Which married couples have climbed the 7 summits?

Eleven married couples in our finisher record have both completed the 7 summits. Nine of them finished together, on the same summit on the same day. The other two finished separately.

Finished together

Gary Pfisterer and Ginette Harrison: Vinson, December 1995. Not yet married at the time; they married in 1997.

Zébulon Roche and Claire Roche Bernier: Kosciuszko, 19 October 2002. Married.

Rob Gambi and Jo Gambi: Elbrus, 20 July 2004, completing the Kosciuszko version of the list, then Carstensz Pyramid, 19 August 2005, completing the Carstensz version. Married since September 1996.

Tap Richards and Heidi Richards: Everest, 21 May 2006. Married.

Rob Follows and Katrina Follows: Everest, 24 May 2006. Married on the summit of Vinson on 8 December 2004.

Paul Fejtek and Denise Fejtek: Everest, 23 May 2010. Married in 1998.

Paul Romero and Karen Lundgren: Vinson, 24 December 2011, together with Paul's son Jordan. Married.

Brandon Chalk and Kristine Chalk: Vinson, 24 December 2013. Married in October 2009.

Jan Poláček and Lenka Poláčková: Denali, 5 June 2025, completing both versions of the list in 380 days. Married.

Finished separately

Phil Ershler and Susan Ershler: Phil finished on Kosciuszko on 25 December 1989, before they met. Susan finished on Everest on 16 May 2002, with Phil beside her on the summit. Married in 1996.

Alexander Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko: Abramov finished on Vinson on 15 December 2005, Korobeshko on Vinson on 2 January 2009. Married in 2001.

The firsts

The first couple to finish together were Pfisterer and Harrison in 1995, two years before their wedding. The first married couple to climb the 7 summits together were the Ershlers, on 16 May 2002. The first married couple who both completed their own round on the same day were the Roches, on 19 October 2002. The Poláčeks made the shortest round of any couple whose dates we hold: all eight peaks in 380 days.

The stories behind each couple are in our blog post Climbing into 7th Heaven.