Mike Horn: x 8000 Expedition (summits G1 and G2)

You’d think that a man who has swum the full length of the Amazon, completed a solo circumnavigation of the globe and trekked to the North Pole in the middle of the arctic winter would be happy to hang up his hydrospeed and rest on his laurels. But you’d be wrong. In 2007 our homegrown hero turned his attention to high-altitude mountaineering, and in true Mike Horn style he didn’t opt for the wimp version. The challenge? To climb four 8 000 metre peaks back-to-back, without the aid of supplementary oxygen... the mountaineering equivalent of playing the All Blacks blindfolded, and beating them 100 – 0! Teaming up with experienced alpinists Jean Troillet, Olivier Roduit and Fred Roux, Horn successfully summitted two of the peaks – Gasherbrum I (8 068m) and Gasherbrum II (8 035m) – before high winds and heavy snow halted the expedition. A failure? We think not. While the team only completed half their objective, for perspective it’s worth noting that for most mountaineers, summiting one of these peaks – with the help of supplementary oxygen – is still considered an impressive achievement. Mike’s other achievements include his Amazon Expedition (6 month solo traverse of the South American continent – descending the Amazon River on a hydrospeed); Latitude Zero (the 18 month, solo, unpowered expedition around the world following the equator); Arktos (2 year and 3 month solo tour around the Arctic Circle without dogs or motor); North Pole Winter Expedition (2-month trek from Russia to the North Pole in the 24 hour darkness of the polar night, accompanied by Norwegian explorer, Borge Ousland).