Red Bull Paragliding the Andes

What was thought to be an impossible paragliding flight became a reality on Wednesday, December 17, for two paragliders from the Red Bull Airforce team who received an early Christmas present from Mother Nature, allowing them to fly cross above the backbone of the Andes from the Portillo ski resort in Chile over the border into Argentina.

ACHIEVING WHAT LOCALS DEEMED IMPOSSIBLE

After ten days of preparation in the heat of the austral summer, Gadd and Chris Santacroce, 31, from Salt Lake City, UT, raced against the clock, flying to nearly 4,500M as the sun set over the mountains. Santacroce described the experience as, “Simply the very best flight of my life.” Attempting to accomplish what was deemed by many locals as impossible, Gadd, the initiator of the trip, says the flight was an absolute success that couldn’t have been made without the preparation leading up to the flight. “All we were trying to do in Portillo that day was fly and learn more about the Andes. Sure enough there was a window and we took it and it worked,” explained Gadd. “It was a huge surprise but as with most difficult things in life if you work at it long enough and hard enough, you can usually get it.”

For one brief moment man co-existed with nature as the duo soared with Andean condors, traveling up to 50 miles an hour at times with tail winds strongly blowing them as they crossed over three massive Andean peaks, landing after 8 p.m. across the Chilean/Argentinean border. They flew in the same manner as the Condors, using the thermal updrafts and Andean winds to gain altitude, then gliding just as the birds do. In total the flight took them around 25km in distance as they crossed high above the 3,500M border. After landing in a valley below Mt. Aconcagua, the duo camped in the mountains for the night and woke to the rising sun illuminating Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America.

While Wednesday’s success was not the distance the team originally hoped for at the inception of the plan, Santacroce said that after spending time in the Andes closely monitoring winds that were unlike any they had seen in other ranges around the world and learning about the dramatic terrain, they were satisfied with what was accomplished. He adds that regardless of length, the flight was still one of high consequences if any wrong moves were made. “It was an everyday flight in terms of wind, but once we made that first turn away from Portillo, we were committed to going all the way. There was no turning back and even the slightest mistake could have resulted in serious consequences,” he said.

Gadd explained that one of the most difficult parts about flying the Andes is the lack of information currently available. ¨We definitely couldn’t have done it without the support of our ground crew—David Owen, Pat Morrow and Shanti Sosienski--who were with us every step of the way,¨ said Gadd. In the ten days leading up to the flight the team attempted to gather information and maps of Chile and Argentina from local authorities and other pilots around Santiago, but found that much of the information they needed simply wasn’t available. Gadd met with the Santiago Glider Club, which included members that have flown the region in high-performance sail planes (Planedoras) for over 50 years, but even they had little knowledge of the conditions for paragliders. Still, when the opportunity presented itself, Gadd and Santacroces decided to go for it. “If you want to do something you have to try. There are probably many people who could have done this flight, but we were the only ones trying that day on the hill,” said Gadd.

Currently Gadd holds the world record for the longest paragliding flight and has also completed a coast-to-coast paragliding expedition across the United States. Santacroce holds numerous international aerobatic titles and teaches paragliding around the United States. Othar Lawrence, the third member of the team who departed early, is also well-known for his aerobatic titles and heads up the Red Bull Airforce, a team of paragliders, hang gliders, skydivers and BASE jumpers in North America.