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.
Cecilie Skog is a Norwegian adventurer who trekked across Antarctica in 2010.
Benjamin John Saunders is an English polar explorer, endurance athlete, and motivational speaker. He led the first return journey to the South Pole on foot via Shackleton and Scott's route in 2013–14, and skied solo to the North Pole in 2004. Saunders has skied more than 3,700 miles (6,000 km) on polar expeditions since 2001. He holds the record for the longest human-powered polar journey in history (2,888 km) and for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton (1,032 km).
Patriot Hills Base Camp was a private seasonally occupied camp in Antarctica. It was located in the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, next to the Patriot Hills that gave it its name.
The Explorer's Grand Slam is an adventurer goal to reach the North Pole and South Pole, as well as climb the Seven Summits.
Hannah McKeand is an English polar explorer. In 2006 she set the record for the fastest journey to the South Pole a 600-nautical-mile (1,100 km) journey she completed solo and in just 39 days, 9 hours and 33 minutes. The record was broken in 2008 by Todd Carmichael of Spokane, Washington, United States. In March 2008 she attempted to reach the North Pole alone and unsupported but had to abandon the trip after falling through the ice and badly damaging her shoulder and back. McKeand is a public speaker and polar consultant.
Rolf Bae was a Norwegian Arctic adventurer and mountaineer. Bae operated an adventure company called Fram, specializing in Arctic and Antarctic travel and survival courses.
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipodally on the opposite side of Earth from the North Pole, at a distance of 12,430 miles in all directions. It is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface.
The Willis Resilience Expedition was a scientific and exploratory program that took place in Antarctica from November 2013 to January 2014, with the goal for a better understanding of changes in the Earth's climate affected by global warming in addition to weather-related risk. Announced in August 2013, the expedition was led by explorer Douglas Stoup and Parker Liautaud, a teenager polar adventurer and the environmental campaigner. The expedition was underwritten by Willis Group, a global risk advisor, insurance and reinsurance broker.
Eric Larsen is an American Polar adventurer known for his expeditions to the North Pole, South Pole, and Mount Everest.
Aaron Linsdau is an American adventurer living in Jackson, Wyoming. He is known for the longest solo expedition from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, his book Antarctic Tears, his winter trek across the Greenland tundra, and his three ski expeditions across Yellowstone National Park in winter.
John Huston is an American polar explorer, motivational speaker, wilderness guide, and safety and logistics consultant. In 2009, Huston completed the first successful unsupported American expedition to the North Pole. He has also completed expeditions to the South Pole, Greenland, and Ellesmere Island. Huston is the co-author of Forward: The First American Unsupported Expedition to the North Pole.
Colin Timothy O'Brady 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, racing in 25 countries on six continents from 2009 to 2015.
Luke Robertson is a British and Scottish explorer, adventurer, endurance athlete and motivational speaker.
Aleksander Gamme is a Norwegian adventurer, polar explorer, researcher, author and public speaker.
Johanna Davidsson is a Swedish nurse and adventurer. She is the Guinness World Record holder for skiing solo, unsupported from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.
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.
