the launch at beginning of descent has less than 100% success rate

Like the guy in one of the Epics issues of Climbing magazine a few years back. He climbed the Trango Tower in Pakistan, then tried to paraglide off the top. He ended up being blown back into the rock, snagging his chute, then crouching on a 12" ledge for a few days until a rescue could be mounted. I think he was there for a good week before a rescue.