A veteran paraglider who spent the night in a remote area of the Koolau Range after making an emergency landing was safely rescued Friday morning when a Fire Department helicopter plucked him off a ridge.
Jorge Atramiz, 35, of Manoa thanked the Honolulu Fire Department crew and his friends and said he was glad he had a fully charged cellphone.
"They did a great job. I’m totally grateful to them," he said of his rescuers. "Without those guys it would’ve been impossible for me to make it out."
Atramiz did not require medical attention, fire Capt. Terry Seelig said.
After landing Thursday afternoon on the ridge above the Manana Trail, he looked up his GPS coordinates and phoned friend Alex Colby, who in turn called 911.
"He was in a terrible place that was difficult to access," said Colby, president of the Hawaii Paragliding Association.
Colby described Atramiz as an accomplished paraglider who is known throughout the worldwide paragliding community. "He’s a mentor for us in many ways. For him to call and say he was in trouble was a shock to me," Colby said.
A paraglider rides updrafts in a seated harness slung under a wing-shaped parachute.
Atramiz, who is originally from Venezuela, has been paragliding for 11 years. He has participated in 30 competitions and paraglided in Europe, Asia and Africa. In 2003 he and fellow paraglider Herminio Cordido filmed "Never Ending Thermal." The award-winning documentary showed their paragliding journeys at scenic spots around the world.
About 3:20 p.m. Thursday, Atramiz took off from Makapuu and soared along the Koolaus toward Kahana. Conditions were ideal, with clear skies and light tradewinds. But as he was about to pass Kaneohe at 3,000 feet, a cloud started to form in Ahuimanu Valley. He tried to steer away, but the cloud grew larger, engulfing him.
"It just dropped on me," he said. "I didn’t see anything for the next 10 minutes. I was in the cloud. Everything was white."
When he emerged, Atramiz saw he had been blown off course and was facing the Kunia side of the Koolau Range instead of the Windward side. Atramiz said facing the Kunia side meant potential trouble because he would be traveling against the wind.
He made an emergency landing in the mountain range above Manana Trail and called Colby. Firefighters responded but dusk fell, and low clouds meant his rescue had to wait until Friday morning.
Atramiz used his parachute to keep warm throughout the night. He said he tried to sleep but noticed he was slowly sliding down the steep mountainside. At one point he thought he heard wild pigs, so he made barking-dog sounds to keep them at bay. "I didn’t want them to get too close," he said.
Friday morning, Atramiz hiked about 150 feet up to reach an area where rescuers could see him. Shortly after 9 a.m. the clouds lifted and the helicopter picked him up. Fellow paragliders were waiting when he landed at Waiau Neighborhood Park.
Hawaii News Now video: Interview with rescued paraglider
