Six Summits Project - a Human Powered Journey

Our dream of a human powered circumnavigation of the globe is accomplished. Along the way, Erden Eruç reached the highest mountain summit in Australia and Africa, Mt. Kosciuszko in 2010 and Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2011, respectively by human power. He had already reached the summit of Mt. McKinley in North America in the same manner in 2003. Everest, Aconcagua and Elbrus remain to be climbed in Asia, South America and Europe, respectively.

Erden recently rowed across the Pacific Ocean from California shores to the Philippines. His goal was to reach the foothills of Everest. Erden wanted to continue his journey on the South China Sea in the spring of 2023. His goal after reaching mainland Asia, was to continue overland by bicycle to Portugal. Myanmar declined to provide a visa citing security concerns, China pandemic restrictions. Therefore, Erden concluded his circumnavigation journey as of March 12, 2023.

He had already planned to skip Everest due to lack of funding. Whether to enter Russia to climb Elbrus remained uncertain given the political climate. Carrying on to Aconcagua from the Philippines seemed a huge overkill. At this time, the Six Summits Project is unlikely to continue.

Erden’s track across the Pacific Ocean: Tracking Map

The peaks in the Six Summits Project were a tribute to Göran Kropp. This project has been the source of educational content and a co-fundraising program for Around-n-Over. Together with our education partners, we disseminated age-appropriate dispatches to school children and raised funds for specific projects which were executed during the journey.

Background

Erden Eruç had dreamed about a huge human-powered self-propelled journey since 1997. He was going to move his own body using his own power while tracing a path around the world. He had always wanted this journey to be shared with children around the world. His goal was to turn the world into a giant laboratory to inspire and to engage the students. Much research and efforts to define the route had already taken place.

When Göran Kropp, who had encouraged him to take on the journey, fell to his death while rock climbing together in September 2002, Erden decided that it was time to make this dream a reality. He was inspired to add the mountain summits to honor Göran.

The result was the Six Summits Project, Erden's quest to climb the highest summits on six different continents by human power. He would cross the oceans by rowing in a generally westward push to reach the next continent. From the point of landfall, he would travel to the highest peak on that continent by bicycle, where he would meet his friends for the climb. He would relay the journey and the experience to the students via the internet.

     Summits     

• Denali (McKinley) in North America (done 2003)

• Kosciuszko in Australia (done 2010)

• Kilimanjaro in Africa (done 2011)

• Everest in Asia (unlikely)

• Elbrus in Europe (unlikely)

• Aconcagua in South America (unlikely)
  Erden’s plans to climb the remaining three mountains, Mount Everest in Asia, Mount Elbrus in Europe and Aconcagua in South America, were thwarted as of 12 March 2023 after Myanmar and China declined visas citing security and pandemic restrictions. Given funding shortfalls and political concerns, there is no intention at this time to pursue the remaining three summits.

     Oceans Crossed

• Pacific Ocean - North America to Australia by way of PNG (done 2007-2010)

• Indian Ocean - Australia to mainland Africa by way of Madagascar (done 2010-2011)

• Atlantic Ocean - Namibia to the Americas (done 2011-2012)

• Pacific Ocean - Crescent City in California to the Philippines (2021-2022)