‘An Infinite Energy’

Mixing high-level climbing and paragliding, Fabi Buhl has gone from rock-rat to sky-god in super-quick time. Fresh back from Patagonia we found out more about this talented multi-sports pilot

For the three climbers about to embark on an unclimbed mountain in the Pakistan Karakoram, it was something of a leisurely and unconventional start. This was not the pre-dawn wake-up most climbers are used to – and dread. But then they were not just climbers, but pilots trialling a new way of accessing the greater ranges. 

Fabi Buhl, Will Sim and Jake Holland proceeded to have a civilised breakfast and coffee in their guesthouse in Karimabad before hiking up to a launch at 3,000m. They loaded up their wings with their mountaineering equipment, then flew in a matter of hours what would have taken days on foot to get to their chosen objective, the 5,800m Gulmit Tower. They landed at the base of the mountain where Fabi and Will made a lightning first ascent. The following...