Paragliding
Paragliding the world's biggest mountain range in Flying Between Giants
Watch the film in the player above as paragliders Tom de Dorlodot and Horacio Llorens allow you to experience K2, Broad Peak and other massive mountains from an entirely unique viewpoint.
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From the deepest depths of the Amazon and the burning sands of the Sahara to the barren ice of the Arctic Poles, there are some regions of the world that very few people will ever visit. However, few places seem truly impossible to explore. One such place would be the air above K2 – the second-highest mountain on Earth.
But that’s because you’re thinking like a human. Paragliders Tom de Dorlodot and Horacio Llorens are different – they think like birds. And birds can go where people usually cannot. And the film they've made, Flying Between Giants, will take you there.
Tom de Dorlodot navigates his way past the Baltoro glacier
© Horacio Llorens/Red Bull Content Pool
The duo are as at home in the sky as they are on the ground. Llorens is a champion of acro paragliding, pushing the limits of what a paraglider can do in the air, while de Dorlodot uses the power of the wind and sun to lift him up to the clouds and propel him hundreds of kilometres from where he took off. This is the sport of cross-country paragliding and it's the basis for events like Red Bull X-Alps, where athletes run, hike and fly staggering distances in a day.
As a general rule, the higher you climb, the further you fly. While the goal of competitive cross-country flying is always distance, there's an allure to altitude – it’s a simple number that’s easy to understand and compare, and, let’s be honest, what feels better than being on top of the world?
A brand-new approach to conquering K2
People have flown paragliders from Mount Everest (238 metres higher than K2), but in every case, they’ve dragged their wings up there on foot and then performed what's known as a ’sled ride’ descent.
Surely one of the most impressive selfies ever taken
© Horacio Llorens/Red Bull Content Pool
Llorens and de Dorlodot, accompanied in the early part of their trip by friend Rámon Morillas, had a different approach. Although they're both alpinists, they had no intention to climb the mountain, widely regarded as the most dangerous in the world. What they saw was a different opportunity: using the wide-open faces of K2, combined with strong valley winds, to fly to the mountain and eventually over it.
Sitting in the middle of the Karakorum Range, K2 feeds the 60km-long Baltoro Glacier, one of the longest in the world. Their base camp was at the foot of the glacier, many kilometres away from the summit. People had previously tried to paraglide to and above K2, but they didn’t even get close – just to base camp. If they managed, they would be the first people to draw those lines, something truly important to de Dorlodot. "It really motivates me to try to open new lines and to do things that have never been done before,” he says. “It’s like going to the bottom of the ocean for the first time.”
Obstacles to overcome
But this wasn’t the bottom of the ocean, it was near the top of the planet. Could it even be done? The challenges were many, as anyone familiar with big mountains knows weather means everything. When it's bad, you’re waiting it out. When it’s good, you’ve still got to deal with complicated logistics; taking care of mind and body, and, of course, the challenge of the adventure itself – including the altitude and lack of oxygen.
Llorens soars above the Trango Tower
© Thomas de Dorlodot/Red Bull Content Pool
It really motivates me to try to open new lines and to do things that have never been done before
Paragliding isn’t like climbing a mountain. You can’t slow it down or turn it off. When you’re up, you’re up there and losing consciousness could mean the worst possible outcome.
“Going from 5,000m to 8,000m in an hour is extreme,” says de Dorlodot. "Your body is not made for that.” While they acclimatised as much as they could before the trip, flying with oxygen tanks was a clear must. They had two-litre tanks, pressurised to 2,300 bar, sending a small but steady flow of oxygen directly into their noses. Just one more thing to manage. The thin air also meant they had to re-think every part of their kit.
There was also one other key factor: trust. An adventure like this can’t really happen alone, you always need someone to back you up. For Llorens, there was no question it would be de Dorlodot. “I’ve known him for many years and we’ve been on many projects together. We’ve encountered many problems together as well,” says Llorens. “So, we understand and trust each other. If I say, ‘can we try this?’ he’s going to follow me and if he tells me we have to go that way, I’m going to follow him."
An adventure like no other
But, the proof was out there. In 2021, another Red Bull X-Alps veteran, Antoine Girard, had flown over to and above Broad Peak, just 10km away from K2. In doing so, he'd set the altitude record for the highest flight ever, reaching 8,407m. For de Dorlodot and Llorens to beat that, they’d have to hop-skip-and-jump over to K2.
From there, they wouldn’t need thermals, they would need wind, blasting against the side of the mountain, pushing them higher and higher. If successful, they’d be flying far above the 8,611m summit. No matter what, if they got even close, it would be an adventure – and that’s what they were out to do.
An adventure quite unlike any other
© Ramon Morillas/Red Bull Content Pool
This brings us back to this film: a documentary, shot by the athletes themselves, high above the Karakorum. Belgian de Dorlodot – who studied film in school – believes it’s some of the most extraordinary high-altitude aerial footage ever captured in this part of the world. “This kind of footage has never been seen before. To shoot this quality even five years ago would not have been possible,” he says. “It was just us – no camera crew of helicopters helping out – they don't even go above 6,000m in this part of the world!”
But more importantly, from the moment they made their first big flight, they knew it would be one of the greatest adventures of their lives and they call it the ‘Grand Slam’ – a never-before-flown link-up of Trango Tower, Mustagh Tower, K2 Broad Peak and Gasherbrum. This handful of the world’s most iconic summits, from the air, in one day, is a truly remarkable feat. The highest altitude? 7,577m.
It may not be as high as the summit of K2 but that's because, in the end, the wind that would have pushed them up the mountain simply didn't work, the airy reaches of the sky remained a mystery. One thing, however, was clear: on the right day, with the right wind and with the right pilots under the wing, it will work. And there’s very little question Llorens and de Dorlodot will be back.
But if you really want to experience this adventure, it’s simple, simply watch the film at the top of the page and enjoy the view. Because this flick will take you somewhere you’ve never been before: so close to the mountains you can almost touch them, but you don’t have to – you just keep soaring.
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