Jenn Drummond says the goal to climb the Seven Second Summits came to her after a horrific car crash on U.S. 40 in December 2018.
“This one started in the car wreck in 2018 where I escaped death and I'm like, OK, I don't get to choose when I leave, but I do get to choose how I live. 2019 was a year of reflection of what I want this one magic life to mean. And I decided, I was turning 40 in 2020, I wanted to climb a mountain to knock like kick off that decade and be like, OK, here's what we're gonna do.”
While there is some disagreement in the climbing community about what seven mountains are the second summits, she says she chose to follow those identified by Dick Bass, rather than extreme mountaineer Reihnold Messner.
She climbed Mount Townsend in Australia after attempting to get to the taller Sumantri in Indonesia last November. Once she and her crew flew in, they were told they would be putting too many people’s lives in danger, so they left.
“[I said] we're not doing this. That's an ego trip, not a mountain trip,” she said. “If that ever gets safe to climb, it's on my list but I have seven children and I don't want to put anybody's life at undue harm.”
Drummond finished her second summit goal by summiting Mount Logan in Canada on June 1.
“There were only three of us that went. We were doing really good. Then we got caught into a horrific storm that kept us tent bound for a week, making us need to go down to a lower camp to replenish fluid and come back up to that camp. Unfortunately, one of our teammates got frostbite, so had to be airlifted off the mountain. So, there's two of us left. And luckily, the weather broke. It was the nicest summit day I've ever had on the mountain.”
She believes her world record will likely stand for some time, given the logistics of getting to some of the mountains.
“In Antarctica, for example, I'm the second female to summit, and it's been submitted by less than 25 people. So that's a hard one to get to right now. The second highest point in Russia, it's going to be hard for a lot of people to get to, to be able to do that one based on things going over there. And then, you know, K-2 is a deadly monstrous mountain in Pakistan that's been summited by less people than have been in space. So, it's just some of these mountains are very hard to get to, and then hard technically to climb.”
After spending the last six years of her life planning, training and traveling to these remote locations, Drummond says she’s now looking forward to taking all of the lessons that she’s learned from the mountains and share the experience with others.
“[I’m] going to put together a documentary which is a little bit on hold because I wanted to actually spend time and be involved with it myself instead of hiring so much of it out. I'm working on a book that comes out in January of 2024. That is called 'Quit Proof.' It shares lessons from the mountains to help you become resilient and the pursuits that you desire. And then putting together little challenges. I have a 40-day intention challenge coming up that just helps everybody make the most of each day.”
More information about her upcoming 40-day challenges as well as photos of her climbs are on her website.
