Skiing with Penguins: A Family's Chase to Break a World Record

Few adults, and basically no children, have had the opportunity to visit, let alone ski, every continent on earth. From the remote Atlas Mountains of Morocco to the inhospitable peaks above the ice sheets of Antarctica, attempting to ski all seven continents requires skill, stamina, patience, and persistence.

When the Lipp family decided they would attempt to ski on every continent, it wasn’t just for the adults. Rather, elementary school age children Keira Lipp and Maddock Lipp, would join their parents on this journey in an attempt to ski on all seven continents. Considering the rigors of the goal, if successful, Keira and Maddock would each in turn break the world record as the youngest person to pull off this feat.

To train for Antarctica, Keira and Maddock climbed 14,000’ mountains in Colorado and learned the basics of glacier travel, crevasse rescue, and avalanche rescue. Among many other adventures overseas, Keira skied under the midnight sun, they both climbed and skied on the inside of an active volcano, and they both willingly jumped into the Antarctic subfreezing waters.

From training near their home in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, to travelling the world in search of snow, the family learned about skiing, climbing, cultures, and cuisines from around the globe. At least as important, they learned about themselves throughout their tumultuous travels.

The Lipp family faced many successes, many failures, and many adventures on their quest. This is the story of their journey.