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00:00The kind of paraglider other adventurers look up to, literally.
00:06Along with his best mate Horatio, he's flown among some of the world's great giants.
00:12Places like K2, an old bunch of peaks most of us struggled to pronounce.
00:19Back in 2012, they tried landing on top of an active volcano in Africa.
00:24Brilliant idea, but bad timing.
00:30Got no water, got no food.
00:34But a good idea at the wrong moment is still a good idea.
00:39The key is to know when you come back for another crack.
00:46G'day, I'm Bo Miles. I've been on my share of adventures.
00:51Some planned, many accidental.
00:57And here's the thing about adventure.
00:59It never really looks like this.
01:01It's way more like this.
01:03And that's what makes it bloody interesting.
01:07I'm travelling the world with my best camping chairs.
01:11And this mob.
01:12Come on guys, keep up!
01:13To sit down with world-class athletes in the places that have shaped them.
01:19To chat about some of their wildest adventures and unpack what was really going on.
01:23You said you were not going to ask art questions.
01:27This time I'm in the Azores to meet with Tom.
01:30Hey, hello.
01:31Good to finally meet you, mate.
01:33Do you get vertigo?
01:34Uh...
01:35Whoa!
01:36Hello, belly!
01:38Twelve years later, Tom and Horatio were back in Tanzania, facing this sacred volcano again.
01:45They were ready to see if a great idea can finally meet its moment.
01:49Tom, I'd hazard a guess to say you have a thing for volcanoes.
02:02We're sitting on the edge of a volcano now.
02:04You live here.
02:05I feel like I'm either interviewing James Bond or James Bond as his nemesis.
02:09I don't know.
02:10Um, this is probably the hardest question I'll ask you, Tom.
02:14Why don't you have a beard anymore?
02:16Yeah.
02:17You're a good-looking rooster with a beard.
02:19What's going on?
02:20I look a lot older with a beard, I think.
02:22Well, that's just it.
02:23Your beard represents these two very different expeditions.
02:262012, bearded, not married yet, you're not a father.
02:30I didn't shave for four and a half months, I think.
02:32It grew really big.
02:32It was as big as yours.
02:34Almost.
02:35This is what men talk about.
02:36The year is 2012.
02:42A young, bearded Tom de Dolado sets foot in Africa with Horacio Lorenz, his friend, his
02:48adventure partner and a ten-time Acro world champion.
02:53Two paragliders, two backpacks and not much of a plan apart from a simple goal.
02:58Flight places no one's ever flown.
03:02We crossed Africa from north to south.
03:04We crossed ten different countries and we flew all the most amazing places.
03:11Super nice, man.
03:12We were looking at paper maps and entering Tanzania, we saw those amazing volcanoes in the middle of nowhere.
03:20And we're like, oh, this is special.
03:23When you see this mountain, you're like, you see the potential.
03:30Yeah.
03:30And no one had ever been flying there before, I think.
03:34So we thought, well, that would be really something if we could fly it and then land on top.
03:40But to reach the sky, they need an invisible ally.
03:43Multiple of them, in fact.
03:45Rising columns of warm air called thermals.
03:48It's the kind of mystery that's better felt than explained.
03:53So I strapped in to see what it's all about.
03:56You ready, mate?
03:57Yeah, I don't know whether I'm ready, but I'm strapped to you, so that doesn't matter.
04:01I just did a small nervous wee in my pants.
04:08All right, let's go.
04:09Yo, baby!
04:18We got this!
04:21Fantastic!
04:23We have a thermal here, can you feel it?
04:25Yeah, I can feel it.
04:25Going up, totally.
04:26You two come down here.
04:28Yeah, yeah.
04:28What we do, basically, is we use thermals to go up.
04:33The sun rises in the morning and will eat up a face.
04:37It will create a bubble of air that gets warmer than the air around.
04:43And what's warmer goes up.
04:45And then you start circling around.
04:48Whoa!
04:49Hello, belly!
04:50Whoa!
04:51Yeah!
04:54Whoa!
04:56By reading science, we know, okay, there's technically should be going up.
05:00You see those birds of prey, they fly around without flapping their wings.
05:04Yeah, yeah.
05:04And they go up, and people are like, how do they do that?
05:06You know?
05:07Well, they're just tourmaline, too.
05:09Well, thank you for doing this.
05:10It's driving around a double-decker fat-ass bus compared to a sports car.
05:16And just like that, back in 2012, Tom and Horatio were climbing the sky.
05:21Now, I've seen images of this volcano.
05:33It looks like Mars.
05:35There's someone looking.
05:36I mean, for sure, not the easiest place to fly.
05:38Yes.
05:38Probably one of the most technical places.
05:40Actually, I wouldn't tell anyone to go, you know, because we had to end a storm in the
05:43evening, and the wind gets really strong.
05:45Now, storms are a paraglider's enemy number one.
05:59A growing cloud can suck you upward, freeze you solid, or collapse your wing with a single
06:04violent gust.
06:05So, at thousands of metres above the African bush, the mission stops being land on a volcano,
06:13and becomes, land anywhere, and don't lose sight of your mate.
06:18It started to rain in the top of the vulcan, very strong, and Tom has started to go away
06:23in this direction.
06:24No, there's always no news about Tom.
06:26In my opinion, his radio is dead, and Horatio didn't see it, so he had to explode somewhere,
06:32but it's not very good.
06:40I just landed.
06:41At some point, I entered into the cloud, but then I could find my way out.
06:47I don't have radio anymore, so no one knows where I am.
06:52I hope I'll find them.
06:56It's Africa, and it's in the middle of nowhere, and it's full of wild animals.
07:00So, if you land far away, you know, you're there on foot.
07:05There are lions, buffaloes, elephants.
07:07The temperature is like 40 plus.
07:09It's very stressful.
07:10Tom, Tom, where are you?
07:13Dangerous situation and dangerous conditions, and we have to try to find him because he's
07:18getting late.
07:19He's going to be night.
07:20My friends are f***ing far away.
07:21Got no water, got no food.
07:22Always take water.
07:23I always take food.
07:24And now I can say that I am f***.
07:25We will stay there with the lamp until he can try to reach us.
07:26Let's go.
07:27Okay.
07:28We will stay there with the lamp until he can try to reach us.
07:29Let's go.
07:30Okay.
07:31Yo, Johnny La Frite.
07:32Tom a l'appareil.
07:33I am f***.
07:34I am f***.
07:35We will stay there with the lamp until he can try to reach us.
07:36Let's go.
07:37Okay.
07:38Yo, Johnny La Frite.
07:39Tom a l'appareil.
07:40But yeah, I didn't believe it.
07:41You see, the car was there.
07:42We were going to fly here for an hour and then we were going to go to the bagel.
07:43That's why I didn't have a seat.
07:44I never want to fly without water.
07:45Never.
07:46Despite their attempt at landing on top of the volcano not going to plan, Tom and Horacio
08:05were determined to go back, but this time with a bit more wisdom.
08:11You chose to return and there's a lot that's happened in that ten years, isn't it?
08:15Yeah.
08:16We've always wanted to go back.
08:17It was kind of an unfinished business.
08:19We knew that the potential was huge, so we've always said one day we'll come back to Tanzania.
08:24As everything in life, you know, there are phases.
08:26There's been this phase where I was an adventurer full on, taking lots of risk, pushing as much
08:32as I could and it was only me, myself and I, you know, and the team and then let's go for it.
08:40Now I have a family and I want to be there for them, you know.
08:46As soon as my first daughter was born, I thought, wow, I've got to take different decisions with my life from this point on.
08:53Is it the same for you?
08:55Yeah.
08:56It changed my way of analyzing risk and I just prepared better.
09:00The way I do it now is when I get on a takeoff, I arrive on the place and I'm like, okay, I checked three different things.
09:06The first thing I look at is the weather, you know, my surrounding. How is it?
09:10Is it windy, not windy? Maybe there's a thunderstorm in the back. Does it look good for flying or not?
09:16The second thing I check is myself. How do I feel today? Like, am I in a good mood or did I drop my coffee in the morning, you know?
09:23And the third thing is the mission. What did I came for? You know, like, am I trying to break a record here, you know,
09:29or fly at a really high altitude in very difficult conditions? And by looking at these three aspects, you know,
09:35then I can see if there are some red flags.
09:38What I like to say is that, you know, the mountains, they stay there. If it's not the day, then, you know, you wait for another season.
09:46You went back 12 years later and you had this incredibly different experience and different phases of your life.
09:52For a few years, I was a father and it was not yet. And it was difficult for me to keep up with the flying and everything.
09:58But now he's a father too, you know, like, okay, well, we've always said one day we'll come back to Tanzania.
10:04Well, now it's the right time.
10:08We're driving to Oldenelengay. We're a bit concerned about the wind.
10:20I got smacked.
10:21We'll hike two, three hundred meters, find a proper takeoff and hopefully be flying.
10:30We're back.
10:32Exactly on this pace. Man, this is crazy.
10:36You went back as a different flyer.
10:39Of course. I mean, you're a better person, a better pilot. It's a different me for sure.
10:44Yes. A better version, I hope.
10:46Good luck, eh? Thank you very much.
10:49Good luck. All the best, guys.
10:50Yeah, let's see you.
10:51Want to see you on top there?
10:52Yeah, come on.
10:54Time has passed. The boys might have become men, but the Mountain of the Gods hadn't changed a bit.
11:04Still brewing its own unique type of cool, but you can't touch it, black and white love.
11:09The Maasai have always seen this mountain as sacred, and it's little wonder.
11:17Their semi-nomadic lifestyle always moves in and around the mountain with its seasons and its movements and its weather.
11:24This young Maasai is showing us the way. Good to have him on board, eh?
11:30Yeah.
11:34I'm getting ready. I will see if I will take off. Probably yes.
11:39Mucho viento.
11:40We're worried that the wind must be too strong to take off.
11:47Yeah, that's a problem.
11:51It's never easy. Like, when we came out, it was smooth and really nice, and now we're...
11:59Unpredictable. Unpredictable.
12:02There were two, three moments today that were looking so good to fly, but it doesn't last enough to get ready and take off.
12:10Tom's first rule is built for days like this.
12:13When the weather isn't right, you simply can't take off. It's too strong to fly.
12:18Adventure doesn't reward impatience.
12:21So you wait, and that's okay.
12:30We're at the market here, the Maasai market, buying some fruits and some vegetables, meeting some locals.
12:36How much everything?
12:37Tisa.
12:39Tisa.
12:41How much dollars?
12:44It's okay, it's okay.
12:46She's getting a lot more than what she expected.
12:50Thank you for help, man. What is your name?
12:52My name is Leo.
12:54I'm Tom. This is Horacio.
12:56Hello. How are you doing?
12:58Fine, fine.
12:59You live here?
13:00Yeah, all good.
13:01Yeah, yeah. I'm from here. I live here.
13:02Okay.
13:04We are here to try to fly, paraglide. We are searching for a teiko, probably. A little hill where we can open our gliders and fly.
13:12I live above this village.
13:18We have a small hill.
13:25Open area. I think it will be good to you.
13:27We go to take our gliders and we go, huh?
13:29Okay.
13:30All right.
13:31Cool, man.
13:35For us, the key to open the door, we're the Maasai.
13:41You know, when you live in a place and you're out there every day, you've got a feeling for it.
13:45Yeah. It's uncanny, isn't it?
13:47The Maasai, for example, they'll say, oh, the ships are moving east, so it means that, you know, tomorrow the wind is going to be in another direction.
13:54Yeah, yeah.
13:55We try to read weather with satellites, but they read weather with signs, you know?
13:59Yes.
14:01He knew a place. He knew the path that would have been impossible to get there without him.
14:07We are here just above Leo's town.
14:10He showed us this little place, and it's very steep and a bit windy, but hopefully we can fly to the Aldenilangai.
14:19Doesn't look too far, but it's pretty technical to get there, I think, against wind.
14:23Let's go to Flae.
14:24Okay.
14:26Thank you for showing us the spot, Leo.
14:27Okay.
14:29We'll see you in the rain.
14:30Let's go to Flae.
14:53I took off with a wing-tip crovat, so I couldn't open the glider in the air. It was really unstable, so I decided to land. Now it's a little bit in a bad situation, because the wind is very strong. Stronger than what we expected. And he's almost flying backwards.
15:07It's not looking good. I mean, I'm trying to stay in the air, but that's not easy.
15:22I'm going to go to Flae. I'm going to go to Flae. I'm going to go to Flae. I'm going to go to Flae. All right, guys. I landed. I landed safely. I'm good.
15:37What a first flight, eh? Am I dreaming or am I still alive?
15:42I was afraid for you. Well done, eh?
15:44That was bad, man. Wow.
15:46The mountain of the gods is going to be not so easy, eh?
15:49The god of the wind, maybe.
15:50The wind was extremely strong. It was very turbulent every day. It was too much. We were starting to think, well, maybe we came all the way for nothing, you know?
15:59Yes.
16:00All the way here for nothing.
16:01Yeah, I mean, I don't know what to expect for the next days. It's only been strong wind and very sketchy conditions. It's like this every day. Not coming back with any good flight.
16:11Days of waiting, winds too wild to fly. You start to wonder if the mountain of the gods is sending a message.
16:19Hello.
16:24Hello.
16:25So Tom and Horacio went to the Maasai, locals with the best line to the gods, to slip in a polite request for calmer skies.
16:34Chief, welcome you to the bomber.
16:38What we would like to do is to fly all the way up to Old Daniel and Guy and see the crater from above. We would like to fly above the volcano.
16:48If the wind stops. You see, like, this strong wind is not good for us.
17:03The way they dance and the way they sing, it's incredible.
17:07So this is a song for prayer to you, in order to get a good day tomorrow, in order to success when you are playing. Yeah.
17:16They are praying for us to fly tomorrow. So hopefully it's going to work.
17:31Okay, this is for you.
17:34Blue as the sky.
17:35Yeah, this is.
17:36I love it.
17:37Sure.
17:38Perfect. Thanks for this present.
17:39Yeah.
17:40Very good.
17:41You seem to have a wonderful relationship with the local people in Tanzania, yourself and Horacio did.
17:46Very rarely I connected as much as I did with the Maasai. They have a way of life that is extremely inspiring. They are self-sufficient and totally autonomous.
17:57Maasai are the master of resilience. They adapt to anything, any situation.
18:04We are waiting for the good wind again. It's coming quite strong up there. In the volcanoes we can see that it's maybe very strong.
18:16Very strong.
18:17Day five and we haven't been flying yet, so.
18:20Yeah.
18:21At some point I looked at Horacio, I said, okay, this is just not going to work.
18:25Yeah.
18:26Maybe we're not going to fly above the volcano.
18:28How do you feel about that?
18:29Yeah, it's hard.
18:30It's hard because when you've been working on an expedition for more than a year, you feel like you're letting people down, you know, that kind of thing.
18:46I've always asked the universe to be more resilient.
18:51You know, like when it's tough and it's hard, I'm like, I wish I was more resilient.
18:56Yeah.
18:57I would think like that, you know.
19:00But if you ask the universe for more resilience, what do you get?
19:03You get problems.
19:04Yes.
19:05You know, because this is the only thing that will teach you resilience.
19:08It's too windy, man.
19:10Yeah, you were quite stuck, huh?
19:12I was tough this time.
19:13That's the good size of things.
19:17Like, when it gets tough, well, there's something to make out of it.
19:24Yeah, so the wind's coming from the mountains, so I'd suggest we go back down from the road and winch there.
19:29That piece from the road all the way up was quite nice.
19:33Yeah, that is perfect.
19:35I've got 2.5 Ks now.
19:37We found a good spot, and the wind doesn't seem to be too extreme, so this has been a long wait.
19:46But here we are.
19:48And I think we got this.
19:50Let's go for it.
19:51The key is the timing, is that you have to take off with the winch once you see that the thermal is appearing.
19:57Yes.
19:58So we would be watching in the sky and see a bird turning and then seeing some leaves moving in the trees.
20:02And it's like, okay, there's something coming.
20:04Okay, Tom, you ready?
20:06Let's do it.
20:07Yep, okay, we're going.
20:16Okay, okay.
20:18That is perfect.
20:19That is perfect.
20:22Okay, that's good.
20:24I will drop.
20:27Let's go.
20:37The mountain is right there, and I'm going up with vultures.
20:41They show people thermal.
20:43Using the winch from the support vehicle to catch thermals, the day finally felt right.
20:48Tom's golden trio, the weather, the feeling and the mission, all in sync for the first time.
20:54Excellent.
20:55I think it might be a good day to land on top.
20:58Yes, ten years after.
20:59Here we are.
21:00Climbing in front of the old O'Neillengai.
21:01What a view, what a place.
21:04Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
21:05How it is for the landing?
21:06Does it look good?
21:07It seems very good.
21:08It seems perfect.
21:09I think the conditions are not too sketchy.
21:10It's going to be technical, but I think we can do it.
21:11So, yeah, let's see.
21:12Oh!
21:13Oh!
21:14Oh!
21:15Oh!
21:16Oh!
21:17Oh!
21:18Oh!
21:19Oh!
21:20Oh!
21:21Oh!
21:22Oh!
21:23Oh!
21:24Oh!
21:25Oh!
21:26Oh!
21:27Oh!
21:28Oh!
21:29Oh!
21:30Oh!
21:31Oh!
21:32Oh!
21:33Oh!
21:34Oh!
21:35Oh!
21:36Oh!
21:37Oh!
21:38Oh!
21:39Oh!
21:40You try first.
21:41You fly next to the ridge, you know, and you try to get a feeling for it.
21:48In the conditions we were there, it was extremely technical.
21:50Yes.
21:51And a bit dangerous.
21:52It's really windy up there.
21:53Yeah.
21:54And it's very steep.
21:55So as soon as you get close to it, you get thrown in the air, you know, super fast.
22:00So you really have one second and you have to do it perfectly.
22:04If you make a mistake, you can crash, you can break everything.
22:08In Tanzania, it will take three days to get to the nearest hospital, you know.
22:12Be on your brake, man, because this is super turbulent.
22:17But if you see the window and the opportunity and you feel like, okay, well, this is now.
22:20I'm going to do it.
22:21Then, yeah, you just try and do it.
22:24And there's no way back like you.
22:26There's no return.
22:27Come on!
22:28Come on!
22:29Come on!
22:30Come on!
22:31Come on!
22:32Come on!
22:33Come on!
22:34Woo-hoo-hoo!
22:35Yeah!
22:36Here we are!
22:37Here we are!
22:38Here we are!
22:39On top of the mountain of the gods!
22:40Here we are!
22:41Here we are!
22:42Here we are!
22:43Here we are!
22:44On top of the mountain of the gods!
22:45Here we are!
22:46Here we are!
22:47There's so many days struggling with strong wind and heavy conditions.
22:50Here we are!
22:51Here we are!
22:52Here we are!
22:53There's so many days struggling with strong wind and heavy conditions.
22:54Here we are!
22:55Here we are!
22:56Life is good!
22:57On top of the walls!
22:58Look at that!
22:59Wow!
23:00Yeah, man.
23:01For 10 years.
23:02For many years, yeah.
23:03It's been in our memories and now we did it.
23:12You're a 40-year-old man.
23:16You've got this beautiful family.
23:17You're living on volcano.
23:18You're basically James Bond.
23:20You know, did you think this is where you'd be at this age in your life?
23:25You know what?
23:26The first time my feet left the ground, the first time I took off, I knew this was going
23:31to change my life.
23:39It's incredible, no?
23:41It's like if you were a kid growing a volcano, you would do it exactly like this.
23:45The triangle shape, round on top.
23:47And a paraglider flying above.
23:49Yeah.
23:50It's probably a massive thermal.
23:51Yes.
23:52Magical mountain.
23:58What we really share is this pure passion for flying, really.
24:02You know, like, sometimes you meet athletes that have been doing that for 15, 20 years
24:06and they get tired of it.
24:07They feel like they've seen it all.
24:08They feel like they've seen it all.
24:14Yeah.
24:15You know, like, you can't do it.
24:16Here you go.
24:17Here is the first time my friends live, but it's like I am ready for it.
24:19You know, you know, so.
24:20What is your name?
24:21Here you go.
24:22Here you go, buddy.
24:23Here you go.
24:24Yee-hoo!
24:28Horacio and I, I don't know why, we're just so excited.
24:48Yee-hoo-hoo-hoo!
24:51No, we've been talking about it for 10 years.
24:54Man, we've got to go back, we have to go back to Tanzania, we have to fly this volcano and it was a dream.
25:00You found us!
25:02To be able to do it and see it from above was just next level.
25:06That was one of the best moments of my life, for sure.
25:10Incredible!
25:16By the end of an adventure, we are in the plane flying home and we are already planning for the next one.
25:21And this is always like where it starts.
25:25Yee-hoo-hoo-hoo!
25:27What would be the next big thing, you know?
25:31I get that one!
25:35What could we do?
25:36How do you feel, Leo?
25:37I feel good.
25:38I feel good.
25:39I feel good.
25:40I feel good.
25:41I feel good.
25:42I feel good.
25:43I feel good.
25:47Woo-hoo!
25:48You're alive!
25:49You're back!
25:50I have to stay so early.
25:52We are back!
25:53I feel good.
25:55I feel good in all four.
25:56I feel good in two hours.
25:57Did you get to dieman's home alive?
25:59I feel good in the middle and there's all in the middle of an manually.
26:01Not just Gramsake andach Serv año.
26:03I feel good in the backyard.
26:05I think that the nature is a dream beast.
26:08It's kind of a day where people are analysing.
26:12These other characters may not hesitate to rise.
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