holy fuck!

[G-spotter]

from gravsports:

 

There were several very wild tales of thunderstorm adventure from the first day. One pilot was sucked up to about 7,000M, where she passed out while the glider and her continued to climb to around 9900M. That's way above Everest's height, crazy. She spent around an hour doing circles above 9000M while unconscious, then descended enough that she woke up somewhere around 7000M. She was covered in ice, with serious frostbite on her ears and leg, but amazingly the glider was still flying despite being coated in ice. She landed it, and after a trip to the local hospital is doing just fine, all things considered. Unfortunatley another pilot did the same thing and died. Today, the third day of the comp, is cancelled out of respect for the situation.

[mountainmatt]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17185299/

[jmace]

I thought the title represented my attitude towards the new 3d sports illustrated swim suit edition..yes it comes with your own 3d glasses

 

can you say chubber

[cindy66]

Now that is one way to climb with out the exhaustion.Fly up and hope you land summit style.

[Stonehead]

Fuckin' Icarus

[ryland_moore]

Anyone know if this is the highest and longest anyone has been without suplemental oxygen?

[Hendershot]

Good thing she was a woman, major shrinkage at those temps. That is cold -58*, colder than my ex-wife's heart.

 

Unbelievable that she lived through it.

[Bill Slugg]

I read here that: "Ed Viesturs has climbed 13 of the 14 highest peaks without supplemental oxygen." CNN May '04. At that time he was in Nepal for a second try at Everest and a try at the only one of the 14 he had not done, Annapurna.

[joblo7]

babu chiri sherpa spent 21HRS on the SUMMIT of everest...big diff to 9900 though. thats the death zone alright......

[Crux]

but the paraglider went up another few thousand feet higher than any of the mountains...

 

On the side, glider pilots I've spoken with talk about altitude differently; that is, altitudes that climbers prove able to tolerate are considered to be more immediately deadly by the pilots. I don't understand why, but wonder if the physical activity of the climber somehow promotes respiration to an extent that allows the climber to remain conscious at an altitude at which a glider pilot will expect to pass out.

[joblo7]

climbers DONT go up unless they are acclimatized. it takes weeks to acclimatize to 9000m. climber or pilot. humans can gain2-3000m a day . max. unless they are acclimatized . pilots go up too fast to acclimatize.