A Piece of Heaven - Paragliding and Hang Gliding in Malaysia

Ever wanted to fly like a bird and live to squawk about it? In the last few years, hang gliding and paragliding have suddenly taken off (in more ways than one) as a new sporting phenomenon for Malaysia's flying enthusiasts. These disparate ‘soft-wing’ pilots – a growing number of them women - are slowly starting to form a flying community. The sky is becoming the great equaliser: women can compete on the same level as men.

One Giant Leap

If climbing S.E.Asia’s highest peak isn’t exciting enough for you, how do you feel about jumping off the top?

Now it’s possible, with a bit of planning, to do the unheard of - launch yourself into the turbulent, rarified atmosphere from Kinabalu’s 4,000 meter peak, and glide to the landing zone – a golf course somewhere down below the clouds. Just the thought is enough to scare yourself into a sweat. But just think about it: less than an hour after leaving the summit, you are at the club house sipping a banana smoothie while your fellow climbers have another 6 hours of knee-crunching descent ahead of them.

But things are never as easy as they sound. For starters, you have to be an experienced para- or hang glider pilot with a stomach for stratospheric heights. No novices need apply. Only 20 or so pilots have attempted this madness so far.

The preferred launch site near the South Peak is called the Oh-My-God launch. It’s a ledge overlooking a daunting precipice. From here, it’s 2 km straight down.

Right after witnessing sunrise with everyone else is the best time to launch. 0-5km/h wind up the cliff face is ideal. It requires a confident Alpine (forward) launch to make your take-off into the big blue void a safe one. It's all about superb glider control - and nerves of steel.

Because of the thin air up here, pilots are already winded even before they try to launch. Running off a cliff is the quickest way to inflate your glider. This is obviously the sort of extreme sport you shouldn’t tell your mum about.

Kinabalu’s unpredictable weather adds to the challenge. To the local Kadazan tribe, this massive monolith holds a mystical power, and it’s easy to see why. Angry swirls of clouds often scour the barren summit. The dark wall of monsoon clouds regularly closes around the summit like a noose. In fact, commercial aircraft steer clear of its presence because of the volatile microclimate it stews. Half the pilots who have planned to summit-launch have been turned back by the weather…

But when the conditions are good, it’s time for the ride of your life. With stable, early morning conditions, it’s just a gentle glide down. You can see the curvature of the earth from your mobile perch. The hard part is over once you catch your breath again. And, viola, an incontinence-inducing thrill.