Mountaineer Christina Flampouri hoisted the Greek flag on the highest peak of Antarctica on Monday, January 6th after the triumphant completion of her ambitious “Seven Summits” quest, according to greekreporter.com.
Flampouri became the first Greek woman to accomplish this stellar achievement, reaching the ultimate hurdle in her adventure by conquering the top of Vinson Massif at an altitude of 4,892m (16,050 feet).
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Reaching the top of all of them, which was first attained on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass, is regarded as a superlative mountaineering challenge for any climber.
Topping the Seven Summits has become noted as one of the top achievements anyone could ever accomplish in mountaineering and climbing.
Flampouri, a member of the Acharnes Mountaineering Association, managed to complete her Seven Summits quest in only 3.5 years.
After conquering the last peak, she announced “Seven Summits was much more than a mountaineering project for me, it was a dream come true and this confirms my belief that nothing is impossible.
“Five years ago I was scared to step on the edge of a slope — and today I have managed to reach the highest peaks on the seven continents.”
In spite of experiencing extremely low temperatures and strong winds, Flampouri was successful in her assault of Vinson Massif, becoming the first Greek on the short list of only 70 women in the world who have achieved this feat so far.
While participating in this expedition, she also became the first Greek woman to travel all the way to the South Pole, skiing 111 km (690 miles) to the southernmost point of the globe.
Concerning the difficulties she overcame, Flampouri stated “The combination of Seven Summits with my professional and personal life was the biggest challenge I had to face, since I am not a professional athlete.
The climber added that “The idea of Seven Summits captivated me from the outset because it has a great symbolism: it reflects the path towards conquering everyone’s personal aspirations and promotes Greece internationally.”
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