In February this year, an extraordinary adventure will take place in Argentina; a group of pilots led by John Welch from Dorset will be attempting a new world distance paragliding record. This type of carefully planned campaign, on this scale, is a new approach to setting a new world distance record.
We've put together a team with advanced para-medic qualifications, specialist electronic knowledge and sport psychology expertise. Of course, all members of the team are exceptional pilots even in world terms. We'll have a chance to take part in something so extraordinary and to change both the way we look at the world around us and how we view ourselves forever.
February is when it all happens. We head north to Quimili, a town situated in the Gran Chaco and one of the hottest areas of South America. This area is magical but in a subtle way. It has a beauty like Arctic wastes or equatorial deserts; the beauty is there but reveals itself slowly; it .... captivates is probably the best description. This amazing area is being systematically destroyed to grow Soya for the US market and a unique bio-culture is being lost yet it still is full of surprises. It is so remote that an entirely new species of mammal was discovered here as recently as the 1970's and I’m not talking about some tiny little nothing; this is big, the size of a dog and it's not even that uncommon, it’s just such a seldom visited area that it’s fauna have been overlooked.
While achieving the goal is so important to us, the journey is almost as big a part. At the end of this there will be 7 people whose lives will be changed forever. At the end we’ll look back at the journey and what we've managed to achieve. The idea of looking back on it is just mind blowing.
We'll put regular updates on this blog so that you’ll be able to follow us on this remarkable journey.
