The Explorer's Grand Slam is an adventurer goal to reach the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

and

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

, as well as climb the

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

( Everest,

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in both the Western Hemisphere and the ...

Denali Denali (), federally designated as Mount McKinley, is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak on land, measuring . On p. 20 of Helm ...

, 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''). The climbing community, the

American Alpine Club The American Alpine Club (AAC) is a non-profit member organization with more than 26,000 members. The club is housed in the American Mountaineering Center (AMC) in Golden, Colorado. Through its members, the AAC advocates for American climbers d ...

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...

, climbing companies such as International Mountain Guides, 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 North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

poles. As of 2022, all terminology and guidelines regarding polar data records are being conducted under the Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme (PECS). In 1998, David Hempleman-Adams became the first person to complete an ''Explorer's Grand Slam''. In April 2005, Park Young-seok became the first person to complete a ''True Explorer's Grand Slam''. In 2011, former Wales rugby union international Richard Parks became the first person to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam within a single calendar year, doing so within seven months. On April 16, 2013,

Vanessa O'Brien Vanessa Audi Rhys O'Brien is a British and American mountaineer, sub-orbital spaceflight participant, explorer, and former business executive. On 12 June 2020, O'Brien became the first woman to reach Earth's highest and lowest points. She is a F ...

became the first woman to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam under a single calendar year, doing so in eleven months. On April 22, 2013, Cheryl Bart became the first Australian woman and the 31st person worldwide to complete the Explorer's Grand Slam. In 2014, Jing Wang became the fastest woman to complete the (Last Degree) Grand Slam in 142 days. 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 world speed record holder for completing the Explorer's Grand Slam (Last Degree). On April 12, 2017, Marin Minamiya became the youngest person to complete the Explorers' Grand Slam (Last Degree) at 20 years old.

People who completed the quest

Full Grand Slam (both poles from an outer coastline/shore)

In chronological order: # David Hempleman-Adams (United Kingdom) # Fyodor Konyukhov (Russia) # Heo Young-ho (South Korea) # Park Young-seok (first person to complete a '' True Explorers Grand Slam'') (South Korea) # Bernard Voyer (Canada) # Cecilie Skog (Norway) # Maxime Chaya (Lebanon) # Ryan Waters (United States) # Stuart Smith (United States) # Johan Ernst Nilson (Sweden) # (Netherlands)

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) (Iceland) # Khoo Swee Chiow (SP non-Coastal) (Singapore) # Arnold Witzig (Switzerland) (Canada) # Alison Levine (NP non-Coastal) (United States) # Mostafa Salameh (NP non-Coastal) (Jordan) # Newall Hunter (NP non-Coastal) (United Kingdom) # Zhang Liang (SP non-Coastal) (China) # Grazyna Machnik (NP non-Coastal) (United Kingdom,Poland) # Jaco Ottink (NP non-Coastal) (Netherlands) # Jérôme Brisebourg (NP non-Coastal) (France) # Mark Shuttleworth (NP non-Coastal) (United Kingdom) 11. Inge Meløy (NP non-Costal) (Norway)

Last Degree Grand Slam (both poles from 89 degrees)

In chronological order: # Sean Disney (South Africa) # Vaughan de la Harpe (South Africa) # Sibusiso Vilane (South Africa) # Arthur Marsden (South Africa) # Andrew Van Der Velde (South Africa) # Vernon Tejas (United States) # Will Cross (United States) # Lei Wang (United States, China) # Neil Laughton (United Kingdom) # Jo Gambi (United Kingdom) # Rob Gambi (Australia) # Randall Peeters (United States) # Wang Yongfeng (China) # Ci Luo (China) # Liu Jian (China) # Wang Shi (China) # Zhong Jianmin (China) # Jin Feibao (China) # Wang Qiuyang (China) # Suzanne K Nance (United States) # Richard Parks (United Kingdom) # Andrea Cardona (Guatemala) # John Dahlem (United States) # Matthew Holt (United Kingdom) # Len Stanmore (Canada) # Cheryl Bart (Australia) #

(United States, United Kingdom) # Sebastian Merriman (United Kingdom) # Jing Wang (China) # Tashi Malik (India) # Nungshi Malik (India) # Omar Samra (Egypt) # Maria (Masha) Gordon (United Kingdom, Russia) # Colin O'Brady (United States) # John Moorhouse (United Kingdom) # Victor Vescovo (United States) # Sean Swarner (United States) # Marin Minamiya (Japan) # Michael W. Grigsby (United States) # Julia Elinor Schultz (Germany) # Muhamad Muqharabbin Mokhtarrudin (Malaysia) # Mike Gibbons (United States) # Nikolaos Mangitsis (Greece) # Josu Feijoo (Spain) # James Holliday (United States) # Joel Schauer (United States) # Alexander Pancoe (United States) # Leifur Svavarsson (Iceland) # Khai Nguyen (Canada) (United States) # Taylor Sweitzer (United States)

References

External links

* * {{Official website, http://www.adaptivegrandslam.com/, Adaptive Grand Slam official website
Origins of the Explorers Grand Slam With Vanessa O'Brien
Seven Summits Grand Slam International competitions