Ultrarunning
How Fernanda Maciel conquered Antarctica’s highest peak in record time
Discover how Fernanda Maciel showed incredible grit and determination to claim a place in the record books by running up and down the South Pole's highest peak.
While many others around the globe enjoyed their Christmas dinners, ultrarunner Fernanda Maciel decided it was time to haul her backpack through the gleaming – and absolutely freezing – ice fields of Antarctica. Then she took off running up the continent’s tallest mountain, Mount Vinson, reaching the summit in 6h 40m, before returning in less than half the time for a total round trip of 9h 41m. Both the summit and round trip times have been officially verified as world records.
Travelling to a continent that remains frozen all year round, where in summer the sun never sets and in winter it never rises, means that just standing on this isolated land requires immense mental and physical strength.
Climbing more than 4,800m and navigating through vertical slopes and rocky patches in extreme weather conditions is a remarkable achievement. Running for hours in the same terrain seems unimaginable.
Maciel braved extreme low temperatures on her way to Mount Vinson's summit
© Jordan Manoukian/Red Bull Content Pool
At 4,892m of elevation and 1,200km away from the South Pole, Mount Vinson is Antarctica’s highest peak and one of the Seven Summits. The mountain has seen thousands of ascents and welcomes numerous mountaineers every year. While it usually requires between five and seven days to climb the peak, there have been many attempts to set a speed record. However, Maciel’s achievement will go down in the history of Vinson climbing.
The established ultrarunner is no novice in the big mountains, having already claimed FKTs and world records for running up and down other Seven Summit peaks such as Argentina’s Mount Aconcagua (6,962m) in 2016 and Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m) in 2017.
Born in Brazil, Maciel moved to Chamonix, France, in 2018 to further develop her skills and advance her adventure career. In the early 2000s, she quit her job as an environmental lawyer in order to pursue her outdoor dreams. Since then, she has set new milestones year by year, working to fulfil her vision of saving the planet by spreading awareness and raising funds for social issues through her ambitious mountaineering feats.
Maciel logged an official time of just 6h 40m on Mount Vinson
© Jordan Manoukian/Red Bull Content Pool
One recent undertaking included climbing Gran Paradiso and the Matterhorn in one day to bring attention to the degrading glaciers of the mountain. When asked about her passion for conservation, she said: “Since I was 15 years old, my mission has been to protect the environment."
A few months prior to the Antarctica project, Maciel tackled an emotional setback when she lost her mentor and role model, Hilaree Nelson, who died in September in an avalanche on Manaslau, Nepal; the world's eighth-highest peak. She explains: “I thought a lot about Hilaree during the Vinson climb. She inspired me and gave me strength for the high mountain projects. I'm happy to have such incredible emotions and sensations that experiences like this offer me.”
Mount Vinson was both a psychologically and physically intense venture for Maciel. She added: “I suffered a lot because of the altitude, and the cold was crazy; winds made it harder too, and the temperatures varied between -30 to -50 degrees. The route was tough with some very steep walls and rock sections which were more difficult than I had initially thought.”
Maciel also had to problem-solve around a broken crampon and frozen goggles on her way to the peak. The biggest challenge, however, turned out to be getting the permit for her speed attempt. Due to the technical difficulty of the mountain, there were various restrictions and rules which didn’t allow her to run alone, so she teamed up with mountain guide and runner, Sam Hennessey.
Fernanda Maciel in Antarctica
© Jordan Manoukian/Red Bull Content Pool
The summit was crazy cold at -45 degrees... but I was able to push hard
“It was fun to have Sam following me on the rope," said Maciel. "We had a fantastic pace where we covered about 30km of running mixed with maybe 5km of power hiking."
Starting at 11.30am local time, Maciel reached the top in the record time of six hours and 40 minutes. This saw her conquer three sections of the mountain. The first part was a 9km and +650m D+ hike from Base Camp (2,100m) up to Low Camp (2,750m). Once at Low Camp, she switched her running shoes to boots and geared up with climbing essentials for ascending the ropes in the next section.
The trail from Low Camp to High Camp (3,770m) was through critical vertical slopes secured with 1,200m of fixed ropes. The later section of the route from High Camp went to the summit via a 7km uphill climb of +1,120m D+ scale with a 40-degree incline, topped off with a small rocky and exposed ridge.
“It was fun to have Sam following me on the rope," said Maciel
© Jordan Manoukian/Red Bull Content Pool
Maciel explained: “The summit was crazy cold at -45 degrees. The overall climb was extremely cold and gave my body a shock. I felt low energy at times, but I was able to push hard after my last experience in Manaslu.”
Then it was all downhill from there, all the way back to Base Camp. After setting her mark on the coldest continent, Maciel said: “I am the first person to run up and down Mount Vinson, it's amazing. People react crazily. I love to move fast in the mountains and it was a dream to come here in these extreme conditions.
"A plant could not survive here. Everything here is different, it is white, the clouds are closer to us, sun 24 hours and some blue ice around. It feels like peace everywhere, it is super-remote. I love being in such contrasting terrains. They help me to improve my skills.”
With this unbelievable feat in the bag, Maciel is now moving towards her grand ambition of running to the top of the world, Mount Everest. And when she sets her sights on a record, it means we may soon see her hauling another big backpack, but this time to Nepal.