The Seven Summits Aerial Expedition Project films each of the highest peaks on the seven continents from a powered paraglider.
Climbers around the world have long been drawn to completing the Seven Summits. While reaching their summits has become a more familiar challenge, Above the Seven Summits Project takes on a different perspective: filming from even higher in the sky, in direct flight above each peak. Recording the highest point on every continent from above creates a record of the Earth as it is today.
Alongside aerial filming, the team also documents the mountains on foot to share the value of the natural environments that still remain and preserve those images for the future.

What is powered paragliding?

Powered paragliding is an air sport in which a pilot carries an engine and flies beneath a paraglider wing.
Paragliding began as a way for mountaineers to descend from a summit, so it generally launches from a mountain or hill. With an engine, a powered paraglider can take off from level ground without needing elevation.
Unlike a conventional paraglider, which depends on rising air to gain altitude, a powered paraglider can climb under its own power.
Using this aircraft, the project climbs to several thousand metres to film the highest peaks on all seven continents.

How is this different from filming by drone or aircraft?

With current capabilities, drones cannot remain airborne for very long. While they can now reach several thousand metres, their effective filming time per flight is only a few to around a dozen minutes. Some specialist rescue helicopters can climb above 6,000 metres, but conventional helicopters and light aircraft generally struggle above 4,000 metres.
Jet aircraft can fly higher, but filming must be done through a window from inside the cabin, which is not suited to the images this project seeks.

Powered-paraglider aerial filming lets the photographer fly in the open air, feel the wind and temperature directly, and frame each scene through the viewfinder. The result is photographs and films that convey the atmosphere of the place with immediacy and scale.