Vanessa O'Brien Approaches The Geographic North Pole To Complete The Explorers Grand Slam Last Degree

The Explorer's Grand Slam is an adventurer goal to reach the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

and

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

, as well as climb the

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Climbing the Seven Summits a ...

(

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the ...

Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...

Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...

, Elbrus,

Vinson VINSON is a family of voice encryption devices used by U.S. and allied military and law enforcement, based on the NSA's classified Suite A SAVILLE encryption algorithm and 16 kbit/s CVSD audio compression. It replaces the Vietnam War-era N ...

, and

Puncak Jaya Puncak Jaya (; literally "Glorious Peak") or Carstensz Pyramid, Mount Jayawijaya or Mount Carstensz () on the island of New Guinea, with an elevation of , is the list of islands by highest point, highest mountain peak of an island on Earth. Th ...

or Kosciuszko). Purists also include a submarine expedition to the bottom of the

Marianas Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...

, but this is not necessary by most popular accounts.

History

The original concept involved the polar trips starting from accepted coastal points, involving long sledging journeys. Over time the significantly shorter, easier, and less serious "Last Degree" polar trips – from 89 degrees to the pole (at 90 degrees) – have been claimed as the Explorer's Grand Slam (''Last Degree''). Currently, the climbing community and other leading organizations including the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 24,000 members. Its vision is to create "a united community of competent climbers and healthy climbing landscapes." The Club is housed in the American Mountaineerin ...

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

, climbing companies such as International Mountain Guides, and the popular press all define the Explorer's Grand Slam as having accomplished the Seven Summits plus (at a minimum – the last degree of) the North and South Poles. There is some consensus that a ''True Explorer's Grand Slam'' means one will also have summitted all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) (14 + 7 + 2). Likewise, there is some consensus that a ''True Adventurer's Grand Slam'' is achieved by also visiting the magnetic

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

poles. As of 2022, all terminology and guidelines regarding polar data records are being conducted under the Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme (PECS). In 1998,

David Hempleman-Adams Sir David Kim Hempleman-Adams, (born 10 October 1956 in Swindon, Wiltshire) is an English industrialist and adventurer. He is the first person to complete the Adventurers Grand Slam, by reaching the Geographic and Magnetic North and South Po ...

became the first person to complete an ''Explorer's Grand Slam''. In April 2005, Park Young-seok became the first person to complete a ''True Explorer's Grand Slam''. In 2011, former Wales rugby union international

Richard Parks Richard David Parks (born 14 August 1977) is a former Wales international rugby union player turned extreme endurance athlete and television presenter. In rugby he represented Newport RFC, Pontypridd RFC, Celtic Warriors, Leeds Tykes, Perp ...

became the first person ever to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam within a single calendar year, doing so within seven months. On April 16, 2013,

Vanessa O'Brien Vanessa Audi Rhys O'Brien (born 2 December 1964) is a British and American mountaineer, sub-orbital spaceflight participant, explorer, author and former business executive. On 4 August 2022, O'Brien became the first woman to complete the Explore ...

became the first woman to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam under a single calendar year, doing so in eleven months. On April 22, 2013, Cheryl Bart became the first Australian woman and the 31st person worldwide to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam. In 2014, Jing Wang became the fastest woman to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam in 142 days. In 2014,

Ryan Waters Ryan Waters is an American mountaineer, mountaineering guide, and polar skiing guide. He runs the guide service Mountain Professionals based in Colorado, USA. In 2014, he became the first American to complete the Adventures Grand Slam, by climbin ...

became the first American to complete the ''True Adventurer's Grand Slam'' by skiing full-length, unsupported and unassisted North and South Pole expeditions and climbing the seven summits. On April 21, 2015, Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik became world's first twins and siblings as well as the first South Asians to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam (Last Degree). On May 27, 2016,

Colin O'Brady Colin Timothy O'Brady (born March 16, 1985) is an American professional endurance athlete, motivational speaker and adventurer. He is a former professional triathlete, representing the United States on the ITU Triathlon World Cup circuit, raci ...

became the fastest person to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam (Last Degree), doing so in 139 days. He is the current world speed record holder for completing the Explorer's Grand Slam (Last Degree). On April 12, 2017, Marin Minamiya became the youngest person to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam (Last Degree) at 20 years old.

People who completed the quest

Full Grand Slam (both poles from an outer coastline/shore)

In chronological order: #

Erling Kagge Erling Kagge (born January 15, 1963) is a Norwegian explorer, publisher, author, lawyer, art collector, entrepreneur and politician. Three Poles Challenge Erling Kagge is the first person to reach the North Pole, South Pole and the summit of ...

Fyodor Konyukhov Fyodor Filippovich Konyukhov (russian: Фёдор Филиппович Конюхов; born 12 December 1951 in Chkalovo, Pryazovskyi Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukrainian SSR) is a Russian survivalist, voyager, aerial and marine explorer, a ...

# Heo Young-ho # Park Young-seok (first person to complete a '' True Explorers Grand Slam'') # Bernard Voyer #

Cecilie Skog Cecilie Skog (born August 9, 1974) is a Norwegian adventurer. She studied and worked as a nurse, but since summiting Mount Everest in 2004, she has worked as a professional adventurer, guide and lecturer. In August 2008, she climbed K2. Her husb ...

Maxime Chaya Maxime Chaya ( ar, مكسيم شعيا) (born December 16, 1961) is a Lebanese sportsman, mountaineer and explorer. On May 15, 2006, he was the first Lebanese to climb Mount Everest, completing the Seven Summits challenge. On December 28, 2007, ...

# Stuart Smith # Johan Ernst Nilson # Wilco van Rooijen

Grand Slam (one pole from an inner coastline/shore and one pole from an outer coastline/shore or last degree)

In chronological order: # Haraldur Ólafsson (SP non-Coastal) # Khoo Swee Chiow (SP non-Coastal) # Alison Levine (NP non-Coastal) #

Mostafa Salameh Mostafa Salameh, (born June25, 1970) is a Jordanian - Palestinian mountaineer who has completed the Seven Summits, including Mount Everest in 2008. Biography Mostafa Salameh is one of only 20 people to ever climb the Seven Summits and conqu ...

(NP non-Coastal) # Newall Hunter (NP non-Coastal) # Zhang Liang (SP non-Coastal) # Grazyna Machnik (NP non-Coastal) # Jaco Ottink (NP non-Coastal) # Jérôme Brisebourg (NP non-Coastal) # Mark Shuttleworth (NP non-Coastal)

Last Degree Grand Slam (both poles from 89 degrees)

In chronological order: # Sean Disney # Vaughan de la Harpe # Sibusiso Vilane # Arthur Marsden # Andrew Van Der Velde #

Vernon Tejas Vernon "Vern" Tejas is an American mountain climber and mountain guide. He is the current world record holder in the amount of time taken to summit all of the Seven Summits consecutively, having also previously held the same record. He was also t ...

Will Cross William H. Cross is an American mountain climber. In May 2006 he summited Mount Everest. He has ascended the highest peaks on all seven continents and walked to both the North and South Poles. He has also led expeditions to 15 unmapped, unexplor ...

# Lei Wang #

Neil Laughton Neil Adrian Denis Laughton (born 31 October 1963) is a former army officer, entrepreneur and adventurer. He has completed the Explorers Grand Slam of climbing the highest mountains on all seven continents and reaching both the North and South P ...

# Jo Gambi # Rob Gambi # Randall Peeters #

Wang Yongfeng Wang Yongfeng (simplified Chinese: 王勇峰, pinyin: ''Wáng Yŏngfēng'') (born 1963) is a Chinese mountaineer and the assistant secretary-general of China mountain climbing association. He is also the captain of the Chinese Mountaineering ...

# Ci Luo # Liu Jian # Wang Shi # Zhong Jianmin # Jin Feibao # Wang Qiuyang # Suzanne K Nance #

# Andrea Cardona # John Dahlem # Matthew Holt # Arnold Witzig # Len Stanmore # Cheryl Bart #

# Sebastian Merriman # Jing Wang # Tashi Malik # Nungshi Malik #

Omar Samra Omar Samra (born 11 August 1978) is a British-born Egyptian adventurer, entrepreneur and speaker. He is the first Egyptian to climb Mount Everest, the 7 Summits and ski to both the Geographic South and North Pole (the Explorers Grand Slam). He i ...

# Maria (Masha) Gordon #

# John Moorhouse #

Victor Vescovo Victor Lance Vescovo (born 1966) is an American private equity investor, retired naval officer, space tourist and undersea explorer. He is a co-founder and managing partner of private equity company Insight Equity Holdings. Vescovo achieved the ...

# Sean Swarner # Marin Minamiya # Michael W. Grigsby # Julia Elinor Schultz # Muhamad Muqharabbin Mokhtarrudin # Mike Gibbons # Nikolaos Mangitsis # Josu Feijoo # James Holliday # Joel Schauer # Alexander Pancoe # Leifur Svavarsson # Khai Nguyen # Taylor Sweitzer

References

External links

* * {{Official website, http://www.adaptivegrandslam.com/, Adaptive Grand Slam official website
Origins of the Explorers Grand Slam With Vanessa O'Brien
Seven Summits

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

Competitions