Belgian adventurer Jelle Veyt has been attempting to tackle the Seven Summits under his own power since 2013, by rowing, skiing, cycling, walking, and climbing. It hasn’t always worked out. In 2021, he aborted his row from Portugal to Miami because of chronic seasickness. It has prompted him to sail rather than row the oceans for the rest of the project.
After three years of setbacks, he successfully cycled from the Lower 48 to Alaska and climbed Denali this past May. AFter spending a few months with family, he is now heading to 6,961m Aconcagua. This would be his sixth summit, leaving only Antarctica’s Vinson to go.
Veyt arrives in Colombia by kayak. Photo: Jelle Veyt
Aconcagua
The highest mountain in South America lies in Argentina’s Mendoza province. In September, Veyt announced the expedition’s route:
I’ll be kayaking from Panama to Colombia, since there are no roads through the Darien Gap. It’s much safer to take this coastal kayaking route than to cross the jungle. This part of the journey will take me about two to three weeks. Afterwards, I’ll be cycling all the way from Colombia to Argentina. The plan? To climb Aconcagua by December 2025…
He arrived in Panama in mid-October and started kayaking. He dealt with thunderstorms, the intense tropical sun, and stretches of coastline with few places to land. But the scariest part, he told ExplorersWeb, was a run-in with a group of narcos just 40km before his kayaking leg ended. They questioned him for three hours before letting him go.
As the expedition has stretched into 11 years and counting, Veyt has become a little looser about only using his own power. For example, he recently took a bus to drop off his kayak and pick up his bike. Still, he has put in a lot of distance on his own.
Currently, he is in Colombia and about to begin cycling 8,000km to Aconcagua.
Jelle Veyt in Turbo, Colombia ready to start cycling. Photo: Jelle Veyt
