Richard Parks: Conquering the World
- 2011
- Ended
- 1 season
In December 2010, former Wales rugby international Richard Parks set off on a record-breaking challenge to conquer the highest summits on every continent. His epic 737 Challenge - 7 summits including the 3 geographical poles in 7 months - would be a feat never before attained by a human being. When an injury brought his rugby career to a premature end, he set his sights on completing an adventure that would raise a million pounds to help cancer sufferers and after 18 months of preparation his first goal would be to reach the South Pole by the last day of 2010. The clock to complete the challenge would then start to tick.
Latest: Season 1 · 2011
View all seasonsE1. Episode #1.1
Jul 26, 2011
The first episode of the trilogy shows Richard preparing his body and mind to deal with the rigours of the challenge ahead - deprivation training, cold water immersion training, and the actual climbing of some of the worlds most inhospitable regions. In this programme, the South Pole, Mount Vinson - the highest peak on Antarctica - Aconcagua in South America and Kilimanjaro in Africa, each of these hurdles is attempted in this amazing challenge of human endurance.
E2. Episode #1.2
Aug 2, 2011
Having reached the South Pole and the highest summits of Antarctica, South America and Africa, Richard Parks's next destination on his 737 Challenge was Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia. A difficult technical climb compounded by a 100 kilometre trek through the jungle - and Richard's knees were showing serious signs of wear and tear. His medical team were afraid that the whole project was in jeopardy. The relentless nature of this adventure would then see him join forces with Olympic Gold medallist Steve Williams to reach the North Pole and then to attempt Everest.
E3. Episode #1.3
Aug 9, 2011
The final programme with exclusive coverage of Richard Parks's record-breaking attempt to climb the world's highest peaks and reach the poles. Frostbite from the Everest climb meant that Richard Parks's world record attempt was now in serious jeopardy. Not only was he facing the prospect of losing a limb, but his next leg - climbing Denali in Alaska - freezing storms at altitude would now become a bigger threat to his life. The dangers of Denali though proved to be even more acute, with Richard falling into a crevasse - a ledge seven metres down prevented a fall into ...