While studying abroad in Kenya in 2003, Towne climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. He would later scale each of the remaining Seven Summits (the highest mountains on each continent) in the following 14 years. In 2011, he climbed Aconcagua in South America and the Carstensz Pyramid in Oceania. The following year, he reached the peaks of Denali in North America and Mount Elbrus in Europe. In 2015, he completed Vinson Massif in Antarctica. That year, he also made his first attempt to climb Mount Everest, but was forced to suspend the trip after surviving the 2015 Mount Everest avalanches caused by the 7.8-magnitude Gorkha earthquake. He also assisted in the treatment of injured climbers after the avalanche. Towne ultimately completed the Seven Summits in 2017 after reaching the top of Mount Everest on his second attempt.