First skydivers fall above Mount Everest

A British woman was among three skydivers who today became the first in the world to freefall at extreme altitude through the skies above Mount Everest.

“It was amazing, just spectacular,” said Holly Budge, 29, a Winchester-born extreme sports enthusiast. “We had one minute of freefall and while we were above the clouds you could see Everest and the other high mountains popping out of the top.”

Ms Budge and her two fellow daredevils Wendy Smith of New Zealand and Neil Jones of Canada jumped out of a plane at an altitude of about 29,500 feet, just higher than the peak of the world’s highest mountain. The trio made a safe landing at a site 12,350 feet (3,764 metres) above sea level - the highest “drop zone” ever achieved by a parachutist.

They plummeted at speeds reaching 140 miles per hour, hurtling past the highest ridges of the snow-laden Himalayas, before each released a specially designed parachute, made three times the size of a normal canopy to cope with the thin air. The intrepid jumpers wore oxygen masks to prevent their lungs from collapsing as they plummeted towards the ground, and carried oxygen tanks strapped to their waists. Wearing neoprene underwear was compulsory, to prevent them being frozen to death.

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The adventure, advertised by its organisers as “a feast for those who seek to stimulate all their senses to the point of near overload”, appeared to have lived up to its billing. “I had never seen so many mountains before,” Ms Smith said. “To be on top of the world was simply stunning.”

Those involved seem to have been inspired by the “because it is there” attitude that has characterised those looking to conquer Everest for generations. Before making her leap into the record books, Ms Budge, a veteran of some 2,500 jumps, had explained to the Hampshire Chronicle that the unprecedented project was “first and foremost a challenge to myself. It’s all about taking yourself out of your comfortable norm.”

The expedition also offered a way by which to celebrate her thirtieth birthday, which happens later this month, she said.

In the next few days the feat will be repeated by about 30 others, weather permitting. Each has paid at least 12,675 to High and Wild, the British adventure travel company behind the project.

Ms Budge said: “It was worth the money. It is something that has never been done before.” Her jump raised funds for charities in Britain and Nepal, including more than 10,000 for Hampshire Autistic Society.

The oldest among the group, which includes several people who have never jumped from a plane before and will be attached to experienced skydivers, is Alan Walton, a 72-year-old British partner in a bioscience company. Jumping out of a perfectly good plane while flying over the world’s highest mountain presented the project’s organisers with several challenges. The aircraft in question was flown in from Switzerland, while the jumpers trekked through the Himalayan foothills to meet it, acclimatising while they travelled.

Those behind the idea yesterday celebrated the culmination of 15 years of preparation. “The ’Everest Skydive’ came about because I have been a Himalayan mountaineer and took up skydiving,” Nigel Gifford, the project organiser, said. “I love doing both and I thought it would be good to marry the two.”