LAHORE: In a bid to promote extreme athletes activities, for the first time in history, the work of recording the wingsuit path in the style of Google Maps has started in Pakistan.
Speaking to Pakistan Today, Ahmed Nasir, owner of Adventure Travel — a tourism company — informed that Pakistan has landscapes that are very suitable for skydiving, paragliding and wing suits and his company has been promoting extreme sports for a long time.
Nasir informed that his company was promoting extreme sports with the collaboration of his two partners, one of whom is American and British.
“Our partners are professional in skydiving, paragliding and wingsuits. Currently there are five peaks in Pakistan at an altitude of 8000 feet and our partners are willing to skydive on these peaks with wingsuits and then open the parachute. This became a record that no one has ever made before in Pakistan,” he said.
Nasir informed that this project has been initiated with the support of military of Pakistan and in this regard, meetings with the military officials are also going on.
“Our second step will be for our partners to collaborate with us to form an association that will include international extreme sports athletes,” he added.
However, Nasir further informed that Hunza, Chitral and Skardu are being focused for these activities, especially Skardu due to K-2.
“A lot of work has been done in this regard. With the help of modern equipment, a lot of data collection has been done and a lot of elevations have been marked. We have a lot of amazing areas and this map will be out this year. Any wingsuit athlete needs entry and exit points so these points are being marked in the map,” he continued.
Nasir believed that the military liked the idea but wanted all the paperwork to be completed.
When Nasir was asked how many expenses have been incurred for this project so far, he replied that no final word can be given in this regard yet.
“Of course, we are bearing these expenses ourselves, but later this project will be sponsored. For example, when we need a chopper for marking different areas, the rent for this maximum two hours is not less than $10,000. However, with the help of a chopper, the work is done within an hour.”
“Usually these choppers are used in rescue operations and when foreign tourists come here, they book these choppers before climbing the hilltops so that in case of any problem the chopper can rescue them. However, no one has yet used a chopper for wingsuits or skydiving. If such expenses are sponsored, these activities can be continued in a good way and foreign tourists will also visit Pakistan for these activities, which will also benefit the economy of Pakistan,” he concluded.
