I've always been drawn to the water, and the journey to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (Challenger Deep is the lowest point of the trench) was one that I found exciting and inspiring.
This month, the "Ring of Fire" expedition went back to the Challenger deep (-10,929m) and Kelly Walsh, the son of Don Walsh (who was captain on the Trieste in 1960) headed to the bottom.
I thought it would be kind of interesting to do the same amount of ascent in June as the submariners were doing, so this month I notched up just over needed elevation gain.
Result! Or so I thought, until I started reading about Victor Vescovo!
So, I headed off and read about the Explorers Grand Slam which is a fairly unusual challenge.
As a part of that Victor gained a World Record for "the person who has covered the greatest vertical distance without leaving Earth's surface".
To do this he not only descended to the bottom of Challenger Deep, he also climbed to the top of the world - Everest Summit. It took him nine years to complete the total vertical distance of 19,772 metres.
Now, there's a challenge for July!
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