All Posts for Publication: The Adventure Blog

Posts

Why K2 Is Harder To Climb Than Everest

July 16, 2019/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

First American Woman to Summit K2 Shares Story

December 14, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Sixteen Hour Summit Push to K2

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

The Struggle Behind O’Brien’s K2 Summit

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

Three Times a Charm; O’Brien Succeeds

July 31, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

K2 Teams Move to Camp 2 for Summit Bid

July 25, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

Climbing Season Ramps Up on K2

June 26, 2017/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

K2 Climbers Stay at Camp 2

July 1, 2016/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

The Arduous Task of Climbing K2 Begins

June 30, 2016/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

K2 Climbers Report Progress at Camp 2

June 27, 2016/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien Attempts K2 Record

June 16, 2016/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien to Attempt K2

July 7, 2015/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien to Climb Fifth 8,000-meter Peak

June 19, 2015/in K2 /by Vanessa O'Brien

O’Brien to Attempt K2

June 8, 2015/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.

Follow @vobonline