the south face, climbing to Camp 3 at 7,200 metres to acclimatise, and testing his wingsuit at high altitude. He has also been working with a team of experts, including his wife Ewa, a medic, and Jon Gupta, a mountaineer and expert in high-altitude filming.“I’ve always wanted to link climbing and wingsuiting together,” Howell says. “To be able to step off the summit of one of the biggest mountains in the world, where nobody else has done it before, and then fly away from that mountain, is a dream come true. It’s the ultimate fusion of two sports.”But even for a professional like Howell, the risks are high. “What makes it dangerous is the unknown,” he says. “I can simulate as much as possible but until you jump off and the air starts rushing past your face, you don’t really know what’s going to happen.“The stakes are very high,” he adds. “But I’m not going to do it unless I’m ready, unless the conditions are right, unless everything is lined up.”And if all goes according to plan, what will it feel like to fly away from Lhotse, a mountain that has been the scene of so much human endeavour and tragedy?“It’s going to be a very surreal moment,” Howell says, smiling. “I’m going to have a sense of huge accomplishment, but I’m not going to be celebrating until my feet are back on the ground.”
