Paragliding in the Himalaya
Adventure and inspiration

Himalayan Lifeline: Rescue at 5,000m

Stranded on a 600m cliff after crashing at almost 5,000m in the mountains behind Bir, India, Michal Karnik fought to stay alive as temperatures plunged...

8 September, 2025, by Michal Karnik | Main image: Jérôme Maupoint

It’s hard to know where to begin when your life feels like a whirlwind. In just 24 hours, more seems to happen to me than some people experience in a year. I wish I could write about a carefree adventure, but my stories always seem to come with an unexpected twist.

This one started years ago. In 2017, after an incredible paragliding trip to India, I set my sights on Kyrgyzstan the following year. But on the way there, during a layover in New Delhi, I found myself in the middle of a nightmare: I was arrested at the airport for carrying a Garmin satellite messenger. What was supposed to be a brief stopover turned into a 10-day ordeal involving the New Zealand embassy, lawyers, and court appearances in New Delhi.

Faced with...

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