You may remember Ewa Wi?nierska's remarkable true story. In 2007, the paraglider survived being slung 30,000 feet in the air while paragliding in Australia.
Now, the paraglider is reflecting back on her true story of survival. In February 2007, Wi?nierska was in Manilla for the World Paragliding Championships. However, once up in the air, the calm weather vanished. She got caught in a severe storm that pulled her higher and higher. In fact, she would end up going more than 30,000 feet in the air.
Paraglider Goes Skyward
She said, "I later learned that I had reached over 32,986 feet while I was unconscious. It was so cold, probably around minus 55 degrees. You cannot imagine this cold. It was the most horrible thing I had ever felt. I had no idea where I was. I just kept my hands in front of my face, trying to stay warm because all I had on was a T-shirt and a light jacket."
Close Call
She tried to calm herself down as she decided to make a maneuver to lower herself through the clouds and to the ground. She wrote, "As I was telling myself that I needed to calm down or I would freeze to death, I could tell my paraglider, which was filled with water and hail, was sinking. I decided to try and make a spiral again, knowing I had to be very careful because of how heavy the canopy had become. It seemed to work, so I just kept spiraling and spiraling downward, hoping that I could come out of the clouds."
Finally, she managed to land on a farm. She wrote, "I landed softly and knew I was saved, but I was still so cold. I couldn't feel my fingers. My ears were so frozen I was afraid that I would lose them. And my harness was so heavy — because it was filled with ice and hail — that I couldn't lift it."
