EVEREST SKYDIVE 2008

Reconnaissance of the Drop Zone at Syangboche by the High & Wild Skydiving Managing Team 2008
The first ever skydiving programme in the Everest Himalaya took place in mid-May of 2008. Four skydivers, namely Ben Ian Wood, Andy Montriou, Nigel Gifford and David Ian Wood successfully jumped from a height of 16,000ft at Syangboche, near the Sherpa capital of Namche Bazaar. All four divers belonged to the management team of High & Wild, which is a UK-based adventure company. This test jump became the first ever skydiving event in the Everest region. Explore Himalaya, the local partner of High & Wild, received the permit to hold the first ever Skydiving event in front of Mt Everest (29,035ft.) in the autumn of the same year.

6 May 2008 -Everest Skydive Management Team Arrives in Kathmandu
On 6 May, the management team of High & Wild Everest Skydive arrived in Kathmandu, with High & Wild’s Managing Director, Nigel Gifford, leading the team. After having spent a day in Kathmandu, the team flew to Lukla, the entrance to the Everest Region. They trekked a couple of days to Namche Bazaar, from where they walked up the hill to Syangboche to inspect the landing area. On 13 May, the team did a thorough aerial survey by Fishtail Air helicopter.

14 – 15 May – First Ever Skydive Over Everest
On 14 May, Ben Ian Wood and Andy Montriou were geared up for the test dive. Their first two attempts at 6.30am and 8am failed due to the weather – first it was too cloudy and then too windy. However, the weather finally cleared at 9:15 am, and Ben and Andy jumped from the dizzying heights of 16,000ft and landed safely at Syangboche airstrip.
The following day, Nigel Gifford and David Ian Wood repeated this feat by skydiving from a helicopter belonging to Fishtail Air. Sixty-two-year old Nigel Gifford was delighted with the jump, which lasted about 10 seconds in freefall. Unfortunately, the team’s plan to do a tandem jump did not work out due to the weather and they returned to the UK on 16 May. After the successful Drop Zone test, the upcoming Everest Skydive mission for autumn 2008 looked very promising and Nigel was confident about running this operation as a commercial activity.
Explore Himalaya was proud to be associated as a local partner of High & Wild in introducing Everest Skydive as a new product.

Everest Skydive 2008: The First Everest Skydive Ever
Everest Skydive 2008 (4-11 October) – Syangboche Dropzone (1,2350 ft)
High & Wild, UK and Explore Himalaya Travel & Adventure Everest Skydive 2008 organised the first Everest Skydive at Syangboche (12,350ft) in Solokhumbu District. This unique event drew the attention of millions of people from around the world to the hilly Everest region of Nepal.
Syangboche, the one of the highest drop zones in the world, lies 12 miles southwest of Everest Base Camp and 17.5 miles from its summit. The Everest Skydivers jumped from 29,500ft, which is higher than Everest, which makes the event the “Highest Skydive in the World”. Flying from above the highest point on earth, amidst magnificent views of the Himalayan peaks, was probably the most thrilling and exciting experience in most of the skydivers’ lives.
The event was covered by more than 500 international as well as national media and media representatives at the drop zone included Kantipur (Nepal), Avenues Television (Nepal), BBC, CNN, Channel 5 UK, TV3 New Zealand, Australian Television, Al Jazeera etc.

Highlights and International Records – Everest Skydive 2008
Everest Skydive 2008 made it into the record books. The event can be dubbed as the most exciting Himalayan adventure. The skydiving event held the world enthralled as divers hurtled from above the world’s highest peak, freefalling for a few minutes before opening their parachute and landing on one of the highest drop zones in the world, Syangboche.

The major highlights and list of the world records made during the event are as follows:
1. Skydiving event from the highest altitude ever – 29,500ft, above Everest
2. Highest drop zone in the world (till the date) – 12,350ft, Syangboche
3. The first skydiving event held in the Himalaya
4. The first skydiving event with 41 skydivers doing 50 solos and 19 tandem jumps from a height of 29,500ft, 22,500ft, 22,000ft, 19,000ft, 18,500ft and 18,000ft
5. The only skydiver with the highest number of solo jumps made from above 22,000ft – Wendy Smith of New Zealand, with nine solo jumps (including eight jumps from 29,500ft and one from 22,000ft)
6. First person to summit Mt. Everest as well as skydive in front of Everest – Maya Gurung (Nepal)
7. First solo diver of the event – Wendy Smith (New Zealand)
8. First tandem jump – Lucie Fenton (UK) & Tom Noonan (tandem master, USA)
9. First Iraqi to make a solo jump from 29,500ft – Fareed Lafta
10. First Swedish to make a solo jump from a height of 29,500f t- Herman S. Duscher
11. First Danish to make a tandem jump from 29,500ft – Per Wimmer
12. First South African to make a solo jump from 29,500ft – Adolphe Botha
13. First Belgian to make a solo jump from an altitude of 29,500ft – Christophe De Pauw
14. First Asian and Pakistani to make a tandem jump from a height of 29,500ft – Namira Salim
15. First Nepali to make a tandem jump from 22,000ft – Nima Tamang
16. First Nepali woman to make a tandem jump from 22,500ft – Maya Gurung
17. First Arab to make a solo jump from 29,500ft – Naseer Alneyadi
18. First Canadian to jump from a height of 29,500ft – Neil Jones
19. First father & son duo to make tandem jumps from a height of 29,500ft during the same event – Scott & Lou Diesel from the USA
20. First British woman skydiver to make a solo jump from a height of 29,500ft – Holly Budge
21. First American solo jumper of the event – Omar Alhegelan
22. First Australian to make the highest (29,500ft) tandem jump – Steve Hennessey
23. First person with gender reassignment (from male to female) to make the highest tandem jump (29,500ft) – Kate Craig-Wood (UK)
24. Two World Champions, Omar Alhegelan from the USA and Ms. Wendy Smith from New Zealand took part as members of the Crew team.
25. Jumps were made between the heights of 18,000 to 29,500ft.
26. Ms. Holly Budge (UK), Neil Jones (UK) and Wendy Smith (New Zealand) were the first three solo jumpers to jump from the height of 29,500 ft.
27. Per Thanning Wimmer from Denmark (millionaire) was the first to make a tandem jump as passenger from the height of 29,500ft along with Ralph Mitchell, a British Tandem Master.
28. Molly Anne Bedingfield, founder of the charity mission “Global Angeles”, and mother of famous pop singers Natasha and Daniel Bedingfield, made a tandem jump from 29,500ft to raise US $ 1 million for the charity that helps orphanages and street children from all over the world, including Nepal. She had already raised US $ 300,000 till date.
29. All together, the Pilatus Porter Aircraft of Swissboogie operated 22 flights. The aircraft was specially flown in from Switzerland.
30. Twenty-two trekking members joined the trip as observers.
31. All the jumps were planned and regulated by the team of Dave Wood from the UK.
32. The famous British aeronautical scientist, Andy Elson developed a special oxygen system for this event. Elson is also well known for flying over Everest in a hot air balloon in 1990.
33. All clothes, including the jump suits, were made in Nepal by Rajen Dulal, a young entrepreneur, who has workshop in Thamel.
34. The British television company, “Channel 5” made a film about the event and had a daily live-link. The BBC, TV3 New Zealand, Australian Television, Al Jazeera, CNN and other TV stations also covered the event.
35. Everest Sky Dive 2008 has become the most widely covered and publicised tourism event by international media, after the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the First Ascent of Mt. Everest in 2003.
36. Everest Skydive hit the international tourism market as a brand-new and most remarkable product from the Nepalese Tourism Industry.
37. International tourism experts believe that Everest Skydive will bring more people to Nepal in future than expeditions to Everest.
38. Everest Skydive 2008 is a milestone in the history of Everest – after its first ascent by Tenzing and Hillary in 1953.
39. More than 100 Nepalese were involved in making this event happen. Fishtail Air helicopters were on standby for rescue operations during the event.

Names of Skydivers – Everest Skydive 2008

SN	Name	Country	Jump(Solo/Tandem)	Remarks
1	Wendy Smith	New Zealand	Solo	Crew
2	Lucie Fenton	UK	Tandem	With tandem master Tom Noonan
3	Tom Noonan	USA	Tandem	Crew
4	Omar Alhegelan    USA	Solo	Crew
5	Steve Hennessey	Australia	Tandem	Crew
6	Nima Tamang	Nepal	Tandem	With tandem master Steve Hennessey
7	Cheri Alhegelan	USA	Tandem	With tandem master Ralph Mitchell
8	Ralph Mitchell	UK	Tandem	Crew
9	Neil Jones	Canada	Solo
10	Chris Parsons	UK	Solo
11	Derek Thomas	USA	Solo	Crew
12	Holly Budge	UK	Solo
13	Ryan Jackson	UK	Solo	Crew
14	Adolphe Botha	South Africa	Solo
15	Thomas Laurie Hinds	UK	Solo
16	Carrie Holmes	USA	Solo
17	Maya Gurung	Nepal	Tandem	With tandem master Tom Noonan
18	Fareed Lafta	Iraq	solo
19	Christophe de Pauw	Belgium	solo
20	Peter Baker	UK	Tandem	With tandem master Steve Hennessey
21	Martin Preston	UK	Solo
22	Molly Beddingfield	UK	Tandem	With tandem master Ralph Mitchell
23	Namira Salim	Pakistan	Tandem	With tandem master Tom Noonan
24	Dean Edwards	UK	Solo
25	William Thomason	New Zealand	Tandem	With tandem master Steve Hennessey
26	Derek Cornelius	UK	Tandem	With tandem master Ralph Mitchell
27	Ron Hudson	USA	Tandem	With tandem master Steve Hennessey
28	Howard Shao	USA	Tandem	With tandem master Ralph Mitchell
29	Herman S.Duscher	Sweden	Solo	Solo
30	Djuan Rivers	USA	Tandem	With tandem master Steve Hennessey
31	Kate Craigwood	Uk	Tandem	With tandem master Tom Noonan
32	Jane Dougall	Uk	Tandem	With tandem master Ralph Mitchell
33	Harold Watkins	Uk	Tandem	With tandem master Steve Hennessey
34	Darren Thatcher	Uk	Tandem	With tandem master Tom Noonan
35	Naseer Alneyadi	UAE	Solo	Solo
36	Per Wimmer	Denmark	Tandem	With tandem master Ralph Mitchell
37	Lou Diesel	USA	Tandem	With tandem master Steve Hennessey
38	Scott Diesel	USA	Tandem	With tandem master Tom Noonan
39	Simon Repton	UK	Solo
40	Mark Finch	UK	Solo	Crew
41	Leigh Pretty	UK	Solo

Everest Skydive 2008 Closing Ceremony- 14th October, 2008

The closing ceremony for Everest Skydive 2008 took place at Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) on 14 October 2008. NTB hosted the function and saw the attendance of the crew and members of Everest Skydive, dignitaries and officials from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, tourism entrepreneurs, media persons and the staff of Explore Himalaya and Fishtail Air. The chief guest was Mr.Prachanda Man Shrestha, CEO, Nepal Tourism Board. Mr. Suman Pandey, President of Explore Himalaya, delivered the welcome speech. In his welcome address, he mentioned the major highlights of Everest Sky Dive 2008.  Nigel Gifford, Managing Director of High & Wild UK and founder of Everest Sky Dive also spoke on the occasion. He expressed his gratitude to the Government of Nepal and all concerned for making the event happen. 

An incredible aerial video footage taken by Wendy Smith, Director of Aerial photography, of the Everest Skydive, was shown at the end of the program. The closing ceremony also had Molly Bedingfield, founder of the international charity, “Global Angles,” and a tandem jumper during the event, announcing a donation of US $ 2,00,000/- to “Childrens’ Home Orphanage” located in Khokana, Lalitpur.