The World of Adventure and World Records

Ginge Fullen

What do children think of today? Do they look at atlases or the Guinness Book of Records like we did when we were children, like I did? Do they look at a map and see vast expanses of the world still to be explored, world records to be broken, new world records to be made? I really don't know but I would hope they do.

The year 2002, the 21st century, modern man is moving ahead at a frightening pace, things we only dreamed of a century ago have become a reality. Is there still adventure in the world, are there still world records to be broken? Damn right there are.

My mother told me I was 6 or 7 when I first looked at the Guinness Book of Records and studied it. I flapped it shut in a temper as a child would disgusted apparently, sulking and saying there will be nothing left to do when I grew up. The first Englishman had just summitted Everest, the year was 1974.

But there are adventures to be had, world records to be attained. I now hold two world records and am going for a third. I don't say that big headedly. I've looked for world records and found adventure in doing so. The world is getting a smaller place for sure, life is getting easier, new things to do are harder to find, but look hard enough and you will see that dream, that thought you had as a kid, could that be possible, you've only got one life to find out, do you do it, risk everything maybe, or do you take the easier path, the happier times maybe, the security. For dreamers, adventurers, world record breakers there's no such thing as security, only opportunity.

So, let's get to the crucial question, what's left to do in the world? What places are left to travel to that no man has been before, what new adventure are left for people to seek out? Pull out a world atlas, buy the Guinness Book of Records, the answer is there, right in front of every person on earth.

Climbing every highest mountain in every country in Europe. That was my first world record, my first sight of adventure. New world records are hard to establish, that Guinness Book likes a record that people can contend with, people can try to beat, 7 years it took me to climb to the top of 47 countries in Europe, the next person took 3 years. The next person, maybe you, will take less than that. Contact the Guinness Book, ask them about the records you read about, new records you think of, contact me even if you want to beat the record for the European mountains and think I can help, the records are there to be broken.

What's new left to do? Climbing the highest mountain on earth, 29028 ft, has been achieved by around 1000 people, reaching the deepest depth of the ocean, 36,201feet in the marina trench has been seen by only 2 men, and that was over 40 years ago. No man or woman has seen both extremes, the land and the sea, and what about the air, the edge of space even fewer people have been there.

Only several men have scaled the 14 8000metres peaks, an ultimate climbing challenge of today that has claimed several lives. The time will come when all 14 will be done in one calendar year only. It will take an incredible person with incredible luck. A challenge for the future that somebody will take up.

Look in the Guinness Book at the highest ever scuba dive that has been undertaken. Over 16,000 feet in a small lake in the Himalayas. Research further you will find a smaller lake and a higher lake, maybe. A new world record combined with adventure.

Climbing the highest mountain on all of the 7 continents has been done but has anybody parachuted, dived and climbed on each continent? Parachuted both North and South Pole? Those who seek the ultimate adventure sometimes pay the ultimate price. 2 out of the 4 people who parachuted onto the South Pole didn't come back alive.

People are attempting to climb the highest mountain in every country in the world, attempting the longest unbroken walk in history, circumnavigating the Tropic of Capricorn and the Arctic Circle or canoeing around the world. That's all happening now. People are talking about rowing around the world, doing the highest parachute jump, climbing the highest unclimbed mountain, swimming the Atlantic. Dreams for most people and some things few people in the world would want to do, could be capable of doing, will be done.

I contact the Guinness Book all the time. Has anybody crossed the English Channel underwater, would that be a world record? No. What's the record for the person to enter the most World Record events, from say the World Bog Snorkelling Championships to the World Impala Dung spitting Championships to the World Worm calling Championship to the World Tin Bath Championships. None, they don't hold that record they said but I reckon that would be an interesting one.

Circumnavigating the lines of latitude by the equator, tropic of Cancer, tropic of Capricorn, Antarctic and Arctic circles was my latest query. Yes they were interested in that one, draw up some rules and guidelines and get back to them they said. The circumnavigating of the equator had been done in a terrifically hard 18 months expedition by a guy who stayed within 50 Km either side of 0 degrees latitude all the way around except for 3 detours, one was for avoiding war in Africa, 2 a hurricane in the Pacific and 3 respecting old Indian rights in South America.

Soon the Tropic of Capricorn will be done leaving the circumnavigation of the Tropic of Cancer as probably the next big expedition to do. Second World War battlefields strewn with landmines, nuclear test grounds, rebel forces and untold bureaucracy will be the joys of the first people to attempt that major expedition and they will.

For explorers, adventurers, dreamers they never give up. After all that say Ranulph Fiennes and Ronald Messner has done, I can't ever see them sitting back contented with life. People like that are always thinking of another adventure.

Countless places remain to be visited, crossed or climbed. World records are there for the taking. I'm six countries away from climbing to the top of every highest mountain in all 53 countries in Africa. It's been a difficult expedition, logistically sometimes the Project was fairly difficult to organise, physically sometimes very hard, add to that the different Wars, conflicts and military coups, the threat of landmines, the danger of snakes, lions and crocodiles even. Oh, plus the occasional life threatening moments such as being held at gunpoint in Somalia, arrested and taken for a mercenary in Liberia, held in a stranglehold and robbed by a gang of 5 in Kenya and coming within 10 metres of a wild elephant blocking the jungle path on Congo's highest mountain all has gone fairly smoothly.

This world record attempt has also been an adventure and as the little quote on the back of my business card for Africa implies every record attempt, every adventure might have its dangers. If that were not the case then everybody might be doing it. What's left for me should I succeed in climbing every highest mountain in every country in Africa. Well, like I said dreamers never stop dreaming. There's another world record and adventure to be had. I still have one world record, one adventure that I will keep a secret.

Chances of success - limited
Chances of encountering danger -plenty
Chances of not suffering from a horrible
African disease or coming back alive -
Well, that's anybodies guess