Sebastian Kawa and Sebastian Lampart made aviation history on Saturday after taking their Ash-25 glider plane to over 8,611 meters above sea level in the Karakoram mountain range.

Following a test flight on Friday in which the pilots reached 4,600 meters, Kawa posted on social media: “We only left at 4 p.m., when the shadow was already eliminating the thermals.

“Nevertheless, I flew across the Indus and finally got to know several promising places that could be a route to the high mountains.

“4,600 is not enough to move freely in these mountains. You can fly along the valley, but there are no thermals there and it is best to overcome the 5,000m barrier to get to the beautiful cumulus clouds over most of the peaks.

“This requires two things. We must agree to fly earlier and we must be lucky with the weather.”



The following day, the Polish branch of The Explorers Club announced on Facebook alongside breathtaking photos from the glider’s cockpit: “Today at 16:50 local time Sebastian Kawa and Sebastian Kot Lampart were the first people to fly over the summit of K2 in a glider.

“Big applause and a safe return!”

Prior to the historic flight, Kawa, who has 24 world championship medals including 18 gold, flew over the Himalayas, including Mount Everest (8,849 meters above sea level).