The Explorers Grand Slam or Adventurers Grand Slam is an adventurers challenge to reach the North Pole, the South Pole and all of the Seven Summits. The North Pole is defined as the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth’s axis of rotation meets its surface. The South Pole, situated in Antarctica, is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole.

The Seven Summits are defined as the highest mountain peaks of each of the seven continents, and includes Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson, and Puncak Jaya or Kosciuszko.

The reason for a choice of Puncak Jaya or Kosciuszko was to give Explorer’s Grand Slam participants a choice in following the Bass List (Kosciuszko) or the Messner List (Puncak Jaya). For more information see Controversy. Click a marker on the map below to learn more about each of the Seven Summits.

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North Pole Expeditions

These have been closed for 8 years, with seasons cancelled due to a combination of geopolitical issues, COVID-19, logistical challenges, and deteriorating ice conditions. Will 2026 be the year ski expeditions return?

Timeline of Cancellations & Issues:

• 2018: Short season (12 days) due to logistical and operational issues, geopolitical tensions, and ownership changes to Swiss Swedish ownership.
• 2019: Cancelled due to political tensions and weather/aircraft issues.
• 2020: Cancelled due to COVID-19 border closures.
• 2021: Cancelled due to COVID-19 border closures.
• 2022: Cancelled due to political reasons (Russia-Ukraine conflict), logistics dependent on Russia.
• 2023: Cancelled due to political reasons (Russia-Ukraine conflict), logistics dependent on Russia.
• 2024: Cancelled due to political reasons and deteriorating ice conditions.
• 2025: Cancelled due to political reasons and deteriorating ice conditions

Meet a few individuals who are making plans to attempt the last degree to the North Pole in 2026:

Lonnie Bedwell
Lonnie is a blind military veteran whose mission is to motivate and inspire others to embrace life with courage and confidence. Lonnie was critically injured in a hunting accident in 1997 that took his sight. Rather than sit home, hit the bottle and go down a rabbit hole of depression, he decided to go out and ‘see the world’.

Beyond Vision is a documentary film covering Lonnie’s story. You can see the official trailer below.

Please consider to help fund the film and North Pole Journey with Common Ground. You can also donate directly here.

 

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The Poles 

North Pole The northernmost point on Earth, found at latitude 90° North, where all meridians of longitude meet and the only direction is south. All directions point south and all lines of longitude converge there. It’s located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean amidst waters 4,000 meters deep that are covered with constantly shifting sea ice 2-3 meters thick. Learn more

South Pole The southernmost point on Earth, found at latitude 90 degrees South, lies on the continent of Antarctica that is 1½ times the size of the USA, twice the size of Australia, and 58 times the size of the UK. It has 90% of the world’s ice and 70% of the world’s fresh water. Learn more

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The Seven Summits 

Mt. Everest Is the tallest mountain on earth and the highest in Asia, with the summit at 29,035 feet. It lies on the border between China (Tibet) and Nepal in the center of the Himalayan mountain range. Due to its size, it is buffeted by the jet stream with winds reaching speeds of over 100 mph, and this, combined with the avalanches, glaciers, ice-rivers and altitude, make this the most difficult of all the Seven Summits to climb. It was first successfully climbed on 29 May 1953 by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. Learn More | Death Statistics

Mt. Kilimanjaro Is the highest mountain in Africa, with the summit at 19,340 feet. It lies in Tanzania on the eastern side of the continent, close to the equator and a short distance from the border with Kenya. Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro allows you to experience 5 distinct climate zones, from hot and arid equatorial conditions at the base, to arctic conditions at the summit. The first recorded summit was by a German, Hans Meyer, in 1889. Learn More

Denali Also known as Mt McKinley is the highest mountain in North America, with the summit at 20,320 feet. It is situated in Alaska in the United States, in the Denali National Park. Denali has some of the worst weather in the world on a year-round basis, and is also generally acknowledged to be one of the most difficult of the Seven Summits, of which it is also the most northerly, lying at 63° N. It was first climbed by the Americans Hudson Stock, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper and Robert Tatum on 7 June 1913. Learn More

Aconcagua Is the tallest mountain in South America, and also the highest in the Western Hemisphere, with the summit at 22,841 feet. It is also the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas. It sits within Argentina near the border with Chile. Despite its height, Aconcagua is considered a safe mountain to climb, as the routes are non-technical, although the lack of oxygen at high altitudes can cause problems. The first recorded summit in modern history was in 1897, by a Swiss climber Matthias Zurbriggen. Learn More

Vinson Massif Is the highest mountain in Antarctica, with the summit at 16,050 feet. It is also the most southerly of the Seven Summits, lying at 78° S, and the coldest, with temperatures falling to -90°F. It lies in the Ellsworth Mountain range near the Antarctic Peninsula, and is in territory administered by Chile under the Antarctic Treaty. It is very hard to get to, as the only access is by ski plane from Punta Arenas in Chile, which is only able to fly occasionally due to the weather. It was first climbed in 1966 by an American team of Barry Corbet, John Evans, William Long and Pete Schoening. Learn More

Mt. Elbrus Is the highest mountain in Europe (not Mt Blanc as is commonly thought) with the summit at 18,510 feet. It lies in the Caucasus mountain range in Russia, close to the borders of Georgia and Armenia. A cable car has been built by the government that runs from the base of the mountain to around 12,000 feet, which makes the climb much more accessible. The first ascent of the summit took place in July 1874 by an English climber, Crauford Grove, and a Swiss guide, Peter Knubel. Learn More

Mt. Kosciuszko Is the tallest mountain in Australia with the summit at 7,310 feet. It sits in the Snowy mountain range on the borders of the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria, near to the Australian capital of Canberra. It is the smallest of the original Seven Summits and is the easiest to climb, with the hike to the top taking around 7 hours. It is believed that the local aboriginal people were the first to climb Mt Kosciuszko, but the first Westerner to ascend to the summit was a Polish climber, Edmund Strzelecki, in 1840. Learn More

Carstensz Pyramid* Carstensz Pyramid is the only technical “rock” climbing of all the 7 Summits with the actual summit at 16,024 feet. Carstensz Pyramid sits in Irian Jaya which comprises the western side of the island of New Guinea located in Indonesia. The bare, rocky and near-vertical slopes of Carstensz Pyramid rise above the lush jungle environment that cans start off extremely hot and humid. One way to go is the Sugapa route that traverses rugged jungles, forests and alpine terrain for almost 80 km. Patrick Morrow was the first person to finish the Seven Summits with the Carstensz variation. Learn More

* In 80′s Dick Bass set the task of climbing the highest peak on each continent. As a businessman without climbing experience, Mr. Bass defined each continent according to the lay person’s concept – hence Australia’s highpoint, Mount Kosciuszko, was included in the Seven Summits. Renowned mountaineer Reinhold Messner revised Dick’s list by substituting the more difficult Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) of New Guinea at 16,023 feet for Mount Kosciuszko.

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People 

Heo Young-Ho, a South Korean Alpinist, became the first person to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam, after he succeeded reaching reaching the South Pole from Berkner Island in Jan 1997 (source). British Explorer, David-Hempleman Adams, claimed he was the first person, but he was unaware of Heo Young-Ho’s achievements.

Russian Survivalist Fyodor Konyukhov remains the second person to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam finishing with Denali in May 1997. Fyodor is also the first person to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam completing both the Messner and Bass list which he completed in September 1999.

In April 2005, Park Young Seok completed a True Explorers Grand Slam, which additionally includes ascending all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters.

In 2011, former Wales rugby union international Richard Parks became the first person ever to complete the (Last Degrees) Grand Slam within a single calendar year, doing so within seven months.

In 2014 Jing Wang became the fastest woman to complete the last degree Grand Slam in 142 days and Ryan Waters became the first American to complete “True Adventurers Grand Slam” by skiing full length, unsupported and unassisted North and South Pole expeditions and climbing the seven summits.

On 21 April 2015 Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik became world’s first twins and siblings as well as first South Asians to complete the Explorers Grand Slam (last degree).

Marin Minamiya became the youngest person to complete the Explorers Grand Slam (last degree) at 20 years old on April 12, 2017.

Vanessa O’Brien became the first woman to complete the (Last Degrees) Grand Slam under a single calendar year, doing so in eleven months.

Some 72 people have completed the Explorers Grand Slam including:

Full Grand Slam
Both poles from an outer coastline/shore

1. Heo Young-Ho (RIP: Died of Bile Duct Cancer on 7/29/25) (official certificate)
2.  Fyodor Konyukhov  (official website)
3.  David Hempleman-Adams
4.  Park Young Seok  (official website) (RIP: Went missing on 10/23/2011 while attempting a new route on Annapurna)
5.  Bernard Voyer  (official website)
6.  Cecilie Skog  (official website)
7.   Maxime Chaya  (official website)
8.  Ryan Waters  (official website)
9.  Stuart Smith
10.  Johan Ernst Nilson  (official website)
11.  Wilco van Rooijen  (official website)

Grand Slam
One pole from an inner coastline/shore and one pole from an outer coastline/shore or last degree

1.  Haraldur Olafsson (SP non-Coastal)
2.  Khoo Swee Chiow (SP non-Coastal)   (official website)
3.  Arnold Witzig (official website 1) (official website 2)
4.   Alison Levine (NP non-Coastal)  (official website)
5.  Mostafa Salameh (NP non-Coastal)   (official website)
6. Newall Hunter (NP non-Coastal)   (official website)
7.  Zhang Liang (NP non-Coastal)
8.   Grazyna Machnik (NP non-Coastal)  (official certificate 1 | official certificate 2)
9. Jaco Ottink (NP non-Coastal) (official website)
10. Jérôme Brisebourg (NP non-Coastal)
11. Mark Shuttleworth (NP non-Coastal) (official website)
12. Inge Meløy (NP non-Costal)

Last Degree Grand Slam
Both poles from 89 degrees

1.  Sean Disney  (official website)
2.  Vaughan de la Harpe
3.  Sibusiso Vilane  (official website)
4.  Arthur Marsden
5.  Andrew Van Der Velde
6.  Vernon Tejas
7.  Will Cross (official website)
8.   Lei Wang (official website)
9.  Neil Laughton (official website)
10.   Jo Gambi (official website)
11.  Rob Gambi (official website)
12.  Randall Peeters
13.  Wang Yongfeng
14.  Ci Luo
15.  Liu Jian
16.  Wang Shi
17.  Zhong Jianmin
18.  Jin Fei Bao  (official website)
19.  Wang Qiuyang
20.   Suzanne K Nance
21.  Richard Parks (official website)
22.   Andrea Cardona (official website)
23. John Dahlem (RIP 2024)
24.  Matthew Holt
25. Len Stanmore (official website)
26.   Cheryl Bart
27.    Vanessa O’Brien  (official website)
28.  Sebastian Merriman (official website)
29.   Jing Wang (official website | official certificates)
30.   Tashi Malik (official website)
31.   Nungshi Malik (official website)
32.  Omar Samra  (official website)
33.    Maria (Masha) Gordon (official website)
34.  Colin O’Brady (official website)
35. John Moorhouse (official website)
36.  Victor L Vescovo (official website)
37.  Sean Swarner (official website)
38.   Marin Minamiya (official website)
39.  Michael Grigsby
40.   Julia Elinor Schultz (official website)
41.  Muhamad Muqharabbin Mokhtarrudin
42.  Mike Gibbons
43.  Nikolaos Mangitsis (official website | official certificate)
44.  Josu Feijoo (official website)
45.  James Holliday (official certificate 1 | official certificate 2)
46.  Joel Schauer (official certificate 1 | official certificate 2)
47.  Alexander Pancoe (official certificate 1 | official certificate 2)
48. Leifur Örn Svavarsson (official website | additional website) (North Pole Source | South Pole Source)
49.  Khai Nguyen (official certificate 1 | official certificate 2) (LinkedIn)
50. Taylor Sweitzer (official website 1 | official website 2)

Notes:
– As of 2022, all terminology and guidelines regarding polar data records are being conducted under PECS.
– For early records of the Seven Summits, please see Mike Hamill’s Climbing the Seven Summits (official records).

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Press & Media

Recent press about the Explorers Grand Slam:

First American to Complete the True Adventurers Grand Slam October 6, 2022 Read More	Nikos Magitsis: The first Greek to complete EGS January 19, 2021 Read More
Tashi and Nungshi Malik compete on Bear Grylls’s World’s Toughest Race in Fiji August 4, 2020 Read More	Sean Swarner First Cancer Survivor To Complete Explorers Grand Slam June 28, 2020 Read More
Vanessa O’Brien Adds Challenger Deep to Explorers Grand Slam June 19, 2020 Read More	Polar Explorer Community Defends Nat Geo Expose on Colin O’Brady February 28, 2020 Read More
Explorers Grand Slammer to Sail 3x Around World July 13, 2019 Read More	Chicago Man Achieves Explorers Grand Slam June 28, 2019 Read More
Explorers Grand Slammer to Marianas Trench April 25, 2019 Read More	Explorers Web Interviews Vanessa O’Brien August 22, 2018 Read More
What It Takes to Complete the Adventurers Grand Slam Unsupported May 6, 2014 Read More	Woman does Explorers Grand Slam in Record Time May 10, 2013 Read More

 

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Contact 

Vanessa O’Brien, FRGS, is a British-American mountain climber, explorer, public speaker and former business executive. Vanessa created and maintains this website.

For any questions or feedback about the Explorers Grand Slam website, please contact Vanessa directly at vanessa@vobonline.com. Or visit Vanessa’s website at www.vobonline.com.