MOUNTAINEERING INFORMATION ARTICLES

Cecilie Skog: Norwegian Mountain Adventurer

Born on August 8, 1974 in the city of Alesund in Norway, Cecilie Skog is among the highly regarded women in the world of mountaineering. A registered nurse and mountain guide by profession, she initially got hooked on mountain and ice climbing at the age of twenty. Cecilie is the first woman to ever climb the Seven Summits, the seven highest mountains found in each continent.

Her quest to conquer the seven summits started in 1999 when she summitted the Aconcagua in South America. Two years later she moved on to North America for Denali, and Europe’s Elbrus in 2003. In 2004 she conquered two of the Seven Summits, the highest which is Asia’s Mount Everest and Africa’s Kilimanjaro. She completed her feat in 2006 when she summitted Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko and Antarctica’s Mount Vinson. While setting off to conquer the Seven Summits, Skog also set off to Mont Blanc, Shisha Pangma, and Cho Oyu. In 2004 she also crossed Greenland’s inland ice, reaching as far as 7,300 meters.

Aside from such achievements, Skog is also the first woman to ever reach both the North and South Pole, popularly known as the Explorers Grand Slam. Together with husband Rolf Bae and Henry Borch, the three reached the South Pole after a 33-day journey on the 27th of December in 2005. The following year, on April 25, she then reached the North Pole, once again with Bae and Borch, for a journey of more than 48 days, the fastest expedition to the North Pole ever.

With her vast experience and adventures in mountaineering, Skog released a book in 1996 entitled Cecilie Skog og de tre polene (Cecilie Skog and the Three Poles), which featured her numerous expeditions and successful climbs.

On August 2, 2008 she lost her husband Rolf Bae on an expedition to K2, who was with her on the perilous mountain. Skog safely survived while her husband and 10 other climbers and sherpas lost their lives on that day.

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