On February 14, 2007, elite paraglider Ewa Wiśnierska launched from an Australian mountain for a routine training flight. Within minutes, she was sucked into a massive cumulonimbus cloud and carried to altitudes where commercial jets cruise — with no oxygen, no pressurization, and temperatures colder than anywhere on Earth. Her GPS recorded everything that happened next, including 40 minutes she doesn't remember. Another pilot caught in the same storm wasn't as fortunate. This is the story of an accidental world record that no one would ever attempt on purpose.

00:06 Wilderness Aid Promo

01:08 Podcast Intro

01:31 Everest Storm Hook

03:33 Meet Eva The Champion

04:49 Race Day Warnings

06:07 Launch And Early Flight

06:43 What Is Paragliding

07:45 Storms On The Horizon

08:56 Sucked Into The Cloud

11:51 Hail And Hypothermia

13:59 Death Zone Explained

16:42 Record Altitude On GPS

18:07 Wing Collapse Begins

18:26 Wing Reopens Midair

19:24 Frozen Controls Decision

20:28 Spiraling Down to Land

21:36 Rescue Text and Aftermath

22:39 Another Pilot Lost

25:04 Hospital Miracle Recovery

26:51 Back Flying and Career

29:16 Data and World Record

31:16 Luck Lessons and Farewell

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REFERENCES

Wikipedia: Ewa Wiśnierska

ABC News: "Paraglider Pulled Six Miles High by Storm — and Lives to Tell About It" (February 16, 2007)

CBS News: "Paraglider Cheats Death In Thunderstorm" (February 16, 2007)

The Sydney Morning Herald: "Ewa Sucked Into Storm and Lives to Tell" (February 17, 2007)

People Magazine: Ewa Wiśnierska interview (September 2024)

Cloud Appreciation Society: "Paraglider's Ears Nearly Fall off in a Cumulonimbus Cloud" (April 2007)

The Age (Australia): "Storm Rider's Miracle Survival" (February 2007)

Bored Panda: "'I Had No Idea Where I Was': Paraglider Explains How She Survived 10,000 Meters Above The Earth" (September 2024)

Cultura Colectiva: "The Woman Who Survived Being Sucked Up 32,000 Feet High In A Storm"

History and Other Things: "The Woman Who Survived The Storm" (October 2018)

Noiser Podcasts / Real Survival Stories: "Ewa Wiśnierska: How to Survive in the Stratosphere"

Freedom Parapente: "Maximum Altitude Record in Paragliding — Ewa Wisnierska"

Dvorak News Blog: "Paraglider Survives Storm That Sucked Her Up to 32,000 Feet" (February 17, 2007)

Documentary: Miracle in the Storm (ABC1 / France 5, 2010)

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