On top of the world
ADVENTURER and businesswoman Cheryl Bart has become the first Australian woman and only the second Aussie ever to have achieved the Explorers Grand Slam, having conquered all the seven summits across each continent and the North and South Poles.
ADVENTURER and businesswoman Cheryl Bart has become the first Australian woman and only the second Aussie ever to have achieved the Explorers Grand Slam, having conquered all the seven summits across each continent and the North and South Poles.
Bart, who only recently returned from her trek to the North Pole that rounded out the grand slam, said it was one of her toughest adventures yet.
“It’s a totally rewarding [experience] and for me it is actually the balance of my life,” Bart told The AJN.
“It was every [emotion] in one, not just to complete the Explorers Grand Slam, but to complete that expedition … because you’re always drifting, the ice is moving and buckling against each other.
“We encountered lots of open water, so many days at the beginning of this expedition we were going sideways, east or west, and even sometimes were going south, rather than going north.”
Bart’s quest began back in the early 2000s when she and her daughter Nikki trekked to the base camp of Mount Everest, before the two made their way around the world conquering the largest mountain on each continent.
“Frankly, at the very beginning it wasn’t the idea of let’s do the seven summits or let’s do the Explorers Grand Slam … but suddenly over the years, we had done six of the seven,” Bart said.
The accomplished businesswoman currently sits on the board at the ABC and is the local organising committee director for the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia, but admits she always finds a way to make time for each adventure.
“Well when you ask a busy person to do something, they just do it,” she said.
“But I just make time and I like being busy. The worst me is the bored me.”
Having conquered the grand feat, Bart admitted there was plenty still to discover across the globe.
“It’s a big, beautiful, amazing planet out there and there’s so many adventures to be had,” Bart said.
“There’s plenty on the agenda, and you need, please god, some good health and to make some time.”
ASHLEY SHENKER
Cheryl Bart at the North Pole.
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