Mollie Hughes

Mollie Hughes is a British sports adventurer and explorer who in 2017 broke the world record for becoming the youngest woman to climb both sides of Mount Everest and in 2020 became the youngest woman to ski solo to the South Pole.

Early Years

Mollie Hughes was born on the 3rd of July 1990 and grew up in Torbay, Devon.

Mollie studied Psychology and Sports Biology at the University of the West of England, Bristol. For her final year project she decided to investigate the psychological experience of climbing Mount Everest, interviewing seven male climbers who had all reached the summit. Mollie explored their motivation, their ability to control fear, the psychological pressures they faced and their experience of reaching the summit.

Everest Expeditions

In 2012 Mollie joined an expedition to climb Mount Everest from the South side of the mountain via Nepal. Mollie successfully reached the summit at 8am on the 19th May 2012. Mollie was accompanied by her friend and guide Lhakpa Wongchu Sherpa who is from Pangboche in the Solukhumbu. Mollie became one of the youngest British climbers to summit Mount Everest at the age of 21. In 2017 Mollie completed a climb of the North Side of Mount Everest. Accompanied again by Lhakpa Wongchu Sherpa as well as Mollie’s friend and British mountain guide Jon Gupta and Lila Tamang. The small team reached the summit on the 16th May 2017 and Mollie became the youngest woman in the world to summit Everest from both the North and South sides at the age of 26 as well as the first English woman to achieve this feat.

Antarctica

In 2020, Mollie Hughes became the youngest woman to ski to the South Pole Solo. The expedition was funded through sponsorship from Gore-Tex, ATAG and a private donor using the trip as a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK. Hughes left Hercules Inlet on 13 November 2019, and reached the pole on 10 January the following year. She skied 702 miles (1,130 km) alone while pulling a 105-kilogram sled named Boudicca. She had originally hoped to reach the pole on New Year's Day, but was delayed by bad weather, with temperatures approaching −45 degrees Celsius with windchill and 30-knot winds. During the journey, whiteout prevented visibility for eight days. After returning from the pole, she recuperated in Chile before returning to Britain.

Motivational Speaking

Mollie Hughes began talking to schools and corporate groups following her return from Everest in 2012. Since then she has delivered motivational talks to over 50,000 school children in the UK, and well known businesses including Santander, Sky and Bailie Gifford. In 2018 Hughes delivered a TedX talk on "Unlocking Your Resilience" that can be viewed on YouTube.

Further Achievements

On the 1st December 2020, Mollie Hughes was appointed the first female president of Scouts Scotland.