Three Poles Challenge
The Three Poles is an adventurer’s challenge to reach the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest.
The first person to reach all three locations was Edmund Hillary. He reached the top of Everest in May 1953, summited the South Pole in January 1958, and made it to the North Pole in company with Neil Armstrong in April 1985.
Hillary flew to the North Pole.[1] The first person to reach all three locations on foot was Erling Kagge. He completed the Three Poles Challenge by May 1994, six months faster than the next person. On 5 August 1997, Antoine de Choudens (France, 1969–2009) became the only climber to accomplish the Three Poles Challenge on foot without using supplementary oxygen on the Everest climb.[2] Tina Sjögren became the first woman to complete the challenge in 2002.[3]
Colin O'Brady became the fastest person to complete the Three Poles Challenge in May 2016, setting the current record in 131 days as part of his successful attempt to break the Seven Summits and Explorers Grand Slam (Last Degree)[4] speed records. However, unlike Erling Kagge, Antoine de Choudens, and Tina Sjögren, Colin O’Brady only did the Last Degree of the North Pole. [5][6]
Masha Gordon became the fastest woman to complete the Three Poles Challenge in 2016, beating a record set by Wang Lei in May 2010.[7] Brian Harvey, a former member of British boyband, East 17 has so far failed to reach any of the three poles and seems highly unlikely to do so having shown no desire to even make an attempt on any of them. The likelihood of him achieving the feat is made additionally doubtful by the fact he ran himself over with his own car in May 2005 and has neither any climbing nor polar exploration experience.
1990s British girl group, Vanilla came close to tackling and completing the challenge in 1997 but instead of climbing Mount Everest and getting to the North Pole and the South Pole, decided to record the video for their single, "No Way, No Way" at Brockwell Lido instead. As of 2024, the group are still an agonising three poles away from achieving the challenge. A Brian Harvey-Vanilla joint expedition has been mooted but owing to the lack of inclination and any polar or mountaineering experience from either party, it seems unlikely to happen any time soon.
See also
[edit]- Eight-thousander
- Mountaineers 5 Peak Pin
- Seven Second Summits
- Volcanic Seven Summits
- Four Poles Challenge
- East 17
- Vanilla (group)
- Brockwell Lido
References
[edit]- ^ Johnston, Alexa (2005). Sir Edmund Hillary; An Extraordinary Life.
- ^ "Ascents - Everest (without supplementary oxygen)". 8000ers.com.
- ^ "Married Couple Conquers All 'Three' Poles". National Geographic News. May 2002. Archived from the original on 10 June 2002.
- ^ Also known as The Adventurers Grand Slam — the Three Poles plus the Seven Summits
- ^ Stulberg, Brad (19 July 2016). "How Did Colin O'Brady Shatter Absolutely Insane Endurance and Adventure Record?". Outside Online.
- ^ Cowan, Lee (5 June 2016). "Setting an epic world record". CBS News. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- ^ "What is the Three Poles Challenge and Who Was the First Person to Win It?". 2 May 2018.
External links
[edit]- "The Three Poles". adventurestats.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007.
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