about this as I hope to continue my flying addiction this year. Here is a photo of this cross country machine:

I shall be using my harness which is not a racing harness like this one shown. But it does have a foot styrup so... Roll on the summer! The days are already getting longer and before we know it the flying season will be back with us... Sebastian has already wispered to me that he can't wait to learn to fly!!

Free flying at Devil's Dyke

2007-11-13T10:55:00.000Z

Ben and I took a day off on Monday as the winds were from the north blowing straight onto Devil's Dyke down on the South Downs. My mouth was watering; as we got closer we could see about 3 gliders flying and when we arrived we got the gear out and prepared to launch. It was crisp and cold and I put my salopettes on with a warm pair of climbing gloves, a thick fleece and a goretex jacket. Ben launched before me and then I launched. The lift was scratchy to start with but then as the sun warmed the slopes a little a few thermals appeared which were fun to play in. I went all the way to the power lines but did not have quite enough height to spare to cross over them... next time!!! It was quite busy with about 30 pilots there. If only all Mondays could be like this...

First flight on the 4 stroke!

2007-10-09T16:44:00.000Z

We spent the morning on the South Downs at the farm just down from Devils Dyke adjusting Ben's new machine and putting it together. The wind was not in the perfect direction so we got used to ground handling with the heavy engines on our backs which felt quite strange considering we were used to free flying carrying no weight whatsoever. The other difference was of course holding the throttle in our left hands. It was only possible to ground handle for about 10 minutes at a time. The machines weigh about 33kgs and it is quite hard work.

The wind swung round and we moved to a different corner of the huge field. Michel asked me if I felt ready to try launching - "you bet" I said... My mouth was dry with nervous energy. I chose to do a reverse launch as there was enough wind. Laura Beaumont (Female British No 1 pilot) helped me lay out my new wing (Reflex Reaction TST Dudek) which rose smoothly upwards. I turned and Michel gave the thumbs up. I ran and increased my throttle. I was soon in the air turning gently to the right due to the torque. I gained height and then reduced speed to allow me to turn left against the torque using weight shift as well. I flew over the A27 and looked down on the cars, horses, joggers and was able to see far down the South Downs. There was even a hot air balloon in the distance too. I was only up for 45 minutes or so. I only had a little fuel in the tank but what an amazing feeling. I did not want to land. The ReAction flies much faster than my usual paragliding wing yet feels so much more stable. Coming in to land was speedier than I was used to. I gently bled off the speed before flaring at the last minute - touching down nicely and under control. I had a big smile on my face! I love this new sport!
Taking off for the first time!
Michel's new toy was a Bailey trike. He has been lent an Ozone Viper wing for record attempts. It looks like a lot of fun and not so taxing on your back because the wheels take the strain. He was demonstrating down wind landings and some spectacular low flying at speed!

Flying at Pandy - South Wales

2007-10-08T16:44:00.000Z

The forecast promised us sunshine and light East North Easterly winds and so Ben and I got up at 6.30am and drove to Pandy in South Wales. It turned out to be cloudy and overcast! We wondered if it would prove to be a wasted trip! When we arrived, we met another pilot called Robert. He showed us where to park just down from the farm in a field. We were the second car to arrive. We then took our gliders up to the high take off and took off just past the trig point. Ben took off after me and we flew 6kms down the ridge to the quarry. It was delightful. The mist was still in the valleys and we had the entire ridge to ourselves. Robert and Ben were the only other two gliders in the air at this time. We flew for over an hour before heading back to the trig point.

We lost considerable height coming round the corner to the trig point and were forced to land in the bottom field. It was a tiring walk back up and by the time we reached the top, the sky had darkened and was full of gliders.

We had a number of other flights and left having well and truely had our fix!! Next time we shall return in the sunshine and hope to make it all the way to Hay Bluff at the end of the ridge (another 6kms down the ridge).

I took my Nikon D200 up with me with a large lens. It was interesting hanging out of my harness trying to get the best shots of Ben on his red APCO Karma glider. It was a shame that the skies were not a deep blue!

New Bailey 4 stroke paramotor!

2007-10-01T20:08:00.000Z

I am now the proud owner of a Bailey 4 stroke 175cc. paramotor! Di gave me the day off to go down to go and fly the new machine on Saturday 29th September. Michel Carnet, aka Mitch, (who has just returned from the World PPG Championships in China with a Bronze medal!) was on hand to test fly my shiny engine! He fitted the reserve and we checked everything before going up to the field just below Devil's Dyke on the South Downs. There was nil wind when Michel took off. The air was damp and when Michel landed he advised that I come back another day when the conditions were better. I could hardly contain my disappointment. I am now dreaming of the next available day to actually get into the air myself. Watch this space!

Tow launching - September 07

2007-09-05T15:39:00.000Z

Ben and I took the day off on Tuesday 4th September as we had booked a tow conversion course up in Derbyshire at Airways Air Sports. We left London at 6am; the forecast was good and we had high hopes to complete the required 10 launches needed for our tow conversion 'ticket'.

We met up with Shelley in the morning who took us through our 20 minute brief about the winch, the call signs (Take up slack, Stand-by and ALL OUT) and the various safety points to be aware of.

Andy met us at the launch at the other end of the field. Before the first launch he told us to RLF... (RUN LIKE F$*K!) We started by just doing a 40ft flight before moving onto high circuits from the top of the winch line. By 2pm we had done about 5 successful launches. On my third launch my Topas did not respond well to some input and Andy became worried that I was going to enter a flat spin before hitting the deck! Luckily Dave on the winch slowed it down and I landed safely but things can happen so quickly near to the ground. I borrowed an Ozone Mojo from the school and continued on that to be safe!

The wind had swung round to become westerly and there were a few novice pilots there also using the winch. Dave moved the winch but of course now we were only using half the field so we could not get the height we needed to continue our 5 remaining circuits. Andy said that we would need one more day and suggested coming back tomorrow. The forecast was again good but when we arrived the following day at 9am it was blowing hard and quite misty. We waited until midday, Andy had a go on the winch but it was sadly too windy for us to be constructive. We drove home and now look forward to the next available day to complete our tow conversion.

Judy Leden and Chris Dawes run the school up there and I cannot rate it highly enough. Everyone is friendly and we shall be back soon for sure!

This bottom photo shows the home made winch - the engine of which was a Citroen 4 stroke beauty complete with parasol and Dave, the operator!

Peak District - Eyam Edge

2007-08-12T20:41:00.000Z

We have just spent the weekend up in Hathersage in the Peak District. Ben and Mum came up with us and we stayed at Carrhead Farm. It was Ben's birthday on the 12th August and on Saturday we had some glorious flying at Eyam Edge next to Great Hucklow Gliding Club (where Dad took us back in 1980 to go gliding!) Ben and I flew for an hour or so together before landing for a drink at the pub. Some flew to Stanage and beyond. Another top weekend! Ben is on the red APCO on the right and I am on my trusty blue Gradient (Topas). Diana took the photo!

Paragliding in Annecy - July 07

2007-07-27T20:52:00.000Z

We are staying in a small village called Talloires right by Lake Annecy. The weather has been changable and we had a lot of rain at first but then the sun arrived and the flying became good. Have a look at some of the photos I took today on my way up to base above the 'Dents de Lanfon'. A fantastic day of superb flying and views...

Di drove me up to the take off at Plan Fait (next to the Foret de l'Aventure) and it was 3pm by the time I had done my checks and taken off into the bouyant air. Most of the gliders were slope soaring infront of take-off but I decided to go in search of thermals around the back. I followed another Gradient glider and was losing height above the trees flying towards Les Dents de Lanfon. Suddenly my vario started to scream at me and soon I was flying with the big boys up at cloud base - I was nervous to fly into the cloud as the suck underneath it was quite powerful! I had a couple of large collapses but they popped out as soon as I heard the rustle! It was lovely flying and the air was cool at altitude with lovely views of the lake.

(The first time I took off here, I was with Sam and Dave. Sam did a perfect forward launch take off first when there was nil wind. I then took off but sat back in my harness too early and the glider lost flying speed and I dropped out of the sky and landed in the top of a tree just before the cliff edge. My canopy over took me and I spent the next 2 hours untangling it from the trees with Dave. Thanks Dave! I won't do that again! I was lucky and learnt an important lesson)

I landed a couple of hours later. The wind had picked up on the landing site. As I still had quite a bit of height I flew over the lake and back towards the hotel so I could get an aerial photo of Le Cottage - where we were staying. Our hotel is the one with the pool shown below...

A couple of days before we took off at the Col de la Forclaz which was exciting. It was a busy take off and the thing to do was prepare your glider to the side, bundle it up and wait for your turn. When I first came to Annecy nearly nine years ago I was too frightened to take off here as I had only just qualified. I felt much more confident this time. I thermalled up above the trees to the right hand side of take off and flew along the length of the ridge for 3 hours. I landed down by the landing field below Plan Fait near to the paragliding shop. Another wonderful day of flying. I LOVE this sport...

Dave and his son Sam were in Chamonix flying at Plaine Joux for the first 3 days. We went over to join them on the second day and had a lovely flight infront of Mont Blanc. It became very windy in the afternoon so we watched the competition pilots flying at the festival of flight which was inspiring. Their gliders fly so much faster.

Evenings were beautiful as the sun went down - gliders could still be seen in the air thermalling at 7.30pm! Talloires is a peaceful place and we shall definately be coming here again.

We ended the day with a swim in the lake and then we had supper at the hotel as the sun went down. The end to a perfect day!

Di loved the swimming and said that swimming in the Lake was like swimming in Evian! Her 'bump' seemed to grow in the cool waters!

Swimming in Snowdonia 1-7-07

2007-07-02T20:14:00.000Z

Diana and I went to Snowdonia and stayed at our favourite hotel - the Pen-y-Gwryd. The forecast was for torrential rain but we decided to ignore the forecast. As usual, the car was brimming with climbing gear and of course, the paraglider. None of it left the boot of the car as it did not stop raining!

On Saturday morning, we met our great friend, Ian Wilson-Young (Rock Jock). He works in Hamburg and was over for the weekend. He had slept in his car on the Friday night as he had arrived late. We met him the next day in Pete's Eats and then went and bumbled around the gear shops in Llanberis - it was far too wet for anything else. We then decided to go skinny dipping in the tarn behind the hotel which was hilarious.

That night we all ate and drank far too much and played about 10 games of ping pong. The rain that night was so torrential that our room sprung a leak in the ceiling. Luckily it was not over the bed so we did not bother to move rooms - it just added to the atmosphere of the place.

Paragliding in the Nevada Desert

2007-06-19T23:28:00.000Z

Ben and I are currently staying in Las Vegas, where we are giving a keynote presentation on 20th June, 2007, with Dave Roberson (Senior Vice President) at a major annual Hewlett Packard conference where there are expected to be 2000 people in the audience. We are also speaking to journalists about the testing we did for HP on Everest back in 2006. Sound like a gruelling schedule? No, not at all; not until we heard that there were some small hills just outside the city!

We decided to take our paragliders out with us in case we got the chance to fly. Local pilot, Carl Appelin, was extremely kind in offering to show us the local site at Jean Ridge (about half an hour from the City). Carl picked us up from the Mandalay Bay Hotel in his HUGE pickup. We reached the site at about 6pm in searingly hot temperatures - about 100 degrees. The winds were SW and it was possible to soar. We had 40 minutes of delightful flying, while the sun set across the desert. We were wearing T-shirts and shorts and the winds were warm and constant giving us smooth rides up and down this mile long ridge!

Thank you Carl, Melonie and Max, for showing us this unique flying site. We loved it. Please come and visit us when you are next in the UK.

XC flying inland (Turkey) 17-5-07

2007-05-19T13:08:00.000Z

It has always been my dream to fly cross country on a paraglider. On the 17th May, 2007, I flew cross country for my first time ever. It was a wonderful feeling. We met with one of the top local pilots, Semih Sayir, who was a competition pilot. Semih had amassed over 7,000 hours on a paraglider, he was calm and had vast knowledge of the local area. He was the perfect guide for the day. Semih and his driver took us inland to a take off on a dusty track at Geyran near Uzumlu. The peak in the far distance under the cumulus cloud was near to where we flew to...

There were nine pilots and we all took off one after the other. We flew left where we thermalled to the summit of the mountain and before long we were all circling together in strong lift. Semih came on the radio, "ok, lets go... follow me!" So we did and glided off together. It was wonderful to fly in a gaggle because it is easier to spot where the lift is. This was not a competition but just friends flying for fun together.

We reached the next hill along the valley where we found more lift and circled up again. Some of the gliders had more height so they went on futher but it took me and 3 others more time to get sufficient height to continue. After much work I had enough height to continue up the valley where I was flying low above the pine trees and rocky ridges. It was exciting and once again, I found lift and was now travelling at a safe height above the forest. I was locked into my own little world - my mouth was dry - I was determined not to be the first one to 'bomb' out. I had caught up with the others who had been waiting. Big Pete was with me and Dave was not far away a little lower down.

We followed the road up the valley. Some gliders were in sink and I soon found myself going down. I pushed out to the middle of the valley, following Pete, desperately hoping to be sucked back up. My vario told me that I was going up... I quickly put some 360's in and found myself in the same thermal as big Pete. It was pure delight.

We climbed up to Semih and Mehmet. Another Aussie pilot was also up there called Phil from Zermatt. All five of us continued to the next waypoint where the lift was very strong. The clouds were huge and over developed - we decided to turn around to go back the way we had come. Dave had been the first to bomb out in a small clearing amongst the trees below - we could see his yellow glider below us. He got on the radio to let us know he was all right.

We were near the town Arpacik and we were low now too. We had been going 2hrs and 27mins. We had travelled about 30kms. Pete landed before me but his glider ended up in a tree which took ages to get out! The farmer came to help us. He spoke no English but was all smiles! I had a huge smile on my face as this is what paragliding is about. It was an awesome day. Who knows how much further we would have flown if the weather had not stopped us!!

The following day, my wife, Diana, and I went into Fethiye to look around the market in the old town near the harbour. We found a local tailor who copied one of Di's dresses for a few lira! Whilst he was at it he mended my glider sack and Di packed me off to one of the many barber shops where I was given full shave finished off with lashings of lemon cologne! Mmmm smells good!

Paragliding in Olu Deniz (Turkey)

2007-05-19T12:29:00.000Z

I have just returned from a week of flying in Turkey by the sea in Olu Deniz. The scale of this place is breathtaking and the climate is perfect; sunshine, light winds and thermic conditions - not to mention the spectacular views over the sea and surrounding hills! Each morning we would catch the truck up the mountain called Baba Dag ('The Father Mountain') and it would take about 50 minutes.

On the second morning I walked up with Pete from the town. We left at 4.30am and it took a good 4 hours to get to the middle take off where we met with the others. They had taken our gliders up there in the truck - thankfully! There are three take off areas on Baba Dag - a southern lower take off at about 5,400 feet, a middle one at about 5,800 feet and a northern take off at 6,400 feet.

I took the photo below looking down towards the lagoon at Olu Deniz in the distance. One is able to see the dusty track leading up to the top take off. The lower take off is where the road doubles back on itself.

The top take off can be seen to the left of this photo below...

On the day that I walked up with Pete, I took off first. There was very little wind so I did a forward launch off the middle take off and flew towards the top take off where I immediately found strong lift. I soon was at 10,000 feet and I was glad of my warm layers as it was cooler up at this height. I flew right out to the plateau opposite and found sink so I retreated back to the main ridge. I was lower than the top take off but I soon found more lift under a juicy looking cloud and was booted back to base again. I bimbled around up here before heading down to the beach for a beer after a couple of hours in the air. This is the life!

Sunset at the end of the day as seen from the lower take off looking towards the bay at Olu Deniz... Beautiful!

Hathersage Lecture (4-5-07)

2007-05-07T18:41:00.000Z

When I was asked by Mary and Michael Bailey to come and speak at the Memorial Hall, in aid of the Hathersage Swimming Pool Fund, I accepted at once. I adore Hathersage and have been visiting for years, mainly to rock climb or boulder on the gritstone edges with friends over the years. It was a wonderful chance to give something back to the community by speaking about my recent adventures in the Himalayas. Mary and Michael run one of the finest B&B’s I have ever experienced and since my wife, Diana, and I have been coming here we have often stayed with them at Carr Head Farm where the views are magnificent and their hospitality is second to none. They have become great friends.

I took the day off on Friday and started off by speaking to the children at the local school at 2pm. Michael and I then went for a walk with the dogs (Barney, Percy and Boston) The evening lecture started at 7.30pm with a packed house. There were questions at the end; the best one came from a little boy in the front row when he asked, “why do you wear those spiky things on your feet?”

The evening was a roaring success and at the end I was honoured to be presented with ‘Life Membership’ to the Hathersage Swimming Pool! Thank you and thank you to all those involved including Mary & Michael Bailey, Kim & Boris Mathews and to all the other individuals and shops who helped and contributed with the raffle prizes from the village. A total of £1,200 was raised for the Swimming Pool Fund. A fantastic result!

Saturday 21st April - White Horse

2007-04-23T17:09:00.000Z

On Saturday 21st April, I flew for just under 3 hours over the White Horse behind Milk Hill in Wiltshire. When I arrived it was quite windy so I sat and had a sandwich. I then laid out my gear and checked it before deciding to give it a go. I pulled on the brakes and was lifted straight up. It was a beautiful afternoon and I managed to fly all the way along to the road and thought of crossing it when I was high. The lift was not quite good enough so I decided not to. Also, my car was parked by the barn at the opposite end and I didn't feel like the long walk back. At one point there were about 14 gliders in the air including one hang glider. I was the second last person to land as the sun was setting. I flew as far as I could back to the car before landing and packing up. I was smiling! I think I have a paragliding problem - I can't stop thinking about the weather or where to fly next. I am dreaming about flying cross country from thermal to thermal...

Paragliding - Easter weekend, 2007

2007-04-13T18:18:00.000Z

Diana and I spent Easter in Devon and on the way down we stopped for some flying at Westbury. It was a beautiful day but the winds were light. The flying was very 'scratchy' and I probably managed about an hour of flying in total that day (Easter Friday). Met up with Jim Mallinson, Mark Russell and Eddie Colfox who were all flying 'hot ships'! I was flying my old Gradient Topas (1-2 glider).

On the way home we stopped in Dorset to see the parents-in-law. After lunch, I dragged Di up to Batcombe where the skies looked epic. Very light winds again, however, and persevered ending up with four top-to-bottoms. Mark Russell was there with his tandem and so was Tony Farthing from the Devon and Somerset Condors. I returned home dreaming of flying more this summer!

On May 11th Olu Deniz bekons in Turkey where we shall be flying with friends for a whole week! Bring it on...

Lunar Eclipse - 3rd March, 2007

2007-03-05T09:32:00.000Z

We were in the Lakes this weekend planning on doing a little rock climbing or even some flying if the winds were right. We met up with some buddies from a previous 2004 Everest expedition in Tibet. (Ray Smith, Mike Brennan, Rick Taylor and Baz Roberts) The rain held off more or less on the Saturday but the rock was wet and it was way too windy to fly. I went for a walk with Di and then we met up in Ambleside for a curry that evening. The air was crisp and clear when we approached the tents; perfect conditions to view the lunar eclipse. It was orangey in color.

My great friend Huw Griffiths, who lives in Hampshire, took this.

(2.5s @ F5.6 / 300mm / ISO400 Canon 350D). What a great photo. Thanks Huw!

Frostbite update - 12th February

2007-02-12T16:27:00.000Z

On Wednesday 7th February, my brother, Ben, had to have a further operation on his toes. They were not healing as they should and so the surgeon was forced to take a little more off three of the damaged toes. He used a device called a 'nibbler' which quite literally nibbled the bone back more so as to allow more skin to grow around the stumps. Ben asked to see the device after the operation. Mmmmm nice...

Ben is a brave man - much braver than myself! He is in better spirits now the pain has subsided a little with the help of some strong pain killers.

"It was like being back at Camp 2," Ben told me today, "painful!"

Ashdown House School Lecture

2007-01-26T11:43:00.000Z

On Wednesday 24th January, I was invited to speak at Ashdown House School with Ben. It was nearly 25 years since we were there ourselves and it was wonderful to see all the changes and to meet a handful of teachers who taught us when we were there!

After the lecture some of the pupils tried on the oxygen masks and down suits and then climbed into the tent we had put up on the stage!

The whole school were present at the lecture, together with about 50 parents. There were lots of wonderful questions at the end including, "did you brush your teeth?"

Old Man of Hoy

2006-12-29T23:44:00.000Z

First ascent: Tom Patey, Rusty Baillie, Chris Bonnington 1966.
Original Route on the East Face (460 feet) (E1 or 5b)

This is one of the most famous sea stacks in Britain and it is composed of rather decaying Orcadian sandstone standing on a granite plinth and features five climbs ranging from an acceptable El right up to E6. The stack is found just to the north of Rora Head which is east of Rackwick on the small island of Hoy which can be seen from John O'Groats.

The plan is for a small group of friends to travel up sometime at the beginning of the summer; in time for the good weather. We shall most likely wild camp somewhere on the cliffs. I read about this climb years ago and promised myself that I would one day give it a go! It looks like a wonderful challenge...

Skydiving - September 2007

2006-12-13T14:43:00.000Z

What next...?

My buddy Karl, has invited me to Spain where we want to jump together. The plan is that I will learn to skydive by doing an Accelerated Free Fall course. He will join me for the fun as he has over 500 jumps to his name. That is him in the yellow suit jumping in Arizona from a balloon! Nice...

RGS Lecture: SOLD OUT

2006-12-03T21:17:00.000Z

We have completely sold out of tickets for the lecture at the Royal Geographical Society on 7th December, 2006. Over 700 tickets have been sold. Please do not apply for any more tickets because we don't have any left! Thank you to all those who are coming. We hope you will enjoy it!

View from the summit of Everest

2006-12-01T16:37:00.000Z

I took this photo on May 18th, 2006 at about 7.45am. It looks directly towards Base Camp on the Tibetan side (to the middle of the photo just beyond the glacial lake) The photo below, taken from Outer Space, is taken looking the other way!
We were lucky to have such a clear day.

Everest from Outer Space!

2006-12-01T15:38:00.000Z

This photo really blew me away. Mount Everest and Lhotse (4th highest mountain) can clearly be seen in the upper right hand part of the picture with clouds whipping off the top, with Makalu (5th highest mountain) out to the left. The vast Tibetan Plateau can be seen in the foreground and one can even make out where Everest Base Camp is in Tibet together with the Rongbuk Glacier. The Nupste Ridge can clearly be seen to the right of Everest! Wow!

Frostbite

2006-10-31T14:40:00.000Z

My brother, Ben, had an operation last Wednesday 25th October where they removed four blackened toes on his left foot which was caused by the extreme cold on our Everest ascent on May 18th, 2006. The operation went as well as expected and Ben will be back on his feet soon. He joins the likes of Reinhold Messner (the greatest mountaineer of all time) who lost seven toes climbing with his brother (Günter) on Nanga Parbat in 1970!

School lectures (September 06)

2006-10-01T18:07:00.000Z

At the end of September, Tom spoke at Uppingham, Swanbourne, Bryanston and Caldicott. They were a great success and the boys and girls loved it. At Caldicott, Tom had his two-man tent up on stage and after the lecture about 20 boys climbed into it AND zipped themselves in! At Swanbourne, one of the boys, (Alexander Stone) tried on Tom's warm down summit suit with a big smile!

RGS tickets and how to book?

2006-06-13T16:11:00.000Z

Thursday 7 December, 2006 at 7.00pm
Lecture
Brothers on Everest
Tom and Ben Clowes
1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR

Brothers Tom and Ben give a fascinating and moving account of their journey to the roof of the world. They show stunning photography and rare video footage from the summit.

50% of proceeds from this event go to Rosemary Foundation. Tickets: £12.
Send cheque with SAE (payable to Tom and Ben Clowes) to Mr. T Clowes, 62b Marmion Road, London, SW11 5PA

Tel. 07740 305492 www.rosemary-foundation.org.uk

Everest Expedition - Nepal - 2006

2006-06-13T15:40:00.000Z

My first attempt on Everest was in 2004 with a team climbing from the more remote northern side in Tibet. We became trapped in a violent storm at 7,900m where 8 climbers lost their lives above us. The storm lasted two days and we were forced to retreat. At the time, I vowed never to return!

Two years on, in April 2006 I had put together another team, secured sponsorship and was set to attempt the SE Ridge from the Nepalese side of the mountain. Even though it was my second time on Everest, it felt completely different as we were on another route. We arrived in Kathmandu on April 3rd and were greeted to the usual hustle and bustle of this magical city. After a day of organising and packing our main bags were sent up by helicopter and yak and we flew to Lukla, a tiny airstrip high in the hills where our trek to Base camp was to begin. Much had changed in the last six years since my last visit; the airstrip had been tarmaced, many new lodges had sprung up and some of the precarious rope bridges had been re-built in steel. It took us ten days to reach Base Camp as we had to allow our bodies to acclimatise to the thinner air at altitude. This takes time and patience. Dehydration is a major problem up high and so we made sure we drank at least 4 or 5 litres each day. Headaches were also a problem so we took aspirin daily to thin the blood.

Base Camp (5,200m) is situated on a glacier at the bottom of the notorious Icefall. We each had our own tent where we could spread out and rest. It was like living in a quarry with the continuous sound of avalanche sweeping down the valley sides. This was quite worrying at first but one soon became used to it. There was also the continuous sound of the creaking glacier beneath us which was constantly moving. The loo was a nearby crevasse; there was a kitchen tent and a mess tent where we spent most of our time playing monopoly and cards! Sete Bica and Jaget Rai were our cooks and they made sure we were never hungry! We ate a lot of rice, soup, pasta, yak steak and fresh vegetables. We often had eggs or porridge for breakfast and sometimes even yogurt! Altogether, there were about 17 teams on the mountain, most climbing Everest but a handful of teams were attempting Lhotse (4th highest peak in the world).

After a couple of days at Base Camp it was time to venture into the Icefall for more acclimatisation. We went up by about 300m, crossed some crevasses on ladders before returning to Base Camp for more rest. Three days later we went up a further 600m before coming back down. All this is vital for the body to adjust – if one tries to rush the process then the risk of becoming sick later in the expedition is far greater. The next time we pushed the whole way through the Icefall and spent 2 nights at Camp 1 and on one of those days we climbed up through the Western Cwm to Camp 2 where the Sherpas were constructing a kitchen and a mess tent – this was to be our ‘Advanced Base Camp’.

The Icefall is a frighteningly unstable place and one of the most dangerous parts of the climb. There are bottomless crevasses everywhere and unstable blocks and seracs of ice just waiting to fall. Three Sherpas, working for another expedition team, were killed when the top half of the Icefall collapsed on top of them at the beginning of the expedition at 7.30am one morning – it could have happened to any of us. There was a line of them and we knew Ang Sering Sherpa who was directly behind the three that were killed. He was so distraught and shocked by the accident that he dropped his rucsac there and then and ran all the way out of the Icefall and went back to his home in Pangboche further down the valley, telling us that he would never return to work on Everest. It was horrific and it caused two of our team to return home as well. The best time for climbing through the Icefall is in the early hours of the morning when the ice is hard and stable. Alarms would be set for 4am followed by tea and porridge. Sherpas entering the Icefall could be heard chanting prayers asking the mountain gods to protect them, some would smoke and the sweet smell of burning juniper filled our nostrils as we walked through the numerous camps to the start. The smoke is believed to carry their prayers up into the heavens. It is quite eerie particularly as no-one really says much; one just concentrates and gets on with moving steadily through the ice. I found it easiest to get into a rhythm and to try and stick to it. I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and always clipping onto the fixed lines. A team of ‘Ice Doctors’ had the dangerous job of making sure the Icefall was in good condition for the climbers. They would check the anchors, the ice screws and the lines. Each time we passed through the Icefall it was different, parts collapsed, ladders became bent, new crevasses and ice cliffs formed – I always felt nervous going through the Icefall and my mouth was often dry! By the end of the expedition we had passed through it a total of ten times!

Camp 2 at 6400m is situated about two hours climb from the foot of the Lhotse Face. It is in a beautiful position at the top of the Western Cwm with views down the valley below the towering valley sides of the western flanks of Everest and Nuptse. Walking up the Cwm was exhausting as it just went on and on and Camp 2 never seemed to get any closer. The camp was set out in a similar way to Base Camp where we had a mess tent and a kitchen tent where Pasang Temba and Ang Sherpa cooked us up some amazing food. Ben and I shared a tent from here onwards. We have done all our climbing together in the past and it is always good to have a soul mate on these type of expeditions to share the experience with. Ben is quieter and more reserved than myself who is perhaps a little more gungho in making decisions but as we are so different, we compliment each other well. Overall, we spent about two weeks at Camp 2 venturing up to Camp 3 which is half way up the Lhotse Face with even more stunning views of Cho Oyu (6th highest mountain 8200m) and Pumori. The Lhotse Face is quite steep in parts it was up to 60 degrees. Most of it is hard, blue ice; If you are not clipped in then one slip would almost certainly be fatal. A Czech climber who was climbing Lhotse slipped over 800m while he was in the couloir – he was found the next day in a coma having been out all night. He died a few hours later. As Reinhold Messner once said, ‘Mountains are not fair or unfair – they are dangerous’. Camp 3 at about 7300m was a cramped and windy place. Our tents were at the very top of the camp below the Yellow Band. The floor of our tent was curved due to the heat of our bodies melting the snow beneath us. It was like sleeping in a hammock and highly uncomfortable, particularly as it was full of gear like oxygen bottles and spare tents. It was damp and cold when we got there so at this point we put on our down suits which warmed us up immediately. We had our little gas stove melting ice continuously as we had to keep drinking. We peed into bottles to avoid going out into the freezing winds outside. It was easier this way! Immodium came in useful too!

From Camp 3, on our second visit, we started breathing bottled oxygen on our way up to the South Col. As soon as one puts an oxygen mask on there is a notable difference – things become easier and one moves faster. We climbed up the Yellow Band, a rocky band of yellow rock above camp 3 and then moved steadily upwards to the Geneva Spur which is a steep traverse on snow leading to the South Col. Once on top of the Geneva Spur, the terrain levelled out a little and half an hour later I was on the snowy Col at just under 8000m. I was the first there and so waited for the Sherpa team and others to join me as they had the tents. They arrived an hour later and I helped them put the tents up. The wind increased and it started to snow. I was concerned as we were leaving for the summit that night at 9pm. We spent a number of hours resting and melting more ice. There were four of us in a two-man tent now which was even more uncomfortable and cramped. The weather cleared and at 7pm we started to get ourselves prepared to climb to the summit. It took us about two hours at this height to get ready as we moved slowly and our brains were also slow due to the extreme altitude. Outside the temperature was dropping and inside the tent it was about -30 already! At 9.15pm we set off. I felt uncomfortable and tired. My back was aching having been in cramped conditions for so long. I just did not feel ready. We paused after every two steps and I thought, at this rate we won’t make it as we are moving too slowly. My legs were screaming at me to stop but my mind told them to continue! After a couple of hours we reached the fixed ropes and clipped in with our jumars (ascending devices which move up the rope but not down) after another two hours my jumar had frozen and wasn’t gripping the rope as it should so I had to keep prodding it with my crampon spikes to free it up. My oxygen mask was also freezing up as it was now about -50 with windchill. I took my thick mittens off to try and do something. My hands instantly became cold and went numb but I had to fix my mask or my climb would end here. After half an hour I was shivering. I was now at about 8400m and in trouble. I radioed down to base where they told me to send Topchen, my sherpa, down to Camp 4 but to take his mask and oxygen from his pack, which I did. I immediately felt my body warming up with the oxygen and carried on to catch Ben who was waiting for me at the Balcony. We then continued steadily upwards, with Pansang Dawa Sherpa who was with Ben. The moon and stars showed us the way. Makalu was behind us glimmering in the dim light, we could see electrical lightening storms in the distance but our hypoxic minds did not seem to worry! Just below the South Summit, Ben had the same problem with his mask and upon closer inspection it had frozen solid. We drilled a hole in it with a penknife and tried to bypass the valves by sticking the pipe into the new hole. It was basic but it seemed to work. When we reached the South Summit I knew we would make it. I felt strong and there was the summit. I felt a rush of adrenaline. The Hillary Step was right there in front of us and on our right hand side, the Kangshung face fell 5000 or 6000m away beneath us. We climbed the corniced summit ridge, the famous Hillary Step and then plodded slowly up to the summit. I tapped Ben on the leg and with tears in my eyes said,
“this is it! We just have to get down now!”
He turned to me and squeezed my hand, also with tears of joy and said nothing. He didn’t need to. We were standing on the summit with the world at our feet. It was the most magical feeling I have ever experienced and certainly one I shall remember forever. All those years of dreaming had come true. We could see for miles and miles into Tibet and all over Nepal. We pointed out the mountains we had climbed, we took photos and some video footage which all required huge effort.

The wind was increasing and after about 35 minutes we turned to make our way down, taking extra care not to make any mistakes. It was exhausting but we reached the Col after about 6 hours. We had not slept and the summit climb had taken about 17 hours. Upon reaching the tents, we collapsed and dozed for a few hours unable to do anything.

Two days later we were safely at Base Camp having done it. I don’t think I can recall having ever been so exhausted! I suffered from three frostbitten blackened finger tips on my right hand. This was caused when I took my gloves off to try and fix my mask. Ben suffered from very badly frostbitten toes on his left foot. At the time of writing we are not sure whether he will lose some or not. It will be another 5 months until we know!