Make the impossible possible

There are a mere handful of pilots who have ever flown in Patagonia. The wind is too strong, the weather too unpredictable. Aaron Durogati tried it anyway. At the beginning of January he went to Patagonia with Daniel Ladurner. They wanted to climb the Cerro Torre – one of the world’s most difficult peaks – and fly down with the tandem.

Up they went, rope length by rope length. After 13 hours on the steep terrain their feet hurt, fingers were scraped and cut, heads tired. The wind was much in evidence. It toyed with the climbing rope, whipping it upwards. On the summit a full gale is indicated. A paraglider takeoff in 130 km/h is unthinkable. Even so, Aaron Durogati looks happy. The view from up here, in the middle of the Patagonian Los Glacieras National Park, is quite breathtaking.

Aaron had flown to Patagonia with Daniel Ladurner at the beginning of January. The plan: climb the steep granite needles that punch through the Patagonian ice sheet and, with a bit of luck, take off from the top with the tandem. The Cerro Torre is just about the most extraordinary mountain formation of our planet – all routes to the top are for top notch alpinists only. After climbing on rock, ice and more or less vertical snow sheets they wait on the summit plateau – which Aaron’s research shows as suitable for a tandem takeoff.

Apart from this difficult takeoff site Patagonia is notorious for its bad weather. This bad weather means the lightning-fast onset of windstorms – up to 200 km/h. Any mistake on the mountain is exceptionally critical - always. Rescue would take days. Mobile phone reception? Forget it!.

What drives one on, to go to such an isolated and bleak place with a paraglider? “It is the sense of adventure that excites me so much. To do something that no one has ever done before. Not to know whether I will be able to fly or not. I want to make the impossible possible.”

The original plan to climb the Cerro Torre was not possible for the two South Tyroleans – conditions were too unfavourable.
Instead, the pair climbed the Aguja Poincenot. Again 130 km/h wind on top made a takeoff impossible. But, once more, the beauty of the Patagonian vista took your breath away. Or, in Aaron’s words: “To stand alone on the summit is one of life’s privileges”.
The next weather window made its way through a few days later. The goal was the Aguja Saint Exupery in the Fitzroy mountain group. Aaron understood the problem: if you try to takeoff here the available surface is very small, too small for any tandem. He took his solo wing in his rucksack – Daniel would have to abseil down with a friendly rope team.

“It was one of the most difficult takeoffs that I have ever made”, reflects Aaron. Any mistake would be life-threatening. “Three metres, that was all the space I had. One step too many and I would be falling down the rock wall.” After more than 15 hours climbing up the Aguja Saint Exupery Aaron succeeded in the impossible: he managed to takeoff just below the summit. “The flight was stunning. After a turbulent takeoff the air was smoother and I could see the Fitzroy range from a very special vantage point.”

Down below he waited half the night for his rope partner to arrive. And again there’s the fascinating reality of how quickly a paraglider gets you to the valley floor. “I knew that the opportunity for a takeoff would be very small. The flight was one of the best I have ever experienced.” What was the wind like? “I took off in the lee of approximately 40 km/h – it was very sporting. As I said, one of my most difficult takeoffs ever.”