Skydive Everest Team

WENDY SMITH

World and Guinness record skydiver Wendy Smith, New Zealand was one the three daredevils to leap from an aircraft at a record height of 9000m in the skies above Mount Everest, free-falling for one minute at speeds reaching 290kmph. Smith, a freelance cameraman, was part of an international group of amateur and professional skydivers at the Everest Skydive 2008 program. Wendy Smith made her first jump in 1985, in New Zealand. She has a passion and talent for photography and filming. Her technical abilities have allowed her to cover, cameras on helmet, exceptional reportages and international skydiving events.

Wendy has competed at International Skydiving Competition level since 1989 and has been a Freelance Commercial Cameraman during the last 16 years. During these years she has gained multi medals in different disciplines, won Emmy Awards for best remote location cameraman, gained a new women's world record gold medal in speed skydiving, performed Stunts in aerial skydiving never seen before, jumped for aerial fashion Model shoots, filmed and photographed numerous world record skydiving events and commercials. She has co-produced, filmed and participated in extreme skydiving movies at the cutting edge of sport skydiving, published a photographic book, 'Eyes in the Sky’, to compliment 15 years of sport skydiving with French photographer and film-maker Patrick Passe.

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OMAR ALHEGELEN
Skydiver, Jumpmaster, Videographer

Omar helped pioneer what is now known as "freeflying" and has received every single accolade related to Freestyle Skydiving (view the freeflying video). He was part of an international group of amateur and professional skydivers at the Everest Skydive 2008 programme. He's highly sought after to perform skydiving stunts for TV, Commercials and Film and to help organize loads at international venues like the Singapore Festival, Belize Boogie and Vietnam Boogie.

He's completed more than 14,000 skydives and over 200 BASE jumps and has already served as one of Everest Skydive 2008’s jumpmasters and videographers.

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RYAN JACKSON
Doctor/Tandem Master

Ryan led the medical team for the first Everest Skydive in 2008. He is a BPA qualified Tandem Master who has travelled and skydived around the world.

This will be his third expedition to Everest.

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TOM NOONAN
Tandem Instructor/Examiner

Tom Noonan has made 3500 skydives and is a USPA Tandem Instructor-Examiner, USPA AFF Instructor, and USPA Instructor Examiner Rating Course (IERC) director. He also holds a FAA Senior Rigger certification and is a USPA Safety & Training Advisor (S&TA).

Tom holds the world record (along with Wendy Smith and Jai Kashan) for the highest parachute landing at 17,192ft. He has been with Everest Skydive since it's inception in 2008 and in charge of the tandem skydiving program of Everest Skydive and the tandem equipment rigging and maintenance.

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ALEX BEHSE
Television Producer

Alexander Behse is a German-born New Zealand-based Television Producer. An active Paragliding pilot, he combines his passion for aviation with his job and has produced projects such as the unique first-time-ever New Zealand Air Games ("Think Olympic Games in the Sky") and been involved in the coverage of the 2008 Gliding GP and the Skydiving World Championships in France 2009. He has produced documentaries for New Zealand television and is currently nominated for a Qantas Television and Film Award.

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DEREK THOMAS
jumpmaster/master rigger

One of the Worlds leading manufactures of parachuting equipment, International sport skydiving competitor, AFF instuctor, Master Rigger.

Derek has spent his life in the design and developement of exceptional equipment for our sport, he joins our team as Master Rigger and Jump Master.

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Molly Bedingfield
"Global Angels", Founder & CEO

Molly is the founder and CEO of international children's charity, Global Angels. She is the mother of pop stars Natasha Bedingfield and Daniel Bedingfield, who support her in her charity drives. She joined the Everest Skydive 2008 team and became a part of a new world record when she made the world's highest ever charity tandem sky dive from a height of 29,500ft. Her jump launched the Global Angels Flying Academy, where she says , "everybody who would like to be adventurous can earn their wings by doing sponsored flying or jumping to raise awareness and funds for children's projects ." The funds raised from her jump will be used by "Global angels" for financing projects for street kids and orphans in Nepal and throughout Asia. Global Angels aims to raise $1 million to go to children's projects in Nepal and other Asian countries through a series of skydives over the next few years. With the funds collected from the jump "Global Angels" will be sponsoring new school buildings, mobile health clinics, building orphan homes, providing education and food for orphans and street kids, and clean water in Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Philippines and Myanmar.