The team would like to extend a VERY warm welcome to some amazing companies that have offered to help support this expedition - without them, it would be so much more difficult and we definitely wouldn't look as cool as we do whilst being rad!
Tatonka have come on board and are supporting us by supplying us with XXL dry duffle bags and 35L Vert dry day packs. The duffle bags come in handy for when we are travelling long distances to help keep our precious wings not only safe from Russian baggage handlers but also dry from the elements whilst at base camp. The Vert day packs will enable us to carry all of our survival gear whilst we are summiting the volcanoes and also keep it dry at the same time. They are large enough to carry a small shelter, sleeping bag, thermarest, food and water for 24 hours, but small enough that we can still carry while flying back down the mountain. Hydrapak have supplied the team with a series of 3L Full Force water bladders. Little did we know, but there is a reason why they are called Full Force... There is an attachment near the mouthpiece that pressurises the water stream significantly. I can only see this ending in a waterfight disaster! Ah the ways we will no doubt entertain ourselves! And lastly Lush Eyewear have taken on the hardest task of all - to attempt to add some style to our ranks with some super rad sunnies! Super stoked to be supporting the Aussie brand. These 80's styled wrap around glasses will do well to keep the elements out, whether it be snow, sleet, rain or UV, and keep the party going on! Just over a month and a half to go and things are certainly heating up. Every morning it seems that my phone is going off at the moment with weather alerts for potential flyable conditions. So that has been my life, hike - fly - repeat. The nice things about photos like these is that they tend to dull the memory of waiting for over 3 hours on a cliff edge for the winds to 'turn on' as the case has been lately. At least it has been coming on and there have been some spectacular flights in the meantime.
The road to Russia is on! After a couple days and hours upon hours of waiting on a volcanic plug for the winds to be just right, we finally managed a launch! As far as is known, this mountain has never been flown before. The launch area was incredibly small with only 3 knots of wind at best to be able to fly off - definitely technical and definitely marginal. But we made it, so check it out here. |
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