ADVENTURERS OF THE YEAR
The mountain biker RAJESH MAGAR
Rajesh competed in his first Nepali national championship race on a low-budget bike he modif ied himself. He has since won national and international races, including the National Downhill Championship in 2017.
TOP FROM CLOCKWISE: Rajesh Magar in Nepal’s Lower Mustang Valley; Alex Honnold stands atop El Capitan; Hilaree Nelson O’Neill ascends a steep wall on Papsura; Surfer Emi Koch on the beach
The sur fer EMI KOCH With her non-profit organisation, Beyond the Surface International, professional surfer Emi Koch helps environmentally threatened coastal communities by teaching local children to surf and providing visual storytelling workshops.
The mountain runner KILIAN JORNET An ultrarunner and ski mountaineer, Kilian has set speed records on mountains around the world. In 2017, he set a new one for the fastest summit of Mount Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen or ropes. He reached the 11,429ſt peak in just 26 hours.
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natgeotraveller.co.uk
The rock cl imber ALEX HONNOLD Considered by many to be the best free- solo climber in the world, Alex became the first person to free-solo Yosemite’s El Capitan in June 2017 — a feat that required climbing the 3,000ſt granite wall without ropes or support. He’s the founder of the Honnold Foundation, a group that supports global clean energy initiatives. He is also the co-author of Alone on the Wall, a biography detailing his exploits. In 2018, he was awarded the Robert and Miriam Underhill award for excellence in various fields of climbing.
The ski mountaineer HILAREE NELSON O’NEILL Ski mountaineer and climber Hilaree Nelson O’Neill first caught sight of Papsura, or the Peak of Evil, in India in 1999. It seared a place in her mind and inspired years of training with the goal of reaching its peak. Despite failing to summit in 2013, her obsession with this perfect mountain drew her back for a second attempt, something she’d never done in the past. She finally reached the top and skied the route in 2017.
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