Mollie Hughes

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Mollie Hughes
Personal information
Main discipline Mountaineering
Born (1990-07-03) 3 July 1990 (age 33)
Torbay, Devon, England

Mollie Hughes (born 3 July 1990) is a British mountaineer and sports adventurer who in 2017 broke the world record for becoming the youngest woman to climb both sides of Mount Everest, and in 2020 became the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole. [1]

Contents

Early life

Mollie Hughes was born on 3 July 1990 and grew up in Torbay in Devon. [2]

She studied psychology and sports biology at the University of the West of England, in Bristol. For her final year project, she decided to investigate the psychological experience of climbing Mount Everest, interviewing seven male climbers who had all reached the summit. Hughes explored their motivation, their ability to control fear, the psychological pressures they faced, and their experience of reaching the summit. [3]

Everest expeditions

In 2012, Hughes joined an expedition to climb Mount Everest from the South side of the mountain (via Nepal). She reached the summit on 19 May 2012. [4] She was accompanied by her friend and guide Lhakpa Wongchu Sherpa who is from Pangboche in the Solukhumbu. [5] In 2017, Hughes climbed Mount Everest from the North side. Accompanied again by Lhakpa Wongchu Sherpa, British mountain guide Jon Gupta, and Lila Tamang. They reached the summit on 16 May 2017 and Hughes became the youngest woman to summit Everest from both the North and South sides at the age of 26.

Antarctician experiences

In 2020, Mollie Hughes became the youngest woman to ski to the South Pole Solo. The expedition was funded through sponsorship from Gore-Tex, ATAG, and a private donor using the trip as a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK. Hughes left Hercules Inlet on 13 November 2019 and reached the pole on 10 January the following year. She skied 702 miles (1,130 km) alone while pulling a 105-kilogram sled named Boudicca. She had originally hoped to reach the pole on New Year's Day but was delayed by bad weather, with temperatures approaching −45 degrees Celsius with windchill and 30-knot winds. During the journey, whiteout prevented visibility for eight days. After returning from the pole, she recuperated in Chile before returning to Britain. [6]

Motivational speaking

Hughes began talking to schools and corporate groups following her return from Everest in 2012. Since then she has delivered motivational talks to over 50,000 schoolchildren in the UK, and well-known businesses including Santander, Sky, and Bailie Gifford. In 2018 Hughes delivered a TEDx talk on "Unlocking Your Resilience" that can be viewed on YouTube. [7]

Other achievements

On 1 December 2020, Mollie Hughes was appointed the first female president of Scouts Scotland. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Everest</span> Earths highest mountain

Mount Everest 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 of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them was first done on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Once considered a mountaineering challenge, in January 2023, Climbing said "Today, the Seven Summits are a relatively common—almost cliché—tour of each continent's highest peak", and that the real challenge was the Explorer's Grand Slam, the Seven Summits with the North and South poles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasang Lhamu Sherpa</span> Nepalese mountain climber

Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was the first Nepalese woman to climb the summit of Mount Everest.

Lakpa Gelu, often spelled Lhakpa, is a Nepalese Sherpa climber born in Jubing - 1, KhariKhola, Solukhumbu, Nepal. He is known for holding a world record for the fastest climbing of Mount Everest in only 10 hours 56 minutes and 46 seconds. Gelu's record-breaking trip was his tenth trip to the summit of the mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apa Sherpa</span> Nepalese mountain climber

Apa, nicknamed "Super Sherpa", is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer who, until 2017, jointly with Phurba Tashi held the record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest more times than any other climber. As part of The Eco Everest Expedition 2011, Apa made his 21st Mount Everest summit in May 2011 then retired after a promise to his wife to stop climbing after 21 ascents. He first summited Everest in 1990 and his last time to the summit was in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Mount Everest expeditions</span>

Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at 8,849 metres (29,031.7 ft) above sea level. It is situated in the Himalayan range of Solukhumbu district, Nepal.

Pemba Doma Sherpa was the first Nepalese female mountaineer to climb Mount Everest via its north face, was the second Nepali woman to summit from both the north and south faces, and is one of six women to have summited Everest twice. She was the leader of the 2002 Nepalese Woman Everest Expedition. Pemba Doma Sherpa climbed Cho Oyu from the Tibetan side on 28 Sep 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Falvey</span>

Pat Falvey is an Irish high-altitude mountaineer, expedition leader, polar explorer, entrepreneur, author, corporate/personal trainer/coach, and motivational speaker. He was the first person to complete the Seven Summits (Bass) twice, with the summiting of Mount Everest reached from both the Tibetan (1996) and Nepalese sides (2004). He was expedition leader of the team that saw Clare O'Leary become the first Irish woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest (2004). Other extreme expeditions that he has made include walking to the South Pole, crossing South Georgia Island, and traversing the Greenland ice cap. He started his first business at 15 years of age and has since had businesses in property development, finance, construction, insurance, tourism, and film production. He has been a motivational speaker since the 1990s.

Clare O'Leary is an Irish gastroenterologist, mountain climber and adventurer. She was the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest and complete the Seven Summits.

Bonita Norris is a British mountaineer. She was the youngest British woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 22 from May 2010 until May 2012, when her record was broken by Leanna Shuttleworth, aged 19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Levine</span> American mountain climber

Alison Levine is an American mountain climber, motivational speaker and leadership consultant. She is the author of On the Edge: The Art of High Impact Leadership and the executive producer of a documentary, The Glass Ceiling. She has ascended the highest peaks on every continent and also skied to both the North and South Poles. In 2010, she completed the Adventure Grand Slam by reaching the summit of Mount Everest. She served as an adjunct instructor at the U.S. Military Academy.

Ming Kipa is a Nepalese Sherpa woman who held the record as the youngest person to climb Mount Everest from 2003 to 2010. She reached the summit on May 22, 2003 when she was 15 years old, with her brother Mingma Gyula and her sister Lhakpa. Nepalese law does not allow climbers under 16 to climb Everest, so Ming Kipa Sherpa summitted Everest from the Chinese side. Her record was broken in 2010 when Jordan Romero reached the summit on May 22 of that year at the age of 13 years, 10 months. The previous record holder was Temba Tsheri who climbed Everest at the age of 16 in 2001.

Nimdoma Sherpa from Gauri Sankar, Dolakha District is a Nepalese mountain climber. In 2008 she became the youngest woman to climb Mount Everest and in 2009 she joined the Seven Summits Women Team, a team of Nepalese women whose goal is to climb the Seven Summits.

Lhakpa Sherpa is a Nepalese Sherpa mountain climber. She has climbed Mount Everest ten times, the most of any woman in the world. Her record-breaking tenth climb was on May 12, 2022, which she financed via a crowd-funding campaign. In 2000, she became the first Nepali woman to climb and descend Everest successfully. In 2016, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Everest in 2018</span>

Mount Everest in 2018 is about events in the year about the highest Earth mountain, Mount Everest, a popular mountaineering tourism and science destination in the 2010s. In 2018, 807 climbers summited Mount Everest, which is a popular mountaineering goal. This year is noted for an especially long weather window of 11 days straight of calm, which reduced crowding at the high base camps. With over 800 reaching the top, it was the highest amount ever to reach the top in recorded history, besting the previous year by over 150 summitings.

Anja Karen Blacha is a German mountaineer. Blacha holds a number of climbing records: in 2017, she became the youngest German woman to successfully climb Mount Everest and youngest German overall to climb all Seven Summits and in 2019 she became the first German woman to climb K2.

Lucy Westlake is an American mountaineer from Naperville, Illinois. She became the youngest American woman to climb Mount Everest when she reached the summit on May 12, 2022. Westlake also became the youngest girl to summit all of the highest points of the contiguous United States when she was age 12 in 2016. In June 2021, Westlake also became the youngest female to climb all 50 of the US state peaks when she reached the summit of Denali in Alaska. Westlake's other major ascents include Aconcagua, Elbrus, and Kilimanjaro, the highest peaks in South America, Europe, and Africa respectively.

References

  1. "Woman is youngest to ski solo to South Pole". BBC News. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  2. "Devon woman aims to be youngest ever to ski to the South Pole". 26 February 2019.
  3. "UWE graduate seeks sponsorship to achieve Everest dream –UWE Bristol: News Releases".
  4. "Mollie Hughes is on a mission to be youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole". 25 December 2019.
  5. ""That's how much I want to go": Edinburgh adventurer will 'auction off a bum cheek' to raise funds for record-breaking expedition".
  6. "In Pictures: Mollie Hughes reaches South Pole". BBC News. 17 January 2020.
  7. "Unlocking Your Resilience".
  8. "Edinburgh adventurer Mollie Hughes becomes first female president Scouts Scotland".