The Explorer's Grand Slam is an adventurer goal to reach the North Pole and South Pole, as well as climb the Seven Summits (Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson, and Puncak Jaya or Kosciuszko).
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 Explorers Club, 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 and south poles.[1] As of 2022, all terminology and guidelines regarding polar data records are being conducted under the Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme (PECS).[2]
In 1998, David Hempleman-Adams became the first person to complete an Explorer's Grand Slam.[3][4]
In April 2005, Park Young-seok became the first person to complete a True Explorer's Grand Slam.[5]
In 2011, former Wales rugby union international Richard Parks became the first person ever to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam within a single calendar year, doing so within seven months.[6]
On April 16, 2013, Vanessa O'Brien became the first woman to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam under a single calendar year, doing so in eleven months.[7][8][4]
On April 22, 2013, Cheryl Bart became the first Australian woman and the 31st person worldwide to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam.[9][10]
In 2014, Jing Wang became the fastest woman to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam in 142 days.[11]
In 2014, Ryan Waters 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 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).[12][13][14][15]
On April 12, 2017, Marin Minamiya became the youngest person to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam (Last Degree) at 20 years old.[16]
People who completed the quest
Full Grand Slam (both poles from an outer coastline/shore)
In chronological order:
- David Hempleman-Adams
- Erling Kagge
- Fyodor Konyukhov
- Heo Young-ho
- Park Young-seok (first person to complete a True Explorers Grand Slam)[5]
- Bernard Voyer[17]
- Cecilie Skog
- Maxime Chaya
- Ryan Waters[18]
- Stuart Smith
- Johan Ernst Nilson[19]
- Wilco van Rooijen[20]
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)[21]
- Alison Levine (NP non-Coastal)[22]
- Mostafa Salameh (NP non-Coastal)[23]
- Newall Hunter (NP non-Coastal)[24]
- Zhang Liang (SP non-Coastal)[25][26]
- Grazyna Machnik (NP non-Coastal)[27]
- Jaco Ottink (NP non-Coastal)[28][29]
- Jérôme Brisebourg (NP non-Coastal)[30][31]
- Mark Shuttleworth (NP non-Coastal)[32]
Last Degree Grand Slam (both poles from 89 degrees)
In chronological order:
- Sean Disney[33]
- Vaughan de la Harpe
- Sibusiso Vilane
- Arthur Marsden
- Andrew Van Der Velde
- Vernon Tejas
- Will Cross
- Lei Wang
- Neil Laughton[34]
- Jo Gambi
- Rob Gambi
- Randall Peeters
- Wang Yongfeng
- Ci Luo
- Liu Jian
- Wang Shi
- Zhong Jianmin
- Jin Feibao[35]
- Wang Qiuyang
- Suzanne K Nance[36]
- Richard Parks
- Andrea Cardona
- John Dahlem
- Matthew Holt
- Arnold Witzig
- Len Stanmore[37]
- Cheryl Bart
- Vanessa O'Brien[7][8]
- Sebastian Merriman[38]
- Jing Wang[11]
- Tashi Malik[39][40]
- Nungshi Malik[39][40]
- Omar Samra[41]
- Maria (Masha) Gordon
- Colin O'Brady[12][13][14][15]
- John Moorhouse
- Victor Vescovo[42]
- Sean Swarner[43]
- Marin Minamiya[16]
- Michael W. Grigsby[44][45]
- Julia Elinor Schultz[46]
- Muhamad Muqharabbin Mokhtarrudin[47]
- Mike Gibbons[48][49]
- Nikolaos Mangitsis[50][51]
- Josu Feijoo[52][53]
- James Holliday[54]
- Joel Schauer[55]
- Alexander Pancoe[56]
- Leifur Svavarsson[57]
- Khai Nguyen[58][59][60]
- Taylor Sweitzer[61][62]
See also
References
- ↑ "First person to complete the Adventurers Grand Slam". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- ↑ "The Language of Polar Adventure". Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ↑ "North Pole party for 'Grand Slam' Briton". BBC. 1998-04-30.
- 1 2 Van Den Broek, Alex. "Can the Explorer's Grand Slam Be Saved?". The Explorers Web. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- 1 2 "Mr. Park completes the Grand Slam". EverestNews.com. April 2005.
- ↑ "Parks completes epic challenge". ESPN Scrum. 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- 1 2 "Boston's Vanessa O'Brien Completes 'Explorer's Grand Slam' in Record Time". Boston.com. April 2013.
- 1 2 "Boston's Vanessa O'Brien Becomes First Woman to Climb Seven Summits". Grind TV. May 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-08-27. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
- ↑ "Historic feat for Australian woman conquering Explorer's Grand Slam".
- ↑ "Icy grand slam success". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- 1 2 "An Awesome Adventure of Wang Jing". Gantabya Nepal News. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- 1 2 "Setting an epic world record". Retrieved 2017-01-23.
- 1 2 "Meet the Triathlete Who Broke Two Mountaineering World Records and Snapchatted Everest | VICE Sports". VICE Sports. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
- 1 2 "Behind-the-Scenes of Colin O'Brady's Record-Shattering Expedition". Men's Journal. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
- 1 2 "Portland endurance athlete brings home two world records, makes us all look lazy". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
- 1 2 NHK. "最年少20歳で冒険家グランドスラム達成 南谷さんが会見". NHK News. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ↑ Roy-Sole, Monique. "Gold Medal 2000 Winner – Bernard Voyer". The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ↑ Stonich, Avery. "What It Takes to Complete the Adventurers Grand Slam Unsupported". National Geographic. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ↑ Stats, Adventure. "Three Poles – NP, SP, Everest (excluding motorized)". Adventure Stats. Adventure Stats. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ "Adventure Stats". Adventure Stats. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
- ↑ "Khoo Swee Chiow, Adventure Consultant & Motivational Speaker". Everestnews.com. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
- ↑ Associated Press, Climber Conquers Everest and Records Grand Slam https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/sports/15climb.html New York Times. Aug 14, 2000.
- ↑ Coetzer, Correne. "Interview with Mostafa Salameh: Islam, Palestine, Peace and the South Pole". The Explorers Web. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ↑ Hynes, Justin. "NEWALL HUNTER: HOW A 53-YEAR-OLD IT ENGINEER JOINED THE EXPLORING ELITE". Nightjar Travel. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ↑ Pokhrel, Rajan. "Four Chinese climbers complete all 14 peaks above 8,000 m this autumn". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ↑ van den Broek, Alex. "Can the Explorer's Grand Slam Be Saved?". Explorers Web. Retrieved 22 Aug 2018.
- ↑ Walsh, Martin. "Antarctica 2018–2019: Final Recap". Explorers Web. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- ↑ Kikstra, Harry. "Editor". The 7 Summits. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ↑ Ottink, Jaco. "Owner & Managing Director". Beyond Summits. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ↑ "liveXplorer". Expeditions Unlimited. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ↑ "2019 Expedition Updates. Who Reached the Pole". Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ↑ "South Pole Expedition- 2021/22". The Shutts. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ↑ Seemela, Masego (29 August 2016). "Father and son take on Mount Kilimanjaro". Fourways Review. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ↑ Laughton, Neil (2012-12-12). "Neil Laughton: the adventure interview". Telegraph Media Group. London.
- ↑ Scally, Patrick. "YUNNAN'S NATIVE SON, JIN FEIBAO, COMPLETES 100 MARATHONS IN 100 DAYS". Go Kunming. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ↑ "Trek For Hope (The Himalayan Panoramas) – Sharing by Mr Khoo Swee Chiow". Meetup. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ Lovitt, Rob. "Adventure traveler Len Stanmore is not your average retiree". Today Travel. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
- ↑ "Seb 2 Poles and 7 Summits". Explorer's Grand Slam. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- 1 2 Trivedi, Anupam. "Doon twins set to make history, once again". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- 1 2 Trivedi, Anupam. "Tashi, Nungshi conquer North Pole". Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ↑ Nourhan, Magdi. "Omar Samra becomes 1st Egyptian to reach North Pole". The Cairo Post. YOUM7. Archived from the original on 26 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ↑ http://7summits.com/ +SP:Jan 2016/Guide S. Robertson(ALE); NP:Apr 2017/Guide E. Larsen
- ↑ WINFIELD, ALETTE. "Sean Swarner Becomes First Cancer Survivor To Complete Explorer's Grand Slam". PR Web. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ↑ Hendrick, Bill. "Cobb man's quest to conquer the Seven Summits". The Marietta Daily Journal (MDJ). Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ↑ Davis, Mark. "The thrill-seeker". Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ↑ "Julia Schultz Certificate". Explorers Grand Slam. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ↑ "Family, Country Leader Inspired National Explorer Qobin to Create History". The Malay Mail Online. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- ↑ "2017 South Pole and Mount Vinson Blogs". Polar Explorers. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ↑ "2016 North Pole Last Degree Ski Blog". Polar Explorers. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
- ↑ "The 7summits statistics: the Carstensz Pyramid list". The Seven Summits. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ↑ Kalfas, Efthimis. "Who is Nikos Maggisis, the first Greek to reach the South Pole". LIFOCITY. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ↑ ALCUTÉN, JACOBO. "Josu Feijoo, el primer astronauta diabético". 20 Minutos. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ↑ "Josu Feijoo recibe la Insignia Olímpica del Comité Olímpico Español". ABC. Diario ABC. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
- ↑ "Facts & figures of all 7summiteers!". The 7 Summits. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ↑ Placek, Christopher. "How Hawthorn Woods businessman vanquished Mount Everest". Daily Herald Chicago. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ↑ CBS 2 News Morning. "Northwestern Grad Alex Pancoe Climbs Denali". CBS Chicago. CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Positions of the Expeditions" (PDF). Explorer Grand Slam Official Website. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ↑ http://7summits.com/ +SP:Dec 30 2009/Guide David Hamilton (ALE); NP:Apr 10 2008/Guide Christoph Hobenreich
- ↑ Simonson, Eric. "IMG Denali Teams 5 and 6 on the way". International Mountain Guide. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ↑ Simonson, Eric. "Denali Teams 6 and 7 on top". International Mountain Guides. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- ↑ Chiarito, Bob. "Teenager scales heights in South Pole". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ↑ "Wilmette teen youngest to reach North Pole". ABC. Retrieved 27 April 2010.