This duo’s record-breaking ‘ascent’ of Mauna Kea started 27 miles offshore

A duo has successfully gotten a Guinness World Record for ascending the world's tallest...
A duo has successfully gotten a Guinness World Record for ascending the world's tallest mountain, Mauna Kea.(Guinness World Records)
Updated: Dec. 29, 2021 at 5:16 PM HST
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A trip to the summit of Mauna Kea might not exactly be newsworthy. But a duo made the trek unlike anyone who has come before.

Victor Vescovo and Clifford Kapono became the first to complete the first full ascent of Mauna Kea earlier this year.

A “full ascent” starts at the base of the mountain.

And for Mauna Kea, that means 27 miles offshore and four miles underneath the Pacific Ocean before the nearly 14,000-foot climb above the surface can even begin.

“The light bulb immediately went off in my head of saying, ‘well, I have a submarine that can go to any depth,’” said Vescovo. “And so I thought, what a wonderful ability to mix marine activity with mountain climbing and climbing on occasion.”

Together, Vescovo and Kapono ― a marine biologist from Hawaii ― used a submarine, outrigger canoe, bikes, and climbing gear to traverse the 30,500 feet of elevation change in three days.

The Guinness World Records says they are the first to complete the trek of the world’s tallest mountain.

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