A Life for Three Poles: Everest – South Pole – North Pole - Evelyne Binsack

Evelyne Binsack is the first Swiss woman to reach all "Three Poles."

After arriving at the North Pole on the evening of April 12, 2017 at 6:45 pm, Evelyne Binsack became the first Swiss woman to reach all "Three Poles" (Mount Everest, South Pole, and North Pole). Although her last two stages (the crossing of Spitsbergen and the planned solo trek to the North Pole) did not go exactly as she had hoped, expeditions of this nature require great flexibility to achieve what one has set out to do: the goal. The Three Poles of the world, the highest, northernmost, and southernmost points of our Earth, represent the most exposed places on our planet. Evelyne Binsack wanted to experience these three magical points through her own physical strength and she achieved this goal by arriving at the North Pole on April 12, 2017, as the first Swiss woman.

Philosophy of Personal Responsibility

Evelyne Binsack only allowed 20% of her expeditions to be financed by others. Her philosophy of independence may have set her back financially by a few years, but it has always been important to her to be able to make life-extending decisions and to be able to modify or even cancel expeditions in high-risk areas independently of third-party interests and without pressure.

The North Pole

With a total of 27 years of professional experience as an internationally recognized mountain guide, Evelyne Binsack has made a name for herself primarily as an extreme athlete. After reaching Mount Everest as the first Swiss woman (May 23, 2001) and after the 484-day expedition by bike, on foot with skis and sled from Switzerland to the South Pole from September 1, 2006 to January 10, 2008 (she was the first person to reach the South Pole in this way), she approached the North Pole in four different stages. This included a 4800-kilometer bike ride from Switzerland to the North Cape, a 550-kilometer ski and sled traverse of Greenland, the Spitsbergen crossing from south to north, which was cut short halfway due to storms and whiteouts, and finally the North Pole expedition, which she undertook (ultimately as part of a small team of four people instead of solo, due to the retreat to Spitsbergen and the resulting uncertainty). She successfully completed the trilogy of Everest - South Pole - North Pole on April 12.

The Changing Times, Yesterday and Today

When Evelyne Binsack stood on the highest point of the world as the first Swiss woman 16 years ago on May 23, 2001, the "adventure world" was still largely traditional. Climbers started in the Alps, tackled the biggest Alpine walls after various tests such as the Eiger North Face, the Freney Pillar on Mont Blanc, and the Walker Pillar on the Grandes Jorasses, and only then humbly looked towards the Himalayas. That time is yesterday and in the past. Today, it is mostly the "upper class" of society that sets off directly to the highest goals with the help of mountain guides, Sherpas, and aids such as fixed ropes, generously equipped infrastructure, and helicopters. This development is not only happening in the Himalayas and on Everest, but unfortunately is also observable today at the South and North Poles. Evelyne Binsack only became fully aware of this development at the North Pole and ten years after her successful South Pole expedition. An incident involving a polar bear on the frozen North Polar Sea (Blog 18.4.2017 on www.binsack.ch) prompted Evelyne Binsack to stop her sport-motivated expeditions from now on. In the future, she will only venture into these areas for documentary purposes.

For more information about Evelyne Binsack, visit: http://www.esa100.de/redner/evelyne-binsack-extrem-bergsteigerin.html