Everest, first descent by paraglider. First to reach the summit on May 22 were Bertrand “Zébulon” Roche and his wife Clair Bernier-Roche. This was the second time for Bertrand on the summit of Everest. In October 1990, when he was 17 years old, he became the youngest non-Nepalese to climb Everest, a record which stills stands to this day. He reached the top with his father, the guide Jean-Noël Roche, the ascent also being the first time a father and son had reached the summit together. Now he is a guide and with his wife owns a paragliding school, where she is an instructor (and also three-times World female champion). They brought their tandem paraglider to the top and when they soared overhead to descend from the summit directly to advanced base at 6400m in just 10 minutes, people below were amazed and fascinated by this spectacular sight. It was the first complete descent of Everest by paraglider.

Elizabeth Hawley