Climber Sets New Speed Record for Climbing Seven Summits

Climbing the Seven Summits remains quite a milestone in the world of outdoor adventure, but those hoping to do so in record time now have an impressive new mark to try to beat. American climber and endurance athlete Colin O'Brady reached the summit of Denali in Alaska this past weekend, wrapping up his quest to climb the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, a feat he accomplished in just 132 days.

O'Brady's Seven Summits bid started this past January, when he traveled to Antarctica to climb Mt. Vinson. He followed that up with Aconcagua in South America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania, Elbrus in Europe, Everest in Asia, and Denali in North America. Those last two mountains were summited just eight days apart. The previous record for climbing the Seven Summits was 134 days, set by Vern Tejas back in 2010.

The Seven Summits speed record isn't the only one that O'Brady is claiming. Between climbing all of those mountains, he also managed to ski to both the South and North Pole, reaching the former on January 10 and the latter on April 19. That has given him claims of completing the "Explorers Grand Slam" as well. But, both of those excursions were last degree ski expeditions and did not cover the full distances to either of the Poles. Colin is claiming a record of 139 days to finish his entire project, which beats the previous record of 192 days.

O'Brady wasn't just going after speed records in his adventurous start to 2016. He also was working to raise $1 million for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation as well. That organization is working to combat child obesity by inspiring kids to be more active and eat healthier too. Colin didn't quite hit that goal, raising about $15,772 instead, but for this important cause, every dollar counts.

Congrats to Colin on claiming the speed record for the Seven Summits. It seems like it will take a tremendous effort to by another climber to beat this mark.

Mountain Runner Sets Female Aconcagua Speed Record

Standing 6961 meters (22,838 ft) in height, Argentina's Aconcagua is the tallest mountain in South America, and the highest peak outside the Himalaya in the world. That makes it one of the Seven Summits of course, luring in hundreds of climbers each year who are looking to add one of those iconic mountains to their resume. While not nearly as challenging as Everest, it remains a formidable peak, as Ranulph Fiennes discovered recently.

But about the same time that Sir Ran was preparing to head home a few weeks back, another climber by the name of Sunny Stroeer was preparing to make a run – quite literally – at the speed record by a woman on the mountain. On January 23, she did just that, setting a new mark for climbing from Base Camp to the summit, despite the fact that she had a respiratory infection.

Outside magazine has posted a profile of the 32-year old Stroeer following her epic ascent, which took 8 hours and 47 minutes to complete, shaving 29 minutes off the previous record. Stroeer is no stranger to long endurance events, as she is an ultrarunner who has competed in such events as the legendary Western States, amongst numerous other 50 and 100k runs. Perhaps her biggest adventure so far however is quitting her job back in 2015 to focus on running and traveling full-time. Since then, she has roamed around the southwest states of the U.S., and gone trekking in Thailand, Nepal, Tanzania, Germany, and other places.

Back in 2014, Stroeer climbed Aconcagua for the first time, going solo and unsupported, which is an impressive accomplishment in its own right. She told Outside that she was shocked at how few women were on the mountain, which gave her the idea of forming an all ladies team to make another attempt on the summit. She did that this year, and her record-setting run was a part of that expedition.

Sunny's story is an impressive one on a number of different levels. There is certainly a lot of inspiration to be had from her adventures. Congrats on the new speed record!

Sir Ranulph Fiennes Pulls Plug on Aconcagua Summit Attempt

It looks like Sir Ranulph Fiennes will have to wait a little bit longer to complete his attempt to complete the Adventurers Grand Slam. According to the BBC, the 72-year old British explorer has had to abandon his attempt to summit Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America, after experiencing severe back pain during the final stages of the expedition. Fiennes says that he is "very frustrated" by the situation.

The climb was part of Fiennes – who has been called "the world's greatest living explorer" – attempt to join the elite club of men and women who have reached both the North and South Poles, as well as topped out on the Seven Summits. He has undertaken this challenge to raise funds for the Marie Curie Foundation, which has been a frequent recipient of his charity work over the years. To date, he has summited Everest, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, and Vinson. That would leave him with Denali and Carstensz Pyramid, in addition to Aconcagua.

According to reports, Sir Ran was within just a few hours of the 6961-meter (22,841 ft) summit of Aconcagua, which is not only the highest peak in South America, but the tallest outside of the Himalaya too. But, the explorer was in too much pain to continue upwards, and had to be assisted back down the mountain instead. He was then air lifted to Mendoza, Argentina, where he is reportedly in good condition. He'll now head home to the U.K. to consult with his doctor before proceeding any further with his plans.

In embarking on this challenge, Fiennes hoped to become the first person to traverse both polar ice caps and complete the Seven Summits. You may recall that he earned his stripes as an explorer by visiting the coldest places on the planet on multiple occasions. He has come to mountaineering a bit late in life, not summiting Everest until 2009 at the age of 66. Later he would add summits of Kilimanjaro and Everest, before embarking on what he calls the Global Reach Challenge in 2016. Whether or not he'll continue with those efforts remains to be seen, but considering his resume, I would assume that unless this is a very serious injury, he'll be back at it as soon as possible.

Get well soon Sir Fiennes.

Video: Woman Climbs Seven Summits, Films Journey on an iPhone

National Geographic Emerging Explorer Wasfia Nazarene recently became the first woman from Bangladesh to climb each of the Seven Summits. That alone is a remarkable achievement. But, along the way she also filmed her adventure using an iPhone, and the video below is a result of that project. It is a 13 minute long short documentary of her journey, with some fantastic video footage from each mountain. The fact that she was able to make the film using just a smartphone is remarkable, and a good indication of the power of technology that most of us now carry in our pockets. Amazing and inspiring stuff.