We all know of Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand as one of the first two to climb the world’s highest summit, Mt Everest. He also had another feather on his cap. He was the first person to have reached the three extremes – Mount Everest, the North Pole and the South Pole. Thus, the Three Poles Challenge was born.
Sir Hillary and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first mountaineers to reach Mount Everest summit on 29 May, 1953. He reached the South Pole on 4 January 1958 as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Atlantic Expedition. He then flew to the North Pole, in the year 1985, setting foot there on 6 April, 1985, along with the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong.
Three Poles Challenge has inspired many adventurers since then. Some of the notable achievers are:
Erling Kagge (Norway) – The first man to complete the challenge on foot.
Antoine de Choudens (France) – The only man to complete the challenge on foot without using supplementary oxygen while climbing Everest.
Tina Sjögren (Czechoslovakia) – The first woman to reach all the three poles.
Masha Gordon (British/Russian) – The fastest woman to complete the challenge.
Colin O’Brady (USA) – The fastest man to complete the Three Poles Challenge.
