Video: Exploring Alaska from Above with Paraglider Paul Guschlbauer

Paul Guschlbauer is an Austrian paraglider who traveled to Alaska – one of the world's last great frontiers – to explore the region from above. What he found there was an epic wilderness that remains remote and untamed, even in the 21st century. Paul flew across this amazing place in a 60-year old airplane, finding beautiful landscapes and amazing adventures along the way. This short video takes us along for the ride, and will leave you wanting more. See Alaska the way the famous bush pilots do, and marvel and just how spectacularly beautiful the state truly is.

Video: Paragliding Video Will Make You Believe You Can Fly!

The sensation that comes along with flying is one of the allures of paragliding for sure. But if you're not sure you could ever actually take up the sport, this video may be the next best thing. It gives us some great shots of paragliders doing what they do best, often with some great scenery for the background.

Video: The Ultimate Descent - From Everest to the Indian Ocean

In 2011, Sanobabu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tshiri Sherpa completed one of the most difficult and unexpected adventures in recent memory. The two men began by climbing to the summit of Everest, where they then deployed a paraglider and launched from the summit, flying down the Khumbu Valley to Namche Bazaar,  where they then embarked on the second stage of their journey – a kayaking trip down the Sun Kosi River that would ultimately take them to the Indian Ocean. Along the way they faced Class V rapids and the real threat of drowning, even as the Nepal military was searching for them since their Everest flight wasn't exactly sanctioned.

This video is from a news report about this crazy expedition. It was obviously filmed not long after they made the climb, flight, and paddle. The clip was recently posted online however, and for those that don't know the story, it is an interesting one. It was quite the adventure going from the summit of the world's tallest mountain to the sea level in just a few short weeks.

Video: Fledglings - Paragliding with Climbers Cedar Wright and Matt Segal

Climbers Cedar Wright and Matt Segal feel right at home scaling a tough route on a challenging rock face. But recently they both have gotten into paragliding as well, which gives them a new avenue for channeling their adventurous spirits. This video, which comes our way courtesy of The North Face, takes us on an incredible journey with Cedar and Matt as they hone their skills as paragliders before traveling to Mexico to climb and fly from the top of Pico de Orizaba, the highest peak in that country at 5636 meters (18,491 ft). As you can imagine, the views from the top, and the flight back down are amazing.

Video: Wingsuit Flying And Paragliding Over The Alps

The video below was shot at the International Hot Air Balloon Festival in Europe and features some excellent images of wingsuit pilots and paragliders cutting through the skies above Switzerland. It looks like it was quite an experience with snowy mountain tops making for a dramatic backdrop.

TOTALGAZ Eco Balloon : Wingsuit and Paragliding 2014 from Yannick Barthe on Vimeo.

Video: Wings of Kilimanjaro 2016 Expedition

Next week, 29 climbers will set out for the "Roof of Africa" as part of the Wings of Kilimanjaro initiative. The team, which is being led by my friends over at Tusker Trail, will attempt to trek to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest peak in Africa, where they will then paraglide off the mountain. But the group isn't there just to have an amazing adventure. They'll also be raising funds to support a number of projects that are improving the lives of people living in Tanzania. Those projects include installing pumps to deliver clean water, teaching local farmers to grow crops in a sustainable fashion, and improving the education of the children that live there. In the video below, you'll learn a bit more about the program, but you'll also see some amazing shots of their previous climbs up Kili, and the epic flights they've taken from the summit. It looks like a great way to see an already impressive mountain, and its all for a good cause.

Video: Paragliding with the Northern Lights

The Aurora Borealis (aka the Northern Lights) are one of the most spectacularly beautiful natural phenomenons in the world. Lighting up the night sky in a variety of colors, they are a humbling sight to behold, and what better way to experience them than from the seat of paraglider? That's exactly what pilot Horatio Llorens did when he traveled to Trømso, Norway recently, and his experience is captured in the video below. As you can imagine, it was quite a flight.

Video: Snowmobile Paragliding in Sweden

So here are two words that I never thought I'd see used together: snowmobile paragliding. That is the new extreme activity that a team of daredevils called the Stunt Freaks invented while out in a remote region of Sweden in the winter. As you'll see in the video below, it is exactly as crazy as it sounds.

Video: Extreme Sports In 4K

The video below captures some of our favorite outdoor activities in stunning fashion. There are segments of kayaking, mountain biking, paragliding and more. Better yet, the entire video was captured using a Sony video camera that captures it all in the emerging 4K format, which offers far higher resolutions than HD. Beautiful stuff.

4K from Image Impossible on Vimeo.

What the Hell is Wingboarding and Will it Be the Next Big Thing in Extreme Sports?

Outside Online has published a story about an emerging new activity called wing boarding that is in the early stages of development. Inspired by the old Disney television show Tailspin from back in the early 90's, wing boarding is the brainchild of aerospace engineer Aaron Wypyszynski, who has designed a flying wing that is pulled behind an airplane with a person standing on it. In simpler terms, it is wake boarding in the air.

Over the past couple of years, Wypysznski has been developing prototypes of what he calls the WingBoard. In its current state, this flying platform spans 12-feet and weighs approximately 70 pounds. It has bindings attached to it much like a snowboard, and allows a full grown man to be towed through the air behind an airplane, doing all kinds of stunts in the process.

Outside says to date, the engineer has spent more than $25,000 on this project, which he hopes one day will be used at airshows with extreme athletes carving up the sky behind stunt planes. In a sense, it would be surfing through the sky, with safety features such as breakaway bindings and parachutes on both the pilot and the board, to ensure that no one gets injured in the process.

So far, only scale models of the WingBoard have been flown, with the most recent test involving a prototype that is 40% of the actual size of the end product. A similarly scaled model of a human was attached to that prototype, with the test running coming off without a hitch – including a full barrel roll. If further testing goes as planned, Wypysznski could begin producing and selling WingBoards as early as next year.

So? What do you think? Would you ride this thing? Check out the video below for a look at one of the models in action.

Video: Taking Flight Over Moab

This beautiful video takes us high above the rocky landscapes of Moab, Utah where eight different disciplines of flight (proximity flying, wingsuits, skydiving, etc.) all converge to show us what is possible when humans take to the air. The landscapes around Moab make a great backdrop for these scenes, which look incredible from every angle. After watching this, you'll believe that a man can fly.

Video: Paragliding Through the Italian Dolomites

We've seen some amazing videos from the Dolomites in Northern Italy, but we've never seen those famous mountains from this perspective before. This video was shot on a 50 km (31 mile) flight in a paraglider that soared high above the iconic jagged peaks that are a trademark of the region. This four-and-a-half-minute clip will give us a look at these mountains that most of us will never see, and it is well worth the trip. Enjoy!

Amazing day in the Dolomites from Robi on Vimeo.

Video: Snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue Paramotors into the Alaskan Wilderness

Extreme mountain snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue is well known for going to great lengths to reach some of the most remote areas of the world. In this video, he shows that spirit once again as he and his team use paramotors to fly into the Alaskan wilderness to reach places that no one has ever snowboarded before. This is certainly a unique way to travel, and very different from taking a helicopter into the backcountry, which is the way many of these videos are shot. In the clip below, you'll fly along with Xavier and his crew through some beautiful landscapes before they drop off and snowboard down some incredibly steep slopes. It is an impressive display all around.

Video: GoPro for a Cause - Remember the Nepal Earthquake

Next week will mark the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Nepal. Over the past 12 months there have been a lot of efforts to help the country – which is a haven for outdoor adventure – to rebuild itself. In this video, we see yet another one of those efforts as paragliders and hangliders join the Cloudbase Foundation in its efforts to help with the cause. Along the way, we get some great views of the legendary Himalayan landscapes found in Nepal.