Mount Everest is one of the favorite summits among hikers and mountaineers. Thousands of enthusiasts got to the Himalayan paradise of Mount Everest, but there is one man who went beyond the limits and tried something unique. Pierre Carter, 55, took off from the South Col of Mount Everest in his paraglider, flew to the ground, and landed in unbelievable 20 minutes. Carter, a South African is the first person to paraglide from the Everest summit legally. Though the practice is officially prohibited by the government of Nepal, Carter was granted the first person who got permitted to do so by the Nepalese government.
As per Carter, the flight down Mount Everest was beautiful, paragliding down the way amid the breathtaking clouds. Carter was only permitted to launch no higher than 26,000 feet and was not allowed to paraglide from a height of 29,032 feet summit point. To abide by the rule, Carter chose the South Col, a ridge connecting Mt. Everest to Lhotse. It is also the fourth tallest mountain in the world. As soon as he jumped, he happily filmed the entire launch on his 360-degree camera.
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Carter said the higher you go for paragliding, the more difficult it is to make an attempt. His flight reached speed up to 50 miles/hour and he successfully landed in a Nepalese village called Gorak Shep. A Sherpa guide awaited him at the landing site. At an early age in his life, Carter became interested in climbing and adventures. Back in 1998, he had the idea to climb and paraglide from the world’s tallest mountains and 7 summits, according to his project website of 7 summits 7 flights.
Carter confidently climbed and flew from mountains Elbrus and Aconcagua. He also paraglided from Kilimanjaro peak in Tanzania, Mount Kosciusko – Australia, and the popular Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia. The interesting fact is that Carter is not the first person to choose Mount Everest for paragliding, as others had done it illegally. A French alpinist Jean-Marc Boivin was the first person who paraglided in 1998, as per The Himalayan Times.
