Everest is now ‘common’, so this is what the super-rich do for kicks instead

Whether they’re skydiving to dinner at the North Pole or racing up volcanoes, the elite now compete for the most extreme ‘luxepeditions’ This new kind of upscale amateur adventurer travel niche has an awful name: luxpeditions. Research conducted by travel consultancy Grand View, shows that the sector is already worth more than $1.4 trillion globally, and is poised to grow by 7.9 per cent every year. The number of zeroes on the bill matters less than the promise of the ultimate challenge. “If there’s a price limit, we haven’t seen it yet,” says Kevin Jackson, chief executive of EXP Journeys, who is working with the Navajo Nation to create the first climb up Tower Butte, a 1,000ft tall rock tower in Arizona overlooking Lake Powell, to camp on top. “It’s your private mountain top,” he says. “No one’s done it before. The views at dawn and sunset are some of the best in the world.”

September 25, 2025