With his ascent of Unicorn (2557m) on February 21st, Don French has ticked off the last peak of the 100 Peaks Challenge, becoming the first person to complete the list and succeed in a challenge 30 years in the making.
The original list of 100 peaks was conceived by Ross Cullen, then president of the club, as part of the NZAC centennial celebrations in 1991. After consulting with prominent climbers of the day, the list was put forward as a challenge and way of encouraging climbers to get out and attempt some summits off the beaten track. The list was designed to address the aspirations of climbers at all levels and genres. Hence there were relatively easy peaks, very hard and steep peaks, and a number of very remote peaks included.