All Posts for Month: August, 2017

British K2 Summiteer Returns Pakistan Flag

August 31, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

First British Women Conquers K2

August 30, 2017/in Expedition Flags /by Vanessa O'Brien

The Struggle Behind O’Brien’s K2 Summit

August 29, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

The Story Behind O’Brien’s K2 Summit

August 28, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

British-American Carries Pakistan’s Flag

August 24, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

First American Women Summits K2

August 24, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Takes Red Cross Flag to K2

August 21, 2017/in Affiliations /by Vanessa O'Brien

Hero Mountain Climber Visits British High Commission

August 20, 2017/in Expedition Flags /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Summited K2 in Pakistan

August 18, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Scales K2 on Her Third Attempt

August 17, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Loves Pakistan’s People

August 17, 2017/in Expedition Flags /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Plans to Travel to Pakistan Again

August 17, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

Pakistan’s People Are Great

August 16, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Thanks Pakistan for K2 Summit

August 16, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Loves Pakistan’s People More Than Its Mountains

August 16, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

Guardian Angels Helped O’Brien Scale K2

August 15, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Presenting K2 Summit Flag to U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale

August 15, 2017/in Expedition Flags /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Loves Pakistan’s People More than its Mountains

August 15, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Becomes First American Woman To Scale K2 (Part 2)

August 14, 2017/in Interviews /by Vanessa O'Brien

A Message For Strong Women

August 12, 2017/in Pakistan /by Vanessa O'Brien

Vanessa O’Brien Proud To Summit K2

August 11, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

First US Women Summits K2

August 11, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

World Digest First American Women K2

August 11, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

First US Woman to Summit K2 says she’s Proud

August 11, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Becomes First American Woman To Scale K2 (Part 1)

August 10, 2017/in Interviews /by Vanessa O'Brien

20th Women Summits K2

August 5, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

New Records Set in Pakistan

August 3, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

K2 Conquered by American Women

August 2, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

First American Woman Summits K2

August 1, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

First American Woman Vanessa O’Brien Summits K2

August 1, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

About Vanessa O’Brien

Vanessa O’Brien is a British female mountaineer and an American female mountaineer (as a result of her dual nationality), explorer, aquanaut, astronaut, author, and public speaker.

Her story of overcoming adversity and transformation unfolds in her book, To The Greatest Heights: Facing Danger, Finding Humility and Climbing A Mountain of Truth, Simon and Schuster (2021), described by many readers as one the most honest and riveting adventure autobiographies ever written.

Vanessa has an incredible six Guinness World Records: Only, First, Fastest, Deepest, Farthest and Oldest. Vanessa is the only woman to reach extremes on land, sea, and air (the Explorers' Extreme Trifecta) following her mission on Blue Origin's NS-22 to 107km. Vanessa was the first woman to reach earth’s highest and lowest points, (Mt. Everest 8,848m) and (Challenger Deep 10,925m), with the latter being deeper than Mt. Everest is tall. She is the fastest woman to climb the Seven Summits in 295 days, and the first person to reach nearest to and farthest from the earth's core (Challenger Deep and the summit of Chimborazo.)

Vanessa is the first woman to complete the Four Poles Challenge, going the farthest north * south * east * west from the top of Everest to the bottom of Challenger Deep to skiing the last degree to the geographic North and South Poles. She holds the record for the oldest woman to summit K2, the second tallest peak, at 52 years old.

Vanessa became the first American or British woman to successfully summit K2, receiving Explorer of the Year by the Scientific Exploration Society (SES) in 2018. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and an Honorary Advisory Board member of the SES.

Vanessa summitted the highest peak on every continent, receiving a Guinness World Record for the fastest time a woman first achieved this goal (295 days.) Vanessa has skied the last 111 km to the north and south poles completing the Explorers Grand Slam in 11 months, the first woman to do so in under a year, and the 8th woman in the world. Vanessa ran the Boston Marathon in 2017, helping to raise money for the American Red Cross, has been shot testing bulletproof vests with a .38 long revolver at point blank range, and rode 200 mph with Mario Andretti at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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