September 28, 2008
Free Fallin'
First-Ever Skydive from Mt. Everest
The events of the last few weeks may have you wanting to hurl yourself out of a skyscraper window. Or maybe that's not high enough. Off a mountain. Kilimanjaro. Everest.
On second thought—that sounds pretty cool.
Launched this week by British adventure travel outfitter High & Wild is the Everest Skydive—your first-ever chance to plummet down alongside the world's tallest mountain. From a fixed-wing Pilatus Porter cruising just over the mighty peak—helicopters can't even fly this high—you'll fling yourself from a vertigo-inducing 29,500 feet and fall to the world's highest drop zone, more than three miles below.
This is no spontaneous leap—it's part of a fifteen-day expedition that gets you up into the mountains and acclimated to the brutal Himalayan climate, with a team of seasoned climbers, divers and even a cosmonaut. (Up this high, that's pretty comforting.) While the experts among you can fly solo, the daring layman probably wants a tandem buddy strapped to his back—along with the oxygen tanks attached to your custom-designed suit.
Either way, book ahead. This year's trips only last till January 5—right when the 200-mph jet stream returns to Everest, blowing any skydiving ambitions out of the realm of possibility.
Let's just hope it doesn't crash the party early.
