The Nation : Balloonist Soars to Record 59,700 Feet

A British balloonist set a world altitude record after stubborn sandbags forced him to crawl outside his pressurized gondola at 22,000 feet and wield a pocket knife to lighten his load. Per Lindstrand, 39, took off from a ranch 27 miles north of Laredo, Tex., and floated his butane- and solar-powered “Stratoquest” hot-air balloon to an unofficial record 59,700 feet--about 11.3 miles. That is well beyond the 55,137-foot record set in 1980, project coordinator Peter Mason said. The 12-story-high craft took off shortly after dawn. Trouble developed when two 100-kilogram sandbags that were supposed to release automatically did not. So Lindstrand had to climb out of the capsule and cut them. The second sandbag was beyond the reach of his oxygen line. “I had to take a deep breath, run around, cut it off and run back again, all the while clinging onto the outside of the capsule,” Lindstrand said. After the 3 1/2-hour flight, Lindstrand landed 60 miles to the east near Freer, Tex.