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Skydivers Jump From Everest

Trio spends 15 years, $24K for 29,500-ft. leap from world's highest peak

By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 5, 2008 11:32 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Three skydivers bounded into record books today, completing the first parachute jump from Mt. Everest, the BBC reports. “It was amazing, just spectacular,” gushed one adventurer, who, along with her fellow divers, shelled out $24,000 each and 15 years of planning on the 29,500-foot leap. The divers, using special equipment, spent a minute in freefall amid thin air and sub-zero temperatures.

In this Saturday May 24, 2003 file photo, wispy clouds form near the peaks surrounding Mount Everest, seen from Everest Base camp in Nepal.
In this Saturday May 24, 2003 file photo, wispy clouds form near the peaks surrounding Mount Everest, seen from Everest Base camp in Nepal.   (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan, File)
Members of the Altitude Everest Expedition 2007, including Conrad Anker and Leo Houlding, climb to the North Col of Mt. Everest, situated 23,000 ft above sea level.
Members of the Altitude Everest Expedition 2007, including Conrad Anker and Leo Houlding, climb to the North Col of Mt. Everest, situated 23,000 ft above sea level.   (Photo: Business Wire)
Twenty-nine other members of the group are now waiting to do the leap.
Twenty-nine other members of the group are now waiting to do the leap.   (Shutter Stock)
In this May 26, 2003 file photo, Mount Everest seen from above Everest Base camp, Nepal.
In this May 26, 2003 file photo, Mount Everest seen from above Everest Base camp, Nepal.   (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan, file)
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Pictures of the leap from Everest
AFP

'They looked like tiny birds flying in the blue sky'
Reuters

55 years since first Everest climb
Voice of America

 
Nepal • Himalayas • skydiving • Mt. Everest

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