Another
Ďurifuk’s adventure is a bit copy paste of that one from last
year… however, I found out that in Nepal you can push your limits
and besides that the time for this trip suited me really well, you
know I’ll be off from home to Africa so I will look in on Himalayas
on my way back home. Full of last year’s experience, hungry for
adventure, longing for juicy mountains and unknown places and pretty
fat after the winter, I would like to fly over 2/3 of Nepal and try
to break the record, in that Aspen6 help me. Sure, it’s just a
dream, I’m filled with respect.
Himalayas
welcome me, as expected, with bad weather, the airplane is holding
for an hour around Kathmandu, flying between storms and lightnings. I
was a bit unsure because I decided to come here 2 weeks later, as my
original plan said that at this time the weather could be better.
Well, never mind, I’m studying the cloud layers from the safety
provided by the steel monster.
I was faster than Mišo Sabovčík (my climbandfly partner, now conquering the 8000m´s) and I’m in Nepal one day earlier, the conditions after the storm became superb, so Mišo, sorry, I’m off to pursue follow the challenge. Flying together over Himalayas will have to wait and beer for 4.5 Eur/0.5l, too.
And
good choice it was! In Pokhara I meet some friends, local tandem
pilots and Sherpas. All of them worship me as if I were the Pope, it
feels a bit awkward, I don’t enjoy this kind of stuff when my
performance is really good, not to mention this easy-peasy flying.
You know, it’s nothing special to fly 150km in such Mountains (not
to repeat the word Himalayas all the time), just as “friend”
said, “in that part of the world also the doors fly”… therefore
the number of registered flights longer than 150km is exactly (in
that time)… ZERO point nothing. Over 140km there are three; one of
them is that mine form last year. However, in Slovakia the registered
number of flights over 140km is exactly 197… so you can make your
own opinion about who plays what kind of game. Why is it so?
Mountains
are really great so are the thermals, the elevation between the
valleys and the summits is sometimes 8000m with the distance of only
20km. That also means that the clouds, cumuli, so important for me to
fly, are not higher than 4000m AMSL. Huge mountains also mean quite
frequent storms and overdevelopments and quite short periods of time
during the day that could be used for flying. You can take of at
3500m at 8:30 but you need special conditions for that; mountains
which are around 2000m can support you until 10:30 and sun sets
around six in the evening. However, in Alps you can fly until 10 pm
or in Slovakia till 8 pm. What’s more, the time available for
flying is quite significantly reduced by already mentioned storms. If
lower mountains work (2000m) so it’s obvious that 8000 will produce
some kind of storm already at noon and if not, you roam around in
inversion and blue sky. And to summarise, to fly 150km through the
air means 200 or more on the roads and not highways like at us and in
two hours you are done. In Nepal 200km means 6 and more hours of
bone-shaking drive. Therefore only a few people have the courage to
go for this kind of trip in this kind of conditions and of course
it’s connected also to bivouacking… and this is exactly why I’m
here.
So
the plan is as follows: get to the Mardi Himal camp or to Korchon –
place above 3000m because of an early take off and fly towards east
as much as possible to the eastern borders of Nepal. And since there
is not much money I want to reach those place on the wing, for free
Nevertheless,
my trips wouldn’t be that worth, if there were no strange things
going on. Someone planted a bomb on the last and the only bridge on
the main road in Pokhara, you know a plastic bag with some wires and
other bullshit, which you can find on every corner here. So the road
is closed, everyone is waiting, standing still, police officers are
guarding the bridge, trying to look really important, carrying their
Lee Enfield rifles that were used for the last time in ’41 during
the siege of Singapore … everyone is taking pictures and laughing
but me… Finally it turned out to be a harmless bag with trash but
it managed to create a real traffic jam.
In
the morning… how can a man feel like when watching such mountains,
sorry, MOUNTAINS, not having anything to compare in the world? Crown
of our planet Earth, Mountains proudly towering into the sky,
beautiful and killing at the same time, some of them smooth because
of the strong wind, others covered in the snow-white gown, like
brides… they’re calling me. Just come, come closer and you’ll
see, experience! Damn it! There I fly!
The
first day is spoiled by clouds and showers already around noon…
it’s snowing on me in 2500m! However, the visibility is incredible…
just a bit of speed, trying out the possibilities of the new Aspen
and camping on the ridge of Sarankgot in the evening, looking forward
to the visual orgasm.
atmosphere
and solitude like a real congestus.
In
the middle of the night I’m awaken by bright light, maybe Šimek –
a friend from the Skybean company wanting to get some experience and
flight hours here – arrived. I jump out of the tent and I’m
almost thrown back… the full moon is lighting up everything around…
and those hillsides! I didn’t sleep much, I just gaped like an
oyster, or like Slovaks at the rising preferences of certain
political parties.
I’m
up before the sunrise, excited about that show… staring again. One
can barely get used to such majesty.
I’m
enjoying the moment until ten, and then unpack my Aspen and right
from the place where I slept there I jump straight into the sky where
my place is.
It
takes quite a while to climb the higher mountains, captivated by the
view I fall to the ground. I waved down two or three motorbikes to
Diky Danda, the closest take off spot. Again, I try to make it to
3000 m summit for tomorrows take off but the weather doesn’t let
me… the clouds are too low. I land at 2800 hoping that I will
manage the half-meter snow and 200m high and steep uphill in
trainers.
I break
two two-meter long bamboo sticks, spit into my hand and let’s go.
In half an hour I’m sweaty like a dog, I’m cold, there are
ice-tongues falling all around me and I’m falling with them. There
is no place to build a tent and to walk down the hill wouldn’t be
much better. 20 kilos on my back cuts down my mobility and changes my
centre. I’m thinking over this whole situation, if I stay here,
feet will be wet in the morning as I won’t manage to make fire in
the snow. There’s no place to build a tent in the slope, it will be
difficult to manage it till the morning. There’s no other choice
than to fly down. No wind, steep and slippery hill, that will be
something. Fortunately, we’d been trying such wise things the whole
winter with Mišo in certain unnamed mountains, so I don’t hesitate
and jump down between the rocks… and damn it, I made it! When I
land in Diky Danda take off place in the evening, I have a small snow
fight with a farmer. We laugh and enjoy the evening at a fireplace
with his sons and some friends. I got a bowl of rice and some milk
with flies in it. I didn’t make it to Korchon, but I can’t say I
didn’t try. Tomorrow, off I go!
I wake
up to a nice, though, not the most beautiful morning. When I
think about it now backwards, I should have skipped Korchon and fly
straight to the east from Sarangkot. Cloud base is much lower than
the day before. The Green Wall summit is covered with clouds already
at ten in the morning. No time to waste, I jump. Sore through the sky
like birds of prey, chasing kilometres.
The
cloud base goes up and down sometimes even 200m and so it happens
that after a jump I reach another cloud, sometimes I have to fly
around then. The visibility is still OK so it enables me and my
camera to chase some of the beauties of this country.
Paths
cut in the steep hillsides, thousands of noodle-like terraced rice
fields many Buddhist sanctuaries.
I try
to focus on the flight and it’s quite good, I’m up high, with
quite a lot of speed following the weather development. Gradually,
it’s becoming bad, clouds have grown, cumulus castellatus developed
into congestus and near the town of Besisahar I’m under a real
shower, black like prime minister’s soul. Hail and with full speed
of my Aspen, it hurts quite a lot on my cheeks protected only by a
balaclava.
So
to summarise, I have to fly around it… I didn’t take
pictures of the other dark thingies, as I want to have nice shots of
Nepal and show them for you. I fly around it and as a reward I see
pretty clouds above the lower mountains and significantly higher
cloud base. I’m saving the situation almost from the ground, but
with a bunch of feathered friends, it’s really awesome.
The
kilometres are increasing and I’m not lazy anymore. I just jump
below the clouds, full speed and enjoy everything until I reach the
valley of the Salasunga Mountain, quite distinct seven-thousander.
There it is, quite fat bun with hail, but the base looks tempting,
cut like with a knife, but darker then plans of Rotchild about NWO. I
can use it :D in 2500m I’m under it, full speed and climbing. Until
it’s behind I manage to get wet and test the ears
with speed. But it helped. The tachometer shows 130km, it could be
enough for today, or?
TRACKLOG
New
Nepalese distance record… considering the fact that I wanted to
land after 30km because I was bored… not bad! :D (later in april
overflown by Franchise...damm it, need to go there again!)
In
gentle rain I soar over the valley, over me a huge haze of anvil
shades a huge area. Well, never mind, I will soar this hill and then
land. I’m trying to figure out where to land, north-east wind is
not very weak, I have to land as high as possible and at the same
time it has to be not very far from tomorrow’s take off spot.
I
land on a filed at 1400m, of course, with the compulsory attendance
of everyone in the view, not possible to pee after six hours :D , and
of course none of them speaks English. I just pack my stuff and go up
the hill while all the bystanders are wondering.
From
my “house window” that easily travels with me, I see mountain
4000m high, you know, just like that, so I’m enjoying it, you don’t
see it every day!
I
wake up, outside it’s still gloomy, cook some dried food, look for
water and then I march up the hill again, as high as I can to find a
usable meadow.
I wait
for an hour, maybe two, until I can go. Meanwhile I free the meadow
of the bushes and weed that could get tangled in my Aspen. It’s
10:30 and… hop into the sky. This place is familiar to me, I know
it from the last year’s Hikemalya, I named it the Ridge of Buddhist
Sanctuaries. There are three sanctuaries on three kilometres with
those little flags and the ridge is closed by a windy saddle which
changes the nature of the mountains behind it. The ridges aren’t
oriented to E-W anymore; they’re higher and south facing with wide
valleys. It’s nice to fly here with the strong tail wind. My
current wind is weak; moreover I’m chased by patches of mid-level
clouds.
Nevertheless,
the views are marvellous, breath-taking and enthralling, height above
the ground I can look from perspectives that for millennia were
granted to birds only.
Already
the second part of the day is a struggle, I flew into a shade and
damn low, I’m strungling for quite a long time, but my patience
brings kilometres… the school kids ran out on the yard following
me, they missed a class; men, whom I fly over the heads while
shovelling the road don’t give a damn about the work, they’re
just gaping… until I climb again into 3000m. I wave, they wave, I
shout “Namaste”, they shout back, kids are shrieking.
give
a damn about the work, they’re just gaping… until I climb again
into 3000m. I wave, they wave, I shout “Namaste”, they shout
back, kids are shrieking.
I’m
flying above familiar terrain, I basically copy my line to
Bimeshewar, kind of a town, with “multi-storey” buildings. From
that spot I fly again to the unknown, and to be honest, I guess that
no one else but me and John Silverster flew these places…
I make
20km more to the next valley, where I’m nailed down by a strong
wind. While landing, I sore maybe 30m above ground from left to right
a 100m long section, kids ditching the school, thinking that I’m
about to land are chasing me. Well, they did like half marathon
TRACKLOG
I run
double quick up the hill, it’s not that late though, nevertheless I
need to get as high as possible, on the ridge at 2700m where it’s
cold, real cold. I unpack the tent on the back yard of a family next
to the road, daddy, 21 years, speaks a bit of English so I explain
all sorts of things about flying and they, on the other hand, tell me
something about the life here in Nepal. It freezes at night.
In
the morning it’s still bloody cold. Quickly I pack my stuff and
walk away, I have to find a place for the take off, this is too high
and the valley is closed. The cloud base is barely at 100-200m above
my head, but the views…! That mountain in the back can have around
6k and two summits…
It’s
37 km until the last spot on my offline map as the crows fly, and as
the guy said yesterday evening, it’s possible to get to Kathmandu
from there. The place’s called Okhaldhunga and that’s the
farthest place he’s ever been to. Well, I’ll fly there and will
see how it looks farther, and maybe I’ll fly farther. Woohoo, like
a pioneer
I’m
walking along a road where after few houses there’s nothing else,
the road is getting lost in the jungle… so there I go. After few km
I’m one ridge farther but I can’t see a suitable place for take
off. I’m climbing the trees to get a better view. Finally, I
realise that I took the longer way in vain and the four meadows are
too closed or grown so I jump of the road embankment. Yes, there
again, into the ocean of blue freedom, vast and never-ending. The
place where I’m not just the eternal student, but actually, yes I
am, I still can’t fly that well…I love this place as there is
still something to discover and see… and where in good weather the
kilometres are the question of just a few minutes, mountains are
rarely obstacles too big and the joy can’t be compared!
Anyway,
I have to focus; as such experience is not completely “for free”.
You have to deserve the altitude, understand the wind and know the
mountains… and yet, they can surprise. This time I’m in strong
valley wind, it blows that strong that I have the feeling that the
air is being stolen to China through Tibet.
I’m
pushing against the wind, slowly but surely. Three ridges on the west
side of the valley, jump over the valley, three on the east valley
side and an hour is gone. It was tough.
After
this crisis I’m rewarded by strong thermals, floating under the
clouds with perfect views. I fly above the valley to Lukla and Namche
and I’m strongly considering turning to that direction and like a
boss catch the Dhaulaghiri expedition and we’ll fly with Mišo like
two times that bigger bosses. But Mišo left his wing in Kathmandu so
it would be pity… and I’m not that big pilot yet, I don’t have
the permit to enter that area and my boots are not suited for that
winter.
I
pass the last spot of my offline map, but as it still looks pretty
good, without forests and civilised, I fly on… bravely eastwards!
While
jumping over the valley the sky gets dark, I will land soon, I have
quite a lot of kilometres, around eighty. I’m approaching the third
hour in the air, I’m hungry… but Aiolos makes the decision, I
climb a cloud and sore the darkness in the strong wind… I see a
town with concrete multi-storey buildings in front of me, that looks
nice, there’ll be food for sure, I’ll recharge the batteries and
will stay at a hotel. I’m landing under clearly expressed
astonishment of people, goats, cows and sheep on the football pitch.
I’m asking what kind of place it is. Bhojpur!
English
speaking or rather understanding people were two times that surprised
when I told them that I came here from Pokhara in two days. None of
them has ever been there and those who have heard of it are trying to
explain that it’s the second largest city in Nepal :D
Into
the hotel, charge the batteries and download new maps… it’s not
the ideal place for tomorrow’s take off, yet it’s quite close to
the borders, today I’ve made another 100 km through the air.
TRACKLOG
Repairing
my torn harness with skytex and right after the dawn I’m gone.
Shallow hills surrounding the city were good enough for yesterday’s
landing, but not for today’s take off. I’m struggling nice two
hours across the city to find a place that can be used. It blows from
west, clouds are low and those 5 km I walked disappear in haze… it
won’t be worth a penny today. And so I drift over a shallow hill in
zeroes, at last I grab one three-meter into the cloud but can’t see
the ground! It’s just a dark-grey haze…I pass the valley and the
valley wind pushes me down, soaring a bit but I decided to put an end
to this torture.
I have
flown maybe 25km more eastwards. It’s enough, I can’t see
properly and this time I don’t really need to push my limits any
further in a country I don’t really know.
TRACKLOG
My
hike and fly and camp trip in Himalayas, thus HikeflyMAYA, approaches
its end… only four days, yet interesting, full of unseen beauties
and unexpected experiences. I tested a new release by Gradient
Aspen6, improved the distance record by few kilometres, but mainly, I
discovered new places, of course from the air.
It
was great. Traditionally in the style of VENI VIDI (VOLANTIS) VICI (I
came, I saw, (I flew) I won). The 330km journey I made in 4 days by
flying took me 28 hours in terrestrial means of transport on my way
back.
Thanks
to all of you, who made it up here, I spent a beautiful blue sky
afternoon with the keyboard… another article with travel tips and
the remaining part of the trip will be added later in a separate
article.
Thanks to all participating parties and sponsors: Zajo for great equipment against cold and dark, Skybean for the devices without which I would be lost in time and space and mainly Gradient for a superb wing, Aspen6, I probably fell for it
