Adventurer priest out to go higher in balloon
A Russian priest who has climbed Everest and rowed solo across the Atlantic has revealed plans to ascend 25 kilometres into the stratosphere in a helium balloon.
Fyodor Konyukhov, 64, set a world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe in a hot-air balloon this summer and will follow this with his ascent attempt scheduled for next year.
The record for the highest balloon flight was set by an Indian businessman at 21km in 2005.
Konyukhov, who was ordained a priest in the Orthodox church in 2010, hopes to set a heroic example for others to follow. ‘‘I want younger generations to be inspired to push themselves to the limit and to love this world of ours,’’ he said.
‘‘Having gone round it I can say the world is smaller than you think and yet we don’t do enough to safeguard it.’’
It is only weeks since Konyukhov completed an 11-day balloon voyage around the world. He set off at the end of July from Australia in a 56-metre balloon on the 33,800km journey across the Pacific, South America, the Atlantic and on to Australia.
His trip beat the previous record set by Steve Fossett, the late American entrepreneur, who took just over 13 days in 2002. Several attempts by Sir Richard Branson failed.
Konyukhov, confined to a tiny gondola, endured mishaps and extremes of temperature including a dip to minus 50 degrees Celsius.
‘‘There are moments when you think this is it, it’s the end, but then with God’s help you get through them,’’ he said
He used a trick known to monks that ensured he slept only in short bursts during the voyage: ‘‘I’d hold a spoon between two fingers that would fall as soon as I dozed off, clanging to the floor and waking me up. If I’d dozed off I would have fallen.’’