Emil Wick

The advent of tourism in Nepal required pilots crazy and skillful enough to ply the treacherous passes and short airstrips of Nepal. Emil Wick was one of those crazy cats. His aviation exploits include landing downhill in Lukla, transverse landing in TIA with 40 knots crosswind, world's highest landing and world's highest chicken drop!! None of these exploits has been replicated since. In the Dhaulagiri expedition of 1960, Emil Wick flew his Yeti (The Pilatus Porter) to drop food and equipment to the climbers. On one such rave, he managed to take the Yeti back home by landing it on top of a thick ice field on the slopes of Dhaulagiri at 5,800 m. For these guys these slopes were a place to chill their beer but for the world this was a record which 50 years ahead in time has not been able to match face by any savvy pilot. Another one of his notable exploits was the art of 'flying into the hole' or the Western Cwm of Everest. He had a fairly good idea of wind currents in this vicinity and if the conditions were right, he would soar all the way up the Lhotse Face, much beyond the service ceiling of the humble Pilatus Porter. That was one of many exemptions accorded to Emil Wick by the Nepalese Aviation Authorities and his single engine humble Pilatus Porter. His knowledge of the wind pattern was so detailed that he actually co-authored a research paper on the subject. It sure must have come in handy for the ultra-light aircraft flights over Everest. There was also a glider flight across Everest in 2014!!! What this list of daredevilry hides however is the meticulous care Wick took to thoroughly check and recheck every single detail about the plane and the cargo before taking off. It also does not show the numerous pilots he trained in Nepal and numerous airstrips he supervised. Nepal owes more to him than just amazing stories. In many ways, Wick was reflective of the heady times of the past when the 'system' was just being put in place and tourism was just taking its baby steps in Nepal.