The Explorer’s Grand Slam is one of the biggest challenges adventures can face in the modern era. First completed by David Hempleman-Adams in 1998, the challenge pushes to both the North and South Poles, as well as to the highest reaching peaks on all seven continents.
For one to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam, one must reach the North and South Pole, plus the summit of the tallest mountain on each continent. This means Mount Everest in Asia, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, Denali in North America, Aconcagua in South America, and Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia (or the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia).
Three variations of the Explorer’s Grand Slam exist. The Full Gland Slam, which requires adventures to reach each pole from an outer coastline or shore, the Grand Slam, which allows for one pole to be reached from an inner coastline or shore while the other is reached from an outer coastline or shore, and the Last Degree Grand Slam, which allows for both poles to be reached from 89 degrees.
51 people have completed the Last Degree Grand Slam, including 12 women. 10 have completed the Grand Slam, including two women. Finally, 12 people have completed the Full Grand Slam, including just one woman, Norwegian Cecilie Skog. In total, 73 people have completed the challenge.
Ryan Waters became the first American to complete the Full Grand Slam in 2014 through the ‘True Adventurer;s Grand Slam’, where he skied to both the North and South poles with no assistance or support. Korean Park Young-seok, who sadly went missing in 2011, was the first to complete the True Explorer’s Grand Slam in 2005, summiting all 14 peaks greater than 8,000 meters, reaching the top of each continent’s highest peak, and reaching each pole.
Featured Image Credit: Rdevany, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
