A MALMESBURY adventurer is looking to boldly go where nobody has been before, by attempting to paraglide unassisted across over 1000km of highly remote mountain terrain in Asia.

Rhys Fisher, 25, is crowd-funding a project called Thermal Crossings to paraglide across the Tian Shan mountains in central Asia, using only what he carries in his backpack.

He is hoping to share his complete journey, which includes two years of intensive training with some of the best respected “adventure athletes”, online with people who back the project.

“I’m just a local chap who has some paragliding experience, who wants to show people they can achieve the impossible with right dedication,” said Rhys.

“It’s a matter of knowing that it’s possible. Once I realised this task was possible, it felt like a crime not to give it a go.”

Having paraglided and trekked around Europe before, Rhys insists that this challenge in central Asia will be an even bigger test.

Notably, because he will be flying as a vol­bivouac pilot, which is the paragliding discipline where athletes cover large distances of mountain terrain by foot and flight.

Vol­biv literally translates from French into ‘fly and camp’. These expeditions require that athletes fly and hike with everything they need to survive in the mountain for several days or weeks at a time.

It is therefore critical that Rhys becomes a world class pilot and mountaineer before setting off on this expedition.

His training will cover mountain survival, weather prediction, thermal training, high alpine flying, altitude acclimatization, and physical endurance training.

“The Tian Shan mountains are a whole different beast,” he explained.

“There are no hospitals close and it’s very inhospitable.

“There's no way I would try this without a team behind me; that would be suicide.

“That’s why I’ve carefully selected some of the world’s most respected pilots, athletes, coaches, and professionals, and brought them on board to help guide me through a thorough training that will prepare me for this type of expedition.

“All I need is the budget to make this a reality.”

Rhys has already raised nearly £2,000, which is over 50 per cent of his initial target, but still needs support.

To help sponsor his project visit indiegogo.com/projects/thermal-crossings-open-source-adventure