As usual when projects like this are in the making, they were looking for sponsorship, and since the project was cool and the list of names impressive, we bought in on it and supplied most of the group (the total size of the group was pretty, err, dynamic) with UP Trango X-lights, on the condition that they would produce some good publicity with them, not least a video.
Once the trip was over, and we thought it was time to see some return on our investment, the groups' interest waned a bit. To make a long story short, we just couldn't seem to get anyone to own up to the promises they had made during the sponsorship searching process. Frustrating? Yes very. At UP it isn't easy to persuade management to participate in this sort of things, and we all had to agree that in cases like this, management's viewpoint is absolutely justified. Internally, we went from a situation where persuading management to support projects was pretty difficult, to it being nigh impossible, and we couldn't really argue with it since we all knew why.
So it is with some pain-mixed pleasure that we now realise that the long-awaited video from the Himalayan Odyssey has finally come into being, and that it is apparently very very good too. If it had been released when it was due it could probably have helped market the Trango X-Light a little bit, because that particular wing was more or less BUILT for that sort of ventures, and could have used a little more positive hype in its time. It hasn't been in production for a few years now, so the hype for that particular wing isn't very relevant any longer, but the UP wings over the Himalayan landscape are still a joy to behold.
So although we're sorry that it took so long, we're still really happy that it did eventually happen, and we're also happy that the guys, at the end of the day, had an awesome trip on their UP wings. We would however like to take this opportunity to stress that IF you are busy making cool adventure plans and you are searching for sponsors, please do approach the matter in a more professional way unless you wish to make things even harder for the guys and girls coming after you.
The trailer for the film can be seen on Vimeo here - it looks great, and we look forward to seeing the whole thing!
On another note we have licked our wounds after the disappointment that was the Himalayan Odyssey, and if you have a great idea and can pitch it to a potential sponsor, please do pitch it to me and we will consider it!
