Fastest climber conquers tallest peaks in just 117 days

KATHMANDU, Nepal — The Australian climber who became the fastest to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents returned safely from Mount Everest on Saturday.

Steve Plain said he has no immediate plans for any new adventures and is looking forward to spending time with his family.

Plain, 36, scaled Mount Everest earlier in the week, completing his mission to scale the seven summits in 117 days. He flew to Kathmandu from Everest on Saturday.

“Go home and enjoy a bit of R and R at the moment, which I am looking forward to,” Plain told reporters when asked about his plans. “It has been long a time on the road.”

Plain, from Perth, began his mission by climbing Mount Vinson in Antarctica on Jan. 16. He followed that with Mount Aconcagua in South America, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, Mount Carstensz Pyramid in Papua New Guinea, which covers Australia and Oceania, Mount Elbrus in Europe and Mount Denali in North America.

He said even though Everest is the world’s highest peak, it was not the most difficult to climb because he had strong support from Sherpa guides. He said Denali was the hardest for him to scale.

A surfing accident in 2014 left Plain with multiple injuries, but he recovered to continue mountain climbing.

Polish climber Janusz Kochanski held the previous record for climbing the seven peaks, doing it in 126 days last year.

Some 340 foreign climbers and many Nepalese Sherpa guides are attempting to climb Everest this month.

The popular spring season runs from March until the end of May, after which weather conditions on the mountain begin to deteriorate. There are usually only a few days of good weather on the highest part of the mountain in May, when climbers rush to attempt the summit.