Eric Blakeley, MBE of Jersey has sent woolly hats to an incredible group of adventurers: the members of the Peak and Pond Challenge.

These 15 Peak and Ponders have not only summited Mount Everest, but they have also swam across the English Channel.

Additionally, it will be interesting to see what individual becomes the first human in history to become a dual Oceans Seven swimmer and Seven Summitter. Both Bogusław Ogrodnik (60, Poland, MSF bio here, IISA bio here) has completed the Seven Summits and has completed six of the seven Oceans Seven channels. Ogrodnik experienced a DNF across the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland in 2024 and was weathered out in 2025, but he has a North Channel attempt scheduled for the upcoming 2026 season.

American Rob Lea (45, USA, MSF bio here) has completed six of the Seven Summits and six of the Oceans Seven. Lea has his remaining Tsugaru Channel attempt scheduled for this coming July.

Blakely, American Patrick McKnight, and dual national Greg Johnson (British/Australian) have achieved the Seven Summits and have completed two of the seven Oceans Seven channels to date.

Peak and Ponders Club Hats

Blakeley writes, “Members of an informal Peak and Ponders club can now sport a specially designed woolly hat to mark their achievement. If there are any missing Peak and Ponders, contact me at eric.blakeley@hotmail.com. The hats are Oxford Blue to reflect the sky and the sea. The logo which shows a stylized mountain flanked either side by tumbling waves and has the words ‘Peak and Pond’ underneath, is in white to symbolie ice, snow, and a turbulent sea.“

Blakeley has also presented four members of the club, including himself, who have achieved the Seven Summits – climbing the highest peak on each continent – with modified hats with the word ‘Peak’ in gold.

Another modified hat, this time with the word ‘Pond’ in gold is awaiting the first Peak and Ponder to complete the Oceans Seven (a Double Seven).

Blakeley ponders, “Speculation is now mounting as to who will be awarded the first top hat – the double gold beanie – for completing both the Seven Summits and the Oceans Seven. Two contenders are neck and neck. Pole Bogusław Ogrodnik just has the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland to swim. Whilst American Rob Lea has the Tsugaru Channel between Honshu – the main island of Japan – and the country’s northern island of Hokkaido, to swim, and Mount Elbrus in Russia to climb.

Blakeley gave a history lesson on the Peak and Pond Challenge, “The first of these Peak and Ponders was a Mexican, Hugo Rodríguez Barroso. He swam the English Channel in 1986 and climbed Everest in 1997. He later went on to swim the English Channel again in 1999, and to climb Everest two more times, in 1999 and 2000. On the first of his Everest successes Hugo was ill on the descent and was unable to go on. He collapsed and had to spend the night in the death zone, with no oxygen, no
tent, and no sleeping bag. The following morning, he stumbled down to top camp alone. It is one of the most remarkable stories of Himalayan survival, which he describes vividly in his book An Everest Survivor: A Quest for Survival Above 28,000 Feet (or Un sobreviviente del Everest: Una hazaña de supervivencia por arriba de los 8,600 metros de altitud in Spanish.

Since Hugo’s achievement, the club has steadily grown. There are now believed to be 15 Peak and Ponders. Each has their own amazing story and probably the right to claim some kind of ‘first’.

The first woman, in 2021, was Andorran Anna Brown. The only other, woman was the first British woman, Jessica Hepburn, who succeeded a year later. She recounts her adventures in two books 21 Miles: Swimming in Search of the Meaning of Motherhood and Save Me from the Waves: An adventure from sea to summit.

Other Peak and Ponders include the fastest, American Rob Lea who achieved the feat in just 47 days – and British Royal Marine Mitch Hutchcraft (@_mitchhutch), whose swim and climb bookended a continuous ‘Limitless’ triathlon which also saw him cycle across Europe and the Middle East in 2024-2025.

As with many of my projects and adventures, it was a spur of the moment thing, having had a few glasses of red wine at lunch. That same afternoon, I quickly designed a simple logo with the words Peak and Pond in white underneath a stylized mountain flanked either side by an image of tumbling waves and then got Oxford Blue beanies – woolly hats – embroidered. The logo’ was in white to represent the foaming waves and the ice and snow. The blue hats were chosen to represent the sea and sky.

Doing The Double

Blakeley continues, “A number of Peak and Ponders have now completed the Seven Summits and a few are closing in on achieving the Oceans Seven. The prospect of someone doing the ‘double’ – both challenges – is on the horizon. To prepare for this, I slightly altered the original logo and had some new hats made up. Peak is now in gold lettering for those who have completed the Seven Summits, and Pond in gold awaiting anyone who completes the Oceans Seven.

The coveted ‘double gold beanie’ is for those who have completed both challenges. That beanie has all the logo in gold.

While Steven Munatones created the Oceans Seven in 2008, the Seven Summits – the Oceans Seven’s mountaineering equivalent – has a much older pedigree. Although there is some controversy, American Richard ‘Dick’ Bass, who drew up the original list, is generally credited with being the first to complete the challenge. He climbed Denali (still referred to by the US Federal Government at the behest of Donald Trump as Mount McKinley) (North America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Vinson (Antarctica), Aconcagua (South America), Kosciuszko (Oceania), Elbrus (Europe), finally finishing with Mount Everest (Asia) in 1985. He later wrote a book about his
odyssey, aptly titled Seven Summits.

However, many critics, including renowned mountaineer and the first person to climb all 14 peaks over 8,000m, Reinhold Meisner, dispute the inclusion of Kosciuszko, arguing instead that it should be Puncak Jaya (Carstensz Pyramid) in Indonesia. The first person to climb this list was Canadian Patrick ‘Pat’ Morrow in 1986. He describes his pursuit in Beyond Everest: Quest for the Seven Summits. Because of this confusion, many mountaineers, including Pat, often end up climbing all eight of the Seven Summits.

There are estimated to be between 500 and 600 people who have climbed one or other of these versions of the Seven Summits. The first woman to achieve success was Japanese climber Junko Tabei in 1992. Whilst most of her books are only published in Japanese, English readers can find out more about her in Honouring High Places: The Mountain Life of Junko Tabei.

So far, four Peak and Ponders have also completed the Seven Summits [including Blakeley in 2013 who followed the Bass list]. Bogusław Ogrodnik was the first to complete the Bass and Messner lists in 2008.

The race for the ‘double gold beanie’ is on. But who will it be?

It is tempting to go for those Peak and Ponders who currently have the most climbs and swims to their name. But behind the numbers a complex web of factors comes into play.

• Cost: like Everest an expedition to Vinson is not cheap. So, those Peak and Ponders who have already climbed Vinson probably have an advantage over those who haven’t, they don’t need as much money to fund the remaining climbs and swims. Likewise, since the climbs are generally more expensive than the swims, a Peak and Ponder who has completed more climbs than swims is arguably at an advantage.
• Time: the climbs take longer than the swims. So those Peak and Ponders who have lots of climbs, rather than swims, to their credit, might potentially be in a stronger position to take the double, because they won’t have to be away so long from work or family.
• Seasonality and slots: whilst Kilimanjaro can be climbed at almost any time of the year, most of the other challenges are tackled at set times of the year. Few, if any, of the Peak and Ponders have climbed Denali in winter. Likewise, with the swims. The months during which an English Channel attempt can be attempted are now strictly limited. If it came to a head-to-head race in November, with one swimmer having to complete the North Channel and another the Cook Strait, you would have to favor the one with the New Zealand swim left. But that is only if they can get a slot. With many pilot boats operating the English Channel, you would probably favor the chances of a Peak and Ponder with that as their last challenge over one who had the Tsugaru Strait which has fewer escort boats.
• Politics: Due to the war in the Ukraine, only Russian-run companies seem to be currently operating Elbrus expeditions, and for non-Russians getting in and out of the country is a real challenge. So, Peak and Ponders with Elbrus still to climb would seem to be at a disadvantage over those who have already climbed it. There are also political issues affecting expeditions to Puncak Jaya, but this is less important because anyone chasing the Oceans Seven and Seven Summits could opt for the Bass list rather than the Messner list.
• But arguably the real deciding issue is the weather. Even if everything else comes together the elements have the final say. Many Peak and Ponders had to attempt either the English Channel or Everest more than once. They are extreme challenges with potentially dire consequences.

In September 2017, one prospective Peak and Ponder, Englishman, Douglas Waymark, who had already climbed the Seven Summits, died attempting to swim the English Channel. The swim was part of a wider challenge, the Arch to Arc, a grueling triathlon that challenges athletes to run the 87 miles from London’s Marble Arch to Dover, swim the 21-mile English Channel, and then cycle the 181 miles from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Another, now Peak and Ponder, Australian Robert Gropel, also experienced the pain the challenge can bring. In 2016, together with his wife, Maria Strydom, they were climbing Everest in a quest to champion veganism. As they both neared the summit, she tired and he went on without her. After reaching the top, he came down, met her, but she succumbed to altitude sickness and died on their descent. Robert has now climbed the Seven Summits and two of the Oceans Seven.

Given that success is never assured, with 13 of the 14 challenges achieved, the smart money would seem to be on Bogusław being the first to do the Double Seven. He only has the North Channel left. But, because of the cold, jellyfish stings, and unpredictable weather, this is notoriously the most challenging of the Oceans Seven. Boguslaw has already had two goes at the North Channel.

On one occasion he did not even get in because the weather was so bad, on another he was forced to retire/pulled out. But, he does have a booking for this year.

The other likely contender would seem to be American Rob Lea. He has ticked off 12: six of the Oceans Seven, and six of the Seven Summits. Where Rob might seem to have an advantage over Boguslaw is that he has already swum the infamous North Channel and only has the relatively easier Tsugaru Channel left. But – and it is a big but – his remaining mountain is Elbrus. Being in Russia, and given the current political situation, access is extremely difficult, even more if you are an American. Perhaps alert to this, Rob and his wife last month completed yet another variation of the Seven Summits by climbing and skiing down Mont Blanc.

Given that Elbrus might remain off limits for some considerable time it is conceivable that a Peak and Ponder who has already summited it might overtake Rob, and if Boguslaw failed beat them both to the prize. Both Robert and I have ticked off nine challenges on the list and we both have summited Elbrus. Neither of us have yet swum the North Channel. Although extremely unlikely, it is of course possible, that the first person to claim the ‘double gold beanie’ might not yet be a ‘member’ of the Peak and Pond.

Things can happen very quickly. In July 2023 Scottish swimmer Andy Donaldson became the first person to achieve the Oceans Seven in less than a year, completing all seven channels in exactly 355 days. The current ‘fastest’ record is held by Bulgarian Petar Stoychev. It took him just 173 days. Likewise, Australian Steve Plain holds the fastest male record for the Seven Summits in an amazing time of just 117 days, whilst the fastest female is Brit, Maria Gordon, who took 238 days.

Whilst who it will be is unclear, it seems certain that someone, someday, will complete the Oceans Seven and the Seven Summits, and with it claim the first ‘the double gold beanie’. It also seems likely many others will follow in their footsteps, or should it be wake?“

Members of the Peak and Pond

• Hugo Rodríguez Barroso, Mexico: Mount Everest in 1997, 1999, and 2000 + English Channel in 1986 (13 hours 0 minutes) and 1999 (13 hours 4 minutes)
• Eric Blakeley, MBE, Jersey: Mount Everest in 1997 + English Channel in 2003 in 20 hours 30 minutes
• Georgios-Ioannis Tsianos, Greece (MSF bio here): Mount Everest in 2004 and 2019 + English Channel in 2000 (9 hours 20 minutes)
• Matthew J. Williams, UK: Mount Everest in 2008 + English Channel in 2010 (15 hours 25 minutes)
• Bogusław Ogrodnik, Poland:  Mount Everest in 2006 + English Channel in 2014 (20 hours 33 minutes)
• Gabriel Viti, USA: Mount Everest in 2010 + English Channel in 2014 (15 hours 20 minutes)
• Allan McLeland, USA: Mount Everest in 2017 + English Channel in 2008 (16 hours 10 minutes)
• Jason Snell, UK: Mount Everest in 2016 + English Channel in 2017 (16 hours 30 minutes)
• Patrick McKnight, USA: Mount Everest in 2018 + English Channel in 2016 (12 hours 54 minutes)
• Rob Lea, USA (MSF bio here): Mount Everest in 2019 + English Channel in 2019 (11 hours 47 minutes)
• Greg Johnson, Australia/Great Britain: Mount Everest in 2018 + English Channel in 2021 (18 hours 15 minutes)
• Anna Brown, Andorra: Mount Everest in 2018 + English Channel in 2021 (13 hours 52 minutes)
• Jessica Hepburn, UK: Mount Everest in 2022 + English Channel in 2015 (17 hours 44 minutes)
• Robert Gropel, Australia: Mount Everest in 2016 + English Channel in  2023 (13 hours 20 minutes)
• Mitch Hutchcraft, UK: Mount Everest in 2025 + English Channel in 2024 (18 hours 19 minutes)

Peak and Ponders can contact Eric Blakeley at eric.blakeley@hotmail.com.

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