Nathan Longhurst completes his 100 Peaks challenge

Nathan Longhurst has completed his three-month adventure to connect all the summits of the New Zealand Alpine Club’s 100 Greatest Peaks list. He finished his epic quest on 27 February with a final hike-and-fly to the shores of Mueller lake.

He began on 17 November 2024 and has run, rock climbed, ice climbed, bushwhacked, kayaked, cycled and paraglided his way through the list.

Emotional supporters, friends and family greeted him after Nathan climbed Sefton and Footstool before landing at the finish line beside Mueller Lake, Mount Cook Village.

“It’s a beautiful chapter to a life changing adventure,” he posted on Instagram. “I believe in the joy and beauty of creating big goals, dedicating your entire being to them, and letting the adversity transform you. Go do more of what you love!”

He set out in November, using a Nova Bantam mini-wing to descend peaks, then switched to a borrowed Dudek Run&Fly after a line-snag mishap with the Bantam. Unexpected challenges have included a lost pair of sunglasses, forcing him to cover his eyes with duct tape to prevent him getting snowblind.

The list of 100 peaks was originally conceived by the New Zealand Alpine Club in 1991 as a challenge for climbers to get out and attempt some summits off the beaten track and includes relatively easy peaks, very hard and steep peaks, and a number of very remote peaks. Don French is the only recorded finisher of the list. Nathan says that due to the mountaineering rules of the challenge (which don’t allow for top-landing) his feat can not be officially recognised.

See Nathan’s route here.