On Thursday, February 25, 2021, the Slovak-American Cultural Center organized a webinar with mountaineer and explorer Vanessa O'Brien. Vanessa is the first woman to reach Earth's highest and lowest points, a Guinness World Record, which includes summiting Mt. Everest in 2012 and diving in a submersible to the eastern pool of Challenger Deep in 2020. As she tells us, the world records are great, but giving back is what matters.
 
For Vanessa, giving back meant contributing to science, especially once she learned how little we knew about the human body at high altitude. Using herself as a subject, Vanessa began by testing the correlation between acetazolamide (Diamox) and kidney stones, giving herself kidney stones in the process. She would go on to evaluate the effectiveness of altitude sleeping tents on performance to collecting glacier samples to test for radiogenic isotopes and even water samples using Niskin bottles to test for ocean acidification.
 
Vanessa shared her electrifying story of endurance, perseverance, athleticism, and courage which was inspiring and riveting. Vanessa also proudly shared her Slovak roots as she elaborated on her grandfather's tale of adventure and exploration coming to the US. Get a unique glimpse into her world as she shares tales from her book, To the Greatest Heights: Facing Danger, Finding Humility, and Climbing a Mountain of Truth.
 
For more information on Vanessa O'Brien go to:
www.vobonline.com
www.tothegreatestheights.com