Pre-Flight
Information Flight-Ready Guidelines
Everest Balloon wants to ensure you’re fully prepared for each of your THREE flights en route to achieving your goal of reaching the iconic Everest altitude of 29,032 ft
Physical Prerequisites
Although physical and mental is indeed required, with our modern balloon aircraft and oxygen systems, flying to high altitude with Everest Balloon is possible for all adventurers. If you’re someone with basic physical fitness and comfort with heights, you’re just about ready to join us in the rarified air. However, a handful of medical conditions do not agree with high-altitude open-air ballooning. It is essential to read through our health and fitness guidelines to ensure a safe and unforgettable flight.
Oxygen
The Everest Balloon gondola is NOT encapsulated – it is an open-air gondola. All onboard will experience the same rarified air as those ascending Mount Everest itself – this is what makes the Everest Balloon adventure so unique — and extreme!
Following ‘Boyle’s Law’, the available oxygen, relative to sea level oxygen is as follows:
- FLIGHT ONE (Kilimanjaro Flight) to 18,000 ft. = 1/2 the O2 of sea level.
- FLIGHT TWO (Aconcagua Flight) to 23,000 ft. = 2/5 the O2 of sea level.
- FLIGHT THREE (Everest Flight) to 29,032 ft. = 1/3 the O2 of sea level.
As such, onboard Oxygen for ALL is a MUST and is indeed required by Everest Balloon and the FAA. We provide state of the art oxygen systems and oxygen masks for ALL so that we’ll all feel top-notch and fully alert during the flight
Clothing, Sunglasses, Footwear, Phone
When embarking on your Everest Balloon adventure, opt for comfortable clothing and layering, including long pants. If you’re comfortable on the ground, you’ll be comfortable in the air.
As the Everest Balloon ascends, we will lose 3.5 degrees in temperature for each 1,000 feet we ascend. As such, if we lift off from Lebanon, TN twenty-minutes before sunrise at 70 degrees, it will be just 10 degrees at 18,000 ft. The good news is that a) we will be at peak altitude for just a few minutes before descending, b) there is no wind-chill because we are drifting with the breeze, c) we will be warmed by the Everest Balloon flight burners. In summary, having a lightweight down jacket with you for the “Kilimanjaro” FLIGHT ONE will be adequate. We will recommend warmer clothing layers to you for the higher FLIGHT TWO and FLIGHT THREE.
Wear running/walking/hiking shoes for maximum comfort and safety. No open-toe footwear. Bring sunglasses and a ball-cap for the dazzling sunrise.
Your phone is welcome onboard to capture the experience, although you must keep it inside the perimeter of the open-air gondola to avoid any chance of dropping it back down to earth.
Be On-Time on your flight morning
Our Everest flights lift-off promptly 30-minutes before sunrise.
You MUST arrive at our Everest launch field one-hour prior to lift-off for pre-flight with us.