RICHARD Parks has beaten the weather to reach the second summit of his epic challenge to climb the highest peaks on all seven continents and trek to both Poles.

The former Newport Gwent Dragons player reached the summit of Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America, on Saturday at 5.54pm GMT.

Rapidly deteriorating weather meant that Parks had to decide whether to risk gale-force winds in order to reach the summit of the 22,830ft Argentinian peak.

Before scaling the summit, Parks said: "These kind of decisions are always tricky and need to be talked through at length. I am lucky to have the expert guidance of our experienced leaders as well as a good team."

The former Wales international is aiming to raise £1m for Marie Curie Cancer Care through his 737 Challenge - climbing seven peaks and reaching three poles in seven months.

Parks reached the South Pole in December and Mount Vinson, in Antarctica, last month. His next challenge will be to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, the 19,340ft African peak.

He now has 155 days to reach five more summits and the North Pole. If he were to be successful in his challenge he would be the first person to climb all seven peaks in a calendar year.