"...I see...nor the value of this this stunt...".

I believe this way of looking misses the forest because of the trees.
(Disclosu I could be called one of PR - such as there is one - people for the project. But I do it on my own time, as one of many project volunteers, so you may believe that I believe in what I am writing here).

John Cochrane in "The Evolution of U.S. Contest Soaring" (http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/soaring/) stated "Soaring is a participant sport not a spectator sport." John further in this article relaxed his statement (writing about Grand Prix races), but the framework I think remains valid and useful. There is "participant sport soaring", there is "spectator sport soaring" and there is a relationship between them.

In short, we believe that the "Everest Gliding Project" tries to draw attention of uninitiated as a stunt, *is* in truth a reconnaissance into flying gliders in Himalaya (multifaceted interest, more below), and *may* pave the way to Himalaya being the venue for the "spectator sport soaring". The next stage would be to firm up and satisfy the *spectator* interest, for Himalaya and other places. "Big" helps. "Famous" helps. Those mountains are big and famous.

The ultimate goal is a bit further, it is to draw more people to "participant sport soaring". I think John argued convincingly why it is vital for the sport. I would like to only add here one element to John's analysis, that of the link between "spectator" and "participant" forms. We think sport's "spectator form" would be an effective recruiting tool for the "participant sport soaring", probably both in drawing more people to gliding and in inspiring them to subsequently graduate to "participant contests" (John analyses both issues). The reason why seems obvious to me.

Having said that, would Sebastian go there without all this high-minded rhetoric? I guess yes :-). But he probably would not give a damn if anybody knows.

Anyway, I think trying to decide "a stunt or a real unprecedented accomplishment" is interesting to argue, but the whole issue does not reduce to this dilemma.

Now, what has to be remembered here is that mountains of Himalaya have a special meaning to the people of the region. Religious, spiritual. The very gusts of air there are, for the people of Himalaya, much more than just "air particle flows". So it is far from only about understanding "how to drive the machine" there. It is the people from whom much is to be learned, and establish mutual understanding. It is not only meteorology which is as yet unknown to Western pilots.

OK, now the standard PR information. The project is privately funded (debt).. It will go regardless of the fund drive results. The money gathered will be spent on additional equipment/services, additional video capabilities and to reduce debts incurred directly to fund it (with video the higher among those priorities).

The glider (ASH25Mi, privately owned) is loaned for the project by one of the pilots of Karkonoskie Stowarzyszenie Szybowcowe. It has a 60Hp rotary engine, expected to be used for the launches only, from airfields of below 2000m elevation. Pokhara (Nepal) is the most likely base of operations. The glider is in transit now (shipping container, the ship so far on anchor due to weather), via sea and then land to Pokhara.

There will be an effort to live-track the flights (website). Info about the developments will be Twittered. The project has a Web site
http://everest.glidezar.com/en/site/
and a FB page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Everes...18475524982721

There will be 3 pilots (including Sebastian) and a minimal support group.

Now about the funding: let's say it was already possible to gain full sponsor funding, but the product in question was perhaps not the best match with the image the project's people want to associate with the sport. So for now it is "specific items" sponsorship from under 10 sources. The upside is unconfused endorsement - those things are necessary :-) But the project is actively looking for further sponsors.

And the project is looking for individual donations. The Website explains options available. There are some perks for supporters. What is newfangled is the Bitcoin donation option. Bitcoin community helps a lot in spreading the news about the project.

The project is also looking for people who would want to help: writing texts, FB updates, monitoring media, answering questions etc.

LBNL, there is another gliding related project in Himalaya this Fall: Mountain Wave Project. The goals are a bit different, MWP is mainly science focused, Everest Gliding *has* to do some science for practical needs of flying, but is more sport focused. We think both projects will complement each other and cooperate where practical. Of course the scale of both projects is very different in many dimensions.

I will be trying to post updates to this thread, please feel free to ask questions. And forgive if there would be some delays in answering - there are things like jobs and family, too... :-)

PS. Thank you for pointing out that the mode of operation ("is it a glide down from the top?") is not clear from the website. My fault, I will try to make it clear. Here I repeat: engine turn off about 500m above the launch site, at below 2000m. Engine restart not possible because of (low) temperature. Self-launch has to be used - no other options.