Steven Kissing - Seven Summits Challenge

Some intrepid adventurers have climbed each of the world's "Seven Summits," the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents. This inspired me to climb all of Cincinnati's seven summits, our famous seven hills, y to raise awareness and money for Keep Cincinnati Beautiful (KCB). The whole stunt was executed in a silly, tongue-in-cheek tone as if I were really putting my life at risk the way real mountain climbers do. The event attracted considerable media attention, sponsors, such as Skyline and UDF, and, most importantly, raised lots of bucks for KCB through a text-to-give platform.

This video summarizes The Seven Summits Challenge.

The evening before my historic climb, we held a kick-off event featuring keynoter Susan Eschler, a woman who has actually climbed the real Seven Summits and lived to tell the tale. [Creative partners: Lauren Hayes (logo) and Rob Sloan (promotional poster)]

Mayor Cranley pronounced the day of the climb as "The Seven Summits Challenge Day" in Cincinnati.

In the weeks, leading up to my daring adventure, I posted dozens of photos and videos on social media. Here I demonstrate my supreme fire-building skills, which would come in handy were I stranded halfway up, say, Mt. Adams.

I needed all the best gear to ensure I would make it safely to the top of all seven summits.

My base camp tent with Buddhist prayer flags, just like those you see on Mt.Everest.

Here I am training myself to remain calm and focused in case I encountered any white-out conditions.