F.P. Report
LAHORE: In June 2022, two international paragliders, Thomas de Dorlodot from Belgium and Horacio Llorens from Spain, arrived in Pakistan. The two aerial adventurers came with a purpose to break the altitude record by flying over K2, the second highest mountain in the world. While the weather and wind conditions did not allow that, the athletes did set a new world record of flying past four of Pakistan’s mountains in a single seven-hour long flight they called the ‘Grand Slam Flight’.
Their month-long journey leading up to, during and after the Grand Slam Flight has now been made into a half-hour documentary called ‘Flying Between Giants’. The documentary takes us behind the scenes from packing to travel to Pakistan to all the way to the incredible flight. “We fell in love with the country when we first visited. It’s one of the most welcoming countries and is one of the best for paragliding,” said de Dorlodot about Pakistan in an interview last summer.
“It feels like every time I have come to Pakistan, it has been to prepare for this trip,” he added. “I’ve been to Pakistan six times. And every time, we learn something new and I feel everything is in place now to go for an epic expedition. This will be our biggest expedition ever in Pakistan for sure.”
Even in the documentary, he is heard raving about his experience. “The feeling that you get when flying at 7500m, so close to K2… I feel so fortunate,” de Dorlodot says as we see Llorens and him fly across the diverse gray and white textures and between the rocky giants. Llorens too was super pumped to be exploring new places and embarking on breathtaking expeditions.
“There are many more things to do,” he said. “I love this place. This time, we are much more prepared, mentally and physically. Hopefully, if the weather is good, we are here to do something big.”
And something big they did as they flew across Muztagh Tower, K2, Broad Peak all the way to Gasherbrum IV, and back to the base camp in a single seven-hour flight. Flying Between Giants chronicles their superhuman task at hand and the physical, mental and emotional journey the two paragliders went through to accomplish it.
The Belgian Red Bull athlete Tom De Dorlodot has been flying for over 20 years, since the age of 14, when the first time his feet were off the ground and he fell in love with the sport. Since then, he has paraglided over mountains across the world and started SEARCH Projects with the goal of searching for new adventures and documenting them. His first visit to Pakistan was in 2013.
Whereas, Horacio Llorens is a Red Bull athlete and five-time world champion in paragliding, having glided over from the Mayan ruins in Guatemala to Aurora Borealis. He also set the Guinness World record for hitting 6G in his 568 rotations (called Infinity Tumbling) on the way down to the Mayan ruins at Takalik Abaj in Guatemala. Llorens has visited Pakistan multiple times in the past and is once again here to take on another insane flight.
Last summer, the two paragliders experienced the local paragliding sites and interacted with the local community during their time here. And Llorens is back again. But it’s not just because of the paragliding but also the “traditional culture and people” who treated them well during the stay.
In the wake of the Flying Between Giants release and its already massive reach worldwide, Red Bull Pakistan will host a screening of the documentary and a meet-and-greet with Horacio Llorens on Sunday March 19, 2023 at Red Bull Pakistan Head Office, Karachi.
We cordially invite the media and the audience to join in on an evening full of adventure stories, Pakistani culture and the candid look into the phenomenal story of Flying Between Giants.
