Every cross-country flight has its own story. Aaron Durogati's 312 km triangle in the middle of Pakistan's 7,000 metre scenery was special. The longest FAI triangle flown in Asia came about simply because landing on the way was not an option. In the Karakoram, everything is somewhat different.
“Let's see what's possible. Let's find out what will work.” When Aaron Durogati and his three companions Fabi Buhl, Will Smith and Jake Holland finally arrived in Karimabad after 20 hours on the Karakoram Highway, they initially felt overwhelmed by the sheer might of the high mountains. They were surrounded by seven-thousandmetre peaks, with the eight-thousanders in sight: well-known mountains like Rakaposhi, Nanga Parbat, K2 and many more.
It was Aaron's first trip to the remote north-east of Pakistan. The World Cup winner, X-Alps athlete and exceptional pilot had no record-breaking plan when he set off for the Karakoram for five weeks at the beginning of May 2022. All he wanted was, “To become free in his mind ... and do what he knows how to do – paragliding and skiing. To experience both in a new dimension.” Hence the long journey to the Hunza Valley and Karimabad. It would be a “life experience” in every respect.
Everything starts with acclimatisation
“When we arrived the weather was unstable. We had storms with wind speeds of up to 80 km/h. So, we concentrated on acclimatising: wait for a weather window, go up on foot, come down with the PI 3.” The aim was to get fit for altitudes above 5,000 metres. Soon Aaron and his team understood the conditions well enough that they set off for their first Ski & Fly Combos. The Hunza Peak glacier (around 5,000 m above sea level) offered exciting steep slopes, and when the weather improved, Barbara Peak (5,520 m above sea level) offered cool freeride experiences. Aaron's first assessment: wonderful, but very challenging and at times treacherous terrain. “This is no longer sport, this is adventure.”
On and on, ever more adventurous
At last, after twenty days the weather improved and cross-country flights were possible. The first cross-country, a 200 km flat triangle, was a success. The thin air at altitudes up to 6,500 m guaranteed speed and the flight took less than six hours. “My intention was to fly as far as possible and see as much as possible.”
Aaron had chosen an eastern slope above Karimabad as the launch site for his cross-country flights. Before each take-off, he first had to climb up 1,000 metres on foot. His second cross-country was a flat FAI triangle of 285 km, and it turned out to be quite a learning experience: katabatic wind – strong, cold, thermal-balancing glacier air descending the big glaciers – put a spoke in his wheel. At 5,000 m altitude the Karimabad goal was showing within gliding range on his vario, but a few minutes later Aaron was forced to land in a remote valley. The walk out took several hours.
But no sooner had the cross-country flying really begun than Aaron's stomach started to complain: “Pakistani food is not my thing. I'm Italian, and so I always had a bit of trouble with the menu. When we set off on the next adventure, Barbara Peak, I suddenly felt really bad.” It shook things up and delayed the programme. I had to get better, clear the infection and take a rest day before I could continue with the Ski & Fly combos.
New record for Asia
Once Aaron's stomach had returned to normal, the next setback was a hard landing. “I didn't have a protector on this flight for once, and my back took a hit.” Despite the pain, Aaron climbed back up to the launch site the next day with his Omega XA 4. “I had noticed that my back felt best when in the harness.” And so began Aaron's Asian record-breaking adventure.
Up until the first turnpoint, Aaron was progressing very quickly, but then he encountered some difficult sections when he had to scratch for height at 200 metres above a remote valley floor, circling in only 0.1 metres per second of climb. “Every metre of climb was worth its weight in gold because landing out and jogging back was not an option. The terrain was far too chal-lenging and with my back I couldn't run anyway. I would have been completely lost.” The last leg of the flight again went well. Thanks to good thermals, Aaron flew past the 7,800 m Rakaposhi back to the final turnpoint. The Asian record adventure was a success: 312 kilometres in 10 and a half hours.
A completely different dimension
“In terms of thermals, the flying is similar to flying in the Alps. But when you're in the Karakoram you experience everything in a different dimension: you gain more altitude and everything is ten times bigger than at home: the glaciers, the crevasses, the seracs. And above all, you are completely on your own – on very difficult terrain. That's the big difference.” Aaron had been confronted with this situation repeatedly during his flights. “There's no helicopter to pick you up. Here you'd be out for days until you got back, if you got back at all.” This required as much self-confidence as intuition: “In the five weeks I learned to trust my gut feeling. If I hadn't listened to my inner voice when making decisions, the record flight wouldn't have happened either.”
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About Aaron
Aaron Durogati
Aaron is a complete all-round talent: a pilot who feels at home in all paragliding disciplines – XC, Vol-Biv, Speedflying and Climb & Fly. The former overall World Cup winner has already participated five times in the X-Alps.
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