Climbing higher and higher

[Sponsored article] In April 2017, Marin Minamiya achieved what most people could never even dream of. The 20 year old became the 52nd person in the world and the youngest to ever climb the seven highest summits for each continent, and reach both the North Pole and the South Pole, completing the Explorer’s Grand Slam.

While embarking on this remarkable achievement, she also became the youngest female to climb Mt Manaslu in Nepal, the youngest Japanese 8,000 metre climber and the youngest Japanese to climb Mt Everest.

A South Island School (SIS) alumna, Marin graduated in 2013 and began her seven-summit expedition in 2014. She was drawn to mountaineering after she moved to Hong Kong at the age of 12.

“I liked the contrast between the high-tech concrete jungle and hills,” says Marin. “The friendships created and all the beautiful scenery you get to see after a lot of sweat and hard work were incredibly rewarding,” she says.

The school provided her with many opportunities to test her abilities, but nothing as hard as the snowy cliffs she had to climb, sometimes even risking her life.