A SCOTTISH adventurer has become the second Briton to achieve the coveted explorer's'Grand Slam' of climbing the highest peaks on each of the seven continents and also reaching both the North and South Poles.
Newall Hunter, from Leadhills, South Lanarkshire, completed the remarkable achievement when he made it to the summit of Denali in Alaska last month.
The adventurer faced days of bad weather and thick snow, while temperatures as low as –40°C, to make the daring ascent of north America's highest mountain.
By the time he arrived at the mountain just one in five of those who had attempted the climb this year had managed to reach the top.
The ascent was the culmination of more than thirteen years of climbing and skiing to the most remote corners of the world.
He said: "This has been my aim for many years. The main reason for it taking so long is that I wanted to do it without any external funding or sponsorship which has meant working and saving for each expedition myself."
Around eighteen months ago the explorer became the first Briton to ski the gruelling 911km (570 miles) to the South Pole, from the Messner Start on the Filchner Ice Shelf at the edge of the Antarctic continent.
He reached the South Pole 41 days later having spent his birthday on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and seeing in the New Year pulling two heavy sleds with his equipment across the polar ice cap.
At times visibility became so bad he could not see beyond the end of his skis, while at one point the snow collapsed beneath him to reveal a gaping crevasse.
His achievement is known as the 'Full Adventurers Grand Slam', tas opposed to the Last Degree Grand Slam which most adventurers are undertake as it only involves travelling the last 60 nautical miles to both Poles.
Mr Hunter added: “Now that I am at home with my equipment unpacked and stowed in its cupboard I am beginning to wonder what’s next.”
Denali was formerly known as Mount McKinley, but the name was changed last year to that favoured by the indigenous Koyukon people.
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