Latest news with #ExplorersWeb
Daily Record
23-06-2025
- Daily Record
What is wingsuit flying as Scot tragically dies in Swiss Alps base jump
Liam Byrne, 24, suffered fatal injuries when on the Gitschen mountain on Saturday after taking off from 7,784ft (2,400m). A Scots wingsuit flyer tragically died during a jump in the Swiss Alps on Saturday, June 21. Liam Byrne, 24, suffered fatal injuries when jumping from the Gitschen mountain at 7,784ft (2,400m). The 24-year-old from Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire was described as a very experienced wingsuit flyer. His father, Mike Byrne, paid tribute from Switzerland, telling BBC Scotland News: "Though he has now flown beyond our reach, he will always be with us." In a touching statement his family described Liam as "fearless" who inspired them through his "kind spirit" and "bold heart". The statement read: "We would like to remember Liam not just for the way he left this world, but for how he lived in it. "Liam was fearless, not necessarily because he wasn't afraid but because he refused to let fear hold him back. He chased life in a way that most of us only dream of and he soared. "Skydiving and base jumping was more than just a thrill for Liam - it was freedom. It was where he felt most alive." But as the tragic accident makes headlines, questions have risen on exactly what wingsuit flying entails, and the risks associated with this extreme hobby. Here's everything you need to know about wingsuit flying. What is wingsuit flying? Wingsuit flying, also known as wingsuit jumping or simply wingsuiting, is a form of skydiving in which the diver wears a winged suit with fabric extending between their arms and legs. The extra fabric of the suit forms a webbed effect which allows them to glide through the air after jumping from a plane or another high point. By shifting the position of their body, the diver can control their fall and 'fly' through the air, before using a parachute to land safely. This extreme sport requires extensive training to be carried out safely, and it comes with its fair share of risks. How dangerous is wingsuit flying? According to Explorers Web, more than 400 people have died doing this extreme sport since 1981. The death rate for wingsuiting is an astonishing one death per 500 jumps, and it is statistically much more dangerous than ordinary skydiving. Liam Byrne's family continued their touching statement to the flyer who had successfully completed hundreds of jumps in the past, and starred in a BBC documentary The Boy Who Can Fly last November. The statement added: "Liam was more than just an adventurer. He was a son, brother, grandson, cousin and friend. He was a source of laughter and strength. "He inspired all of us and made life better with his bold spirit and kind heart. We will miss Liam's wild energy and contagious laugh. "Though he has now flown beyond our reach, he will always be with us." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kangchenjunga: The Season's Last Summits?
Everest is not the only 8,000'er where time is running out; many climbers are betting on "now or never" pushes on Kangchenjunga. Today, teams are reporting several summits, including 10 members of Mingma G's Imagine Nepal expedition. Amongst them, Naila Kiani of Pakistan bagged her 12th 8,000'er and fellow Pakistani Sirbaz Khan summited the peak again, just days after completing his no-oxygen 14x8,000'er quest. This time, Khan used supplemental oxygen because he was guiding, leader Mingma G told ExplorersWeb from Advanced Base Camp. Other members of the summit group included Sashko Kedev of Macedonia (on his 13th 8,000'er with only Gasherbrum I to go), Wang Zhong of China, Hakon Asvang of Norway, and Maria Alexandra Danila of Romania. The guides included Khan, Pemba Chhiri Sherpa, Ngima Nuru Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa, and Prem Bahadur Tamang. Imagine Nepal's team will try to return to Advanced Base Camp today. At the time of writing (2:45 pm, Nepal time), they were near Camp 2. Australian Allie Pepper is attempting to reach the summit without oxygen, she is supported by Mikel Sherpa. Earlier today, Pepper left Camp 3 at 6,800m and is slowly ascending. At 2:30 pm, her tracker put her at 7,350m, still far from the 8,586m summit. As with Everest, teams have gained altitude gradually from camp to camp -- a strategy now possible with the large supplies of O2 -- and have launched summit pushes when the weather allowed over the last seven days. As on Everest, there were many summits on May 18, with teams taking advantage of relatively light winds at summit altitude. For now, there is little information about those ascending or descending on Kangchenjunga. The descent is a serious challenge; Kangchenjunga is not only the third highest mountain on Earth, but the normal route is very long, longer even than the normal route on K2. It is an exhausting climb to the summit, but climbers need to save enough power for a descent involving steep sections and long plateau traverses. The mountain has already taken a climber's life. On May 11, Margareta Morin of France died on her first 8,000m climb. Meanwhile, British climber Adrian Hayes was injured while descending and spent a night above 8,000m in the open. He eventually made it down and rescue services airlifted him to hospital for treatment.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Egloff Abandons Everest Race; Andrews Continues & Nears South Col
Karl Egloff of Ecuador, climbing without supplementary oxygen, turned around shortly before Camp 3. According to his home team, he is okay and descending to Base Camp. "Conditions were not suitable for a no-O2 ascent," Egloff's wife told ExplorersWeb. "He followed his instinct and experience to go down when necessary." She explained that Egloff had a bad feeling and decided to listen to it and retreat. He informed his team in Base Camp that he had already passed Camp 2 on the way down. Egloff is continuing all the way back to Base Camp. He wants to avoid being in the Khumbu Icefall during the warm day, when it is more unstable. The Ecuadorian had hoped to set a Fastest Known Time on Everest from Base Camp to the summit and back to Base Camp. Tyler Andrews of the U.S. abruptly changed his plans shortly before starting, but the conservative decision may have given him a chance to come away with a partial success. Like Egloff, he had originally planned to do without bottled oxygen, but today, he decided otherwise. Andrews started using oxygen at Camp 2 and is carrying on, despite high winds. There is no recent news from Andrews, as his tracker's signal froze when the climber was nearly at 7,500m, midway between Camp 3 and Camp 4. Tyler Andrews' progress can be tracked here. Egloff's tracker is here.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tyler Andrews to Take One Last Shot at Everest Speed Record
Tyler Andrews is not ready to accept defeat on Everest. Hours after admitting that "the mountain said no" over the weekend, he has just announced he is leaving again tonight at 9 pm Nepal time. That's about two hours from now. The weather looks great tomorrow. The bad news is, the Khumbu Icefall does not. Tyler Andrews tried to bag the fastest ever Everest ascent last Friday. Contrary to his original plans, he opted to use supplementary oxygen because of high winds on the upper sections of the mountain. However, expedition leader Dawa Steven Sherpa decided to turn Andrews around on Saturday morning at around 8,000m, and move both Andrews and his support team (distributed at several points along the mountain) down for safety reasons. The wind was just too strong. Yesterday, Andrews posted a video of his highest point, showing strong winds above the South Col. "For the second time in two weeks, I was under world record pace and within just a couple of hours of the summit, but Apu ["Lord"] Everest did not want to grant us safe passage," Andrews wrote. Andrews was devastated to have come so close. He had been focused on his Everest Fastest Known Time (FKT) project for years, and needed some time to consider his next move. Less than 24 hours later, he has decided to try again. Andrews had shared no details, but in a text to ExplorersWeb, he said he will go with regular climbing partner Chris Fisher at least part of the way. He also confirmed to ExplorersWeb that he has reverted to his original plan of climbing without supplementary oxygen. There is a good reason for this last-minute attempt. After a crazy month of uncertain weather because of the jet-stream winds, forecasts agree that tomorrow will be an excellent summit day. "May 27 looks like the best day for Everest, with good, weak winds and pretty clear skies above 7,500m," Marc de Keyser, a meteorologist with Weather4Expeditions, told ExplorersWeb. He noted that May 28 could also be a good summit day, although the weather will deteriorate from that point on. Multimodel forecasts show the same pattern: Unfortunately, better weather means worse conditions on the Khumbu Icefall. It has been deteriorating over the last few days, to the point that it could close soon. Suman Gurung, one of the guides working for Furtenbach Adventures, had to fix a ladder-assisted passage over a crevasse as he went down on Sunday. "A section of the icefall was just was an icy graveyard of ropes and rogue ladders hanging in space," Gurung posted on Instagram. "The route is officially open until May 29, but it is already very dangerous," Lukas Furtenbach told us. Andrews was not the only runner hoping for a speed record on Everest. Karl Egloff of Ecuador left Base Camp with the same plan two hours before Andrews' previous attempt. Egloff stuck to his original plan of going without oxygen and aiming for an FKT for the round trip rather than Tyler Andrews' plan of timing himself just to the summit. Egloff aborted soon after Camp 3. "As I climbed alone all night to Camp 3, I decided to go down, I had a feeling that the mountain would not receive us, a bad feeling," Egloff explained. Egloff flew to Kathmandu yesterday. Asked by ExplorersWeb, he said it was a surprise to learn about Andrews' last-minute change of plans and confirmed he is not trying again this season. All the big teams are already off the mountain, and crowding will not be a problem for Andrews. However, he and Fisher will not be completely alone on the mountain. Dan Mazur of the U.S., leader of the SummitClimb expedition, said earlier today on Facebook that around 50 climbers will try to reach the South Col tonight and go for the summit on May 27 or 28.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tyler Andrews Aborts Everest Speed Climb Less than 500M Below the Summit
Something has prompted Tyler Andrews of the U.S. to turn around when he was nearly touching the summit of Everest. After a 17-hour, non-stop run without supplementary oxygen from Base Camp to above the Balcony (8,400m), he has decided to go down. Andrews, 35, left Base Camp yesterday at 9:08 pm Nepal time. Chris Fisher supported him until Camp 2. There were also support teams in the higher camps. Around noon today, he was above 8,000m. At 8,200m, Andrews sent a text message over his InReach reading: "All well in the mountains." This suggests that Andrews would finally succeed on his third attempt this season to speed climb 8,849m Everest. Concern began among the thousands of followers checking the climber's location on his tracker during the afternoon in Nepal, when his InReach device stopped sending a signal. Andrews' team also had problems connecting with him over the radio, but were aware that he was moving. They noted that 16 hours into his effort, the runner was approaching the Balcony. Shortly afterward, the team finally connected with him and learned -- and shared -- the bad news: Some 20 hours after departure, Andrews' tracker shows him on his way down. But if his team's information is accurate, the signal does not show the highest point he reached: Andrews was on his third attempt to speed climb Everest. On the first attempt, on May 10-11, Andrews turned around slightly above Camp 3, due to problems with his equipment. Last Friday, he tried with supplementary oxygen, but the high winds at the summit proved too strong to let him finish. That day, Karl Egloff of Ecuador also attempted to bag the Everest FKT (Fastest Known Time) without oxygen. Egloff aborted shortly after Camp 3. Both climbers officially called their expeditions off, but Andrews changed his mind unexpectedly yesterday. Weather forecasts promised good conditions today. He decided at the last minute to give Everest a last try and set off that same evening. Andrews was trying to beat the previous mark set by Kaji Sherpa, who climbed from Base Camp to the summit in 20 hours and 24 minutes in 1998. Kaji's ascent was controversial since the climber used oxygen on his way down. However, Andrews believes that how a climber performs on descent is not significant if the planned record run ends at the summit. "In my opinion, if you get to the top, you get to the top," he told ExplorersWeb. "I don't mind how you go down. However, I understand people may have different criteria." Andrews still has a long way to go to Base Camp, but there are support staff at several points of the route. Other climbers are also still on the mountain. We will update you when we learn what caused him to turn around.
