This Belgian Climber Reached the Top of Denali by Boat, Bike, and Foot

One of the first ascents of 20,310-foot Denali in 2024 was completed in truly eccentric style.

When a Belgian climber named Jelle Veyt reached the summit on May 12, he completed a human-powered trek that had begun 18 months earlier. Veyt left his home in Belgium during the first week of October, 2022, and rode his bicycle to coastal France, where he then boarded a sailboat and crossed the Atlantic to the East Coast of the United States. After reaching port, Veyt then biked to Alaska, where he traded his bicycle for skis and began schlussing across the frozen countryside to North America’s highest peak.

If you thought that was tough, Veyt faced even greater obstacles on the mountain. Since he and his climbing partner, countryman Julien Roels, arrived early in the season, they had to break trail on the West Buttress route.

“If you follow the steps from another team, or see tents in a camp you know where to go,” Veyt told Outside. “We had to find out where to go, navigate around crevasses, and find a good spot to camp—a very nice adventure.”

Veyt, 38, climbed Denali as part of a decade-plus attempt to link the tallest mountains on all seven continents entirely under human power. He started the expedition in 2013, and has already ascended five of the peaks: Russia’s Mount Elbrus, Mount Everest, Puncak Jaya in Indonesia, Kilimanjaro, and now Denali.

Veyt is not completing the expedition simultaneously—he is taking breaks to work his day job as a climbing guide and to be with his family. Instead, he’s completing the massive journey in different legs, with trips back to Belgium scheduled during each one. He is Since launching the massive expedition, he has covered more than 40,000 total miles.

Veyt told Outside that the idea stemmed from his passion for outdoor adventure and his lack of resources. In his early twenties he was a penniless adventurer looking to save cash between his expeditions.

“Twelve years ago I was already cycling to different mountains in Europe,” he said. “My lack of money and my desire to have adventures drove me to use human-powered transport, that way I could do a longer trip with less budget.”

He landed a job in Nepal and decided to ride his bike there from Belgium. During the trip he made a detour to climb 18,510-foot Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe. Along the route, he formed the idea for a grand adventure linking all of the peaks. “I met someone who climbed the seven summits,” he said. “It made me think that I could climb them too, but going there by bike.”

He’s had to navigate a litany of hurdles and headaches over the last decade. Veyt attempted Everest in 2014 but the deadly avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall kept him from the summit; a year later he was in Base Camp during the tragic earthquake that killed 18 people. Veyt finally summited Everest in 2016.

Veyt also had to adjust his plans for Denali, not once but twice. Originally he planned to ride his bicycle across Siberia and then cross the Bering Sea into Alaska. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 prevented him from entering the country. His backup voyage involved biking to Portugal and then crossing the Atlantic in a rowboat. But seasickness forced him to abandon the trans-Atlantic voyage at the Canary Islands. After retreating once more, Veyt settled on a sailing voyage across the Atlantic.

Sailing forced him to adjust his goal of a completely human-powered voyage, but Veyt says he wants to someday complete the crossing under his own strength. “I’d like one day to have linked them all completely human-powered,” he told Outside. “I just didn’t have the time or resources—after the Russian invasion—to come up with a different plan. It’s still a work in progress, but after 11 years on [this project], I know I have time.”

Ascending Denali was the hardest climb of the expedition—thus far, anyway. Veyt has climbed with multiple partners during his journey, and Denali marked his first ascent with Roels. His normal climbing partner was injured during Veyt’s biking trek, and Roels was a late addition. ““I had to find a partner quickly, and with a Facebook message I got in touch with Julien,” he said. “It was a guess, but I couldn’t have imagined a better partner for the job.”

The two broke trail on the peak and assisted in opening the route to the top. They spent two days on the dangerous Denali Headwall section at 15,000 feet attempting to chip the safety lines out of ice with a sledgehammer. When harsh weather blew in, they two retreated to Base Camp to wait for calmer conditions. When the returned to higher elevations, the two helped Denali rangers complete the route above the highest camp at 17,000 feet. “We were still a bit nervous about the conditions on the upper mountain and it was still hard from time to time,” he said. “We were happy and proud that the rangers acknowledged our work on the mountain—they wrote us some kind words in their blog and gave us a Denali Pro Badge.”

Veyt has two summits remaining on his trek: Argentina’s 22,840-foot Aconcagua, and then the 16,050-foot Vinson Massif in Antarctica. He will fly to Panama—site of a previous leg of his journey—and begin biking to South America. After completing Aconcagua and cycling to Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, Veyt will either sail or row to Antarctica.

But those legs of the journey are still months away.

“First, some rest and recovery,” Veyt said.