There are a myriad of ways to spend your days in Israel, from relaxing at the beach to hiking in the north, but there’s one thing you cant do: circle Mt. Everest and the other treacherous peaks of the Himalayas. Yes, we’re talking about paragliding, and considering the danger in launching yourself off a cliff to travel hundreds of kilometers, it’s definitely a sport. The highest point in Israel is the southern part of Mount Hermon at 2,224 meters (7,297 feet). Compared to Everest, which is four times as high, and Israel has some options for the extreme sport of paragliding, but its hardly the mecca. One young Israel has made a name for himself paragliding in the Himalayas. Last weekend, Itay Taskerman emerged as the winner of the 2011 International and Himalayan National Paragliding Championship.
Itay is a 26 year-old from Netanya, who works as a software engineer for HP when he’s grounded.
The 7-day race from mountain to mountain is kind of like the Tour d’Himalayas, replacing the Arc de Triomphe with one of the world’s most impressive natural formations. All told, 220 men and women competed in this year’s race, with participants from over a dozen nations. “Bir-Billing is like a paragliding mecca. Because India is very inexpensive, it is a place a lot of pilots from all over the world come and fly just for fun and also compete,” said Tasekrman. When asked about being the lone Israeli representative, Taskerman noted India’s strong relations with Israel, with both countries very active trade partners, saying, “They treated me very, very nicely….They know us and I got a very good reception from them.”
So, people leap from summit to summit with thousands of feet of air separating you from thousands of jagged peaks, what could possibly go wrong? Apparently, one of the most beautiful and majestic experiences of paragliding in the Himalayas is watching birds soar in the sky with you.
“Himalayan vultures, which are truly amazing and giant birds, really like to fly with us,” Takserman said.
“They like to fly above the wing and in front of the wing and near the pilot and sometimes for a long time and they are very playful. Most of the time it’s a very harmless experience.”
Unfortunately, it’s not always a harmless experience. In an amazing video captured on a participant’s helmet-cam, one paraglider found himself in free fall after his parachute was struck by an incoming vulture.
As you can see in the video below, the scenery is breathtaking, but the dangers are very real. Thankfully, both the paraglider and the bird survived the crash landing, and the individual on camera was kind enough to untangle the meddling bird and ensure its well being.
Click To View Video
The incident occurred in the Indian Himalayas. The eagle flew into the slings paragliders. luckily, the pilot used the reserve parachute and all ended well.
Индия, Гималаи. Знаменитое у парапланеристов место для высоких и красивых полётов. Ежегодно в октябре-ноябре туда приезжают сотни пилотов-парапланеристов со всего мира. Полёты часто проходят рядом с орлами, они наши друзья и помощники - показывают потоки воздуха, в которых параплан набирает высоту. Но в этот раз орлы смотрели куда-то не туда и в итоге один из трёх орлов влетел в стропы параплана. Параплан спутался и дальше лететь не мог, был использован запасной парашют. Посадка чудом случилась без травм, ведь снижение на запаске не маленькое и легко можно травмироваться об камни или падая с дерева. Ругань была в шоковом состоянии, не относитесь к этому негативно, ведь с птичкой в итоге всё прекрасно :) // Akari (akari88@mail.ru).
Описание в жж: http://stpython.livejournal.com/76956.html
