All Posts for Month: February, 2021

Exploring the Greatest Heights and Depths

February 25, 2021/in Affiliations /by Vanessa O'Brien

Explorer Vanessa O’Brien Speaks at Slovak American Cultural Center

February 25, 2021/in Affiliations /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien’s Role in Missing K2 Winter Climbers

February 16, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Historic Ongoing Search Continues

February 14, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

K2 Rescuers Refuse to Quit

February 10, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Military Helicopters Search For Climbers

February 10, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Climbers Rarely Answer Winters Call

February 10, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Why The Savage Peak Beckons The Daring

February 10, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

No Sign of Ali Sadpara Missing on K2

February 9, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Hopes For Survival of Three Missing Climbers

February 9, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

K2 Beckons The Daring

February 9, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Search Suspended for Missing Climbers

February 9, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Weather Halts Search for K2 Climbers

February 9, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien on K2 in Winter

February 9, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Joins Search for Missing K2 Climbers

February 9, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

More Drama on K2

February 8, 2021/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Pakistani Climbers Attempting Rescue

February 6, 2021/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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