Tragic news has reached us from the field. 17-year-old adventurer Haris Suleman has died while attempting to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane in just 30 days. Haris was coming to the end of his expedition when his plane went down in the Pacific Ocean. His body was recovered from the waters, but that of his father, 58-year-old Babar Suleman has yet to be found. Haris was in pursuit of the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world in a single-engine plane – and he would have become the youngest pilot to lead this type of journey – but his primary objective was to raise money for the Citizens Foundation, a non profit organisation that builds schools in Pakistan.
Ocean rowers Tara Remington and Angela Madsen have completed a 4000km Pacific Crossing from Los Angeles to Hawaii. It took the pair 60 days in their 19.6 foot long row boat. Madsen’s story is particularly remarkable: the former U.S. Marine was left paralysed from the waist down after unsucessful surgery, she has now become the first adaptive rower to complete a section of the Pacific.
Mark Kalch has successfully paddled the length of the Volga River, adding another notch to his belt in his quest to complete descents of the longest rivers on every continent. It took the expedition kayaker 71 days to arrive at the Caspian Sea after covering 3700 km of the Russian river. Three of the seven rivers on his “7 Rivers, 7 Continents” project are now complete.
Climbers have been busy on El Capitan in California this summer. Alex Honnold and David Allfrey completed a project dubbed “7 in 7” in 95-degree temperatures earlier this summer, and now climber Hans Florine has become the first to Solo El Cap’s Triple Direct in a day. And a quick update from the Walking the Nile Expedition, Levison Wood has reached his final country to cross. Wood has entered Egypt, leaving 1600 km between him and his finish line; the Mediterranean Sea.
Check out the incredible footage from Turkmenistan’s Darvaza Crater known as the ‘door to hell’. Canadian explorer George Kourounis has become the first person to descend the mysterious crater located in Turkmenistan’s dessert. Kourounis completed this expedition last year, however the footage from it has only just been released.
High altitude mountaineer, Kenton Cool is planning his next challenge: The Himalayan Trilogy. The British mountaineer will attempt to summit the three highest peaks in the world Everest , Kanchenjunga and K2 in just three months. It has never been attempted it before.
Another reminder to submit any expeditions you may have to the National Geographic Expedition Granted to be in with a chance to win $50,000 to pursue that dream. Simply record a two-minute video that explains how you would use the grant. Then, upload it to the Expedition Granted website, and share it on social media. The deadline is August 31.
Written by Orla O’Muiri | Image © Mark Kalch