science

Three Poles Challenge

Three Poles Challenge is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Three Poles Challenge rather than just read about it. In short: The Three Poles is an adventurer’s challenge to reach the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. The first person to reach all three locations was Edmund Hillary.

Key takeaways

Three Poles Challenge belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Three Poles Challenge to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Three Poles Challenge from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Three Poles is an adventurer’s challenge to reach the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. The first person to reach all three locations was Edmund Hillary. Hillary summited Everest in May 1953, reached the South Pole in January 1958, and made it to the North Pole in company with Neil Armstrong in April 1985. Hillary flew to the North Pole. The first person to complete the challenge entirely on foot was Erling Kagge. Kagge completed the Three Poles Challenge by May 1994, six months faster than the next person. On 5 August 1997, Antoine de Choudens (France, 1969–2009) became the only climber to accomplish the Three Poles Challenge on foot without using supplementary oxygen on the Everest climb. Tina Sjögren became the first woman to complete the challenge in 2002. Colin O'Brady became the fastest person to complete the Three Poles Challenge in May 2016, setting the current record in 131 days as part of his successful attempt to break the Seven Summits and Explorers Grand Slam (Last Degree) speed records. However, unlike Erling Kagge, Antoine de Choudens, and Tina Sjögren, Colin O’Brady only completed the Last Degree of the North Pole. Masha Gordon became the fastest woman to complete the Three Poles Challenge in 2016, beating a record set by Wang Lei in May 2010.

See also Eight-thousander Seven Summits Seven Second Summits Seven Third Summits Explorer's Grand Slam Volcanic Seven Summits Four Poles Challenge Eight Summits

Notes

References

External links "The Three Poles". adventurestats.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Three Poles Challenge

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Three Poles Challenge claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Three Poles Challenge before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Three Poles Challenge ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Three Poles Challenge

In research: Three Poles Challenge appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Three Poles Challenge in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Three Poles Challenge is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Climbing stubs, Edmund Hillary, Mount Everest, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Three Poles Challenge outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Three Poles Challenge in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Three Poles Challenge means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Three Poles Challenge out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Three Poles Challenge in simple terms?

The Three Poles is an adventurer’s challenge to reach the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. The first person to reach all three locations was Edmund Hillary.

Why does Three Poles Challenge matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Three Poles Challenge?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Three Poles Challenge.