National Geographic Adventurers of the Year

Published November 11, 2014

It’s that time of year again – National Geographic has named their 2015 Adventurers of the Year.

For a decade, National Geographic has spun the globe to find the Adventurers of the Year, each selected for his or her remarkable achievement in exploration, adventure sports, conservation, and humanitarianism. This year’s honorees embody the spirit of adventure in diverse ways—an exploratory surfer seeking the world’s most remote waves; paragliders pushing the boundaries of their sport; an activist challenging the status quo; filmmakers using art to drive conservation; blind kayakers redefining what’s possible; and five more feats.

This year I really struggled where to throw my support.

Folks know I’m a HUGE fan of mountain climbing so Alpinist Ueli Steck seemed like a logical choice. BUT he’s pitted against a team of blind kayakers who rode the Grand Canyon & a 67-year old Pole who crossed the Atlantic completely unassisted. ALSO inspired by 2 paragliders whose personal achievements give new visibility to their sport – similar to Kilian Jornet’s win last year for skyrunning. Voting for ADVENTURER of the year. Argh, conflicted.

This year casting my daily vote for Wasfia Nazreen who’s not only summited the highest peaks on all seven continents (yep, that includes Everest & Antarctica) but has also become a role model in her native Bangladesh, empowering women in a heavy-handed male dominated society.

Find myself super inspired as I continue to educate myself on everything Wasfia.

The Honorees: 2014/2015

Activist: Wasfia Nazreen
- A Bangladeshi aid worker hula-hoops on the Seven Summits to empower her country’s women and girls
Alpinist: Ueli Steck
- A climber completes a lightning-fast solo climb of a difficult and deadly Himalayan face
Blind Adventurers: Erik Weihenmayer and Lonnie Bedwell
- Two kayakers descend the Grand Canyon to break barriers
Climber: Tommy Caldwell
- A rock climber takes alpinism to the next level with the first traverse of Patagonia’s iconic skyline.
Filmmakers: Matt Stoecker, Travis Rummel, and Ben Knight
- Three filmmakers capture a pivotal moment in river conservation and ignite a movement to return rivers to their natural state
Kayaker: Aleksander Doba
- At 67 years old, a Polish kayaker completes the longest open-water kayaking expedition in history.
Paragliders: Will Gadd and Gavin McClurg
- Two near strangers complete a revolutionary paragliding traverse of North America’s most rugged wilderness and redefine the standards for paragliding
Ski Mountaineer: Kit DesLauriers
- A world-class ski mountaineer goes from extreme summits to extreme science in the Arctic wilderness
Surfer: Liz Clark
- An exploratory surfer keeps sailing to find the Pacific’s most secret breaks
Swimmer: Lewis Pugh
- A pioneering extreme swimmer becomes an eyewitness to the health of the world’s seas