The 7 Summits

I will be climbing the 7 Summits as part of my new Memories are Everything: The 7 Summits project starting in 2010.

The 7 Summits represent the highest point on each of the seven continents. It has become a goal for climbers around the world and some 230 people have met the goal as of 2008. By adding the North and South Poles, they can also claim the Grand Slam of Adventure!

However, as in most things in mountaineering there is controversy.

From a geology viewpoint, there are only 6 continents on the Earth: Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia, South America and North America. Europe is considered a peninsula of the Eurasia continental platform and is not a true physical continent. However, from a political perspective, Europe is considered a continent thus Elbrus (18,510'/5642m), located on the border with Asia in southern Russia represents Europe and not Mont Blanc (15,771'/4807m) which lies in the Alps on the border of France and Italy.

Then there is the competition between Australia's Kosciuszko (7,310'/2228m) and New Guinea's Carstensz Pyramid (16,024'/4884m) both located on the Oceania continent - which is not really a continent but a region of the south west Pacific that includes Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and many other islands.

Dick Bass the first 7 Summitter, choose Australia as one of the 7 continents and Kosciuszko as it's mainland high point. However Reinhold Messner challenged Bass's summit of Australia's Mt. Kosciuszko as the highest peak in Oceania saying that Carstensz Pyramid on Irian Jaya (Papua) in Indonesia's New Guinea was the true highpoint for the Australasian continental mass. Today Carstensz is considered one of the seven but some 7 Summiteers try to bag the lower Kosciuszko as well.

So I guess if you want to cover all angles here is the list:

Everest, Nepal – 29,035’/8850m
Aconcagua, Argentina – 22,841’/6962m
Denali, Alaska – 20,320’/6194m
Kilimanjaro, Africa – 19,340’/5896m
Elbrus, Russia – 18,481’/5633m
Vinson, Antarctica – 16,067’/4897m
Carstensz Pyramid, New Guinea – 16,023’/4884m
Mt. Blanc, France/Italy - 15,771'/4807m
Mt. Kosciuszko, Australia - 7,310’/2228m

The 7 Summit idea was hatched and first accomplished by American Dick Bass. He started with six summits in 1983: Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Denali, Vinson and Kosciuszko. Then with guide, David Breashears, he became the oldest person, at 55, at the time to summit Everest in 1985. Canadian Patrick Morrow became the first to summit all seven with Carstensz in addition to Kosciuszko ending in 1986. Messner summited all the peaks without supplemental oxygen, a first, also completing the task in 1986.

Finally, since none of the seven are extreme technical mountaineering climbs, with the altitude challenges of Everest notwithstanding, some pundits suggest the second highest mountains on the continents is a better challenge for real mountaineers. I would agree that that list would be significantly more difficult if only for the fact that it includes K2 instead of Everest!

That list includes:

K2 (Pakastan-28,251'/8611m)
Ojas del Salado (Argentina-22,608'/6983m)
Logan (Canada-19,551'/5959m)
Dykh-Tau (Russia-17,077'/5205m)
Kenya (Africa-17,057'/5199m)
Tyree (Antarctica-15,919'/4852m)
Puncak Trikora (New Guinea-15,580'/4730m)
Townsend (Australia-7,247'/2209m)

Here are the 7 Summits in order:

Asia: Everest (29,035'/8850m)

Mt. Everest is on the border between Nepal and Tibet (China). It is in the Himalaya mountain range which stretches 1500 miles from Northeastern Pakistan to Bhutan. There are over thirty mountains higher than 25,000 feet. Of the fourteen 8,000 meter peaks, nine are located in the Himalayas making it clearly the top of the world. Mt. Everest was first summited by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Edmond Hillary with a British expedition in 1953. They took the South Col route which is described on this page. At that time the route had only been attempted twice by Swiss teams in the spring and autumn of 1952.They reached 8500m well above the South Col. Of note, Norgay was with the Swiss thus giving him the experience he used on the British expedition. The Swiss return in 1956 to make the second summit of Everest.

Today, hundreds of climbers from around the world use this route to try to stand on top of the world. It is considered slightly more dangerous than the North Ridge Route due primarily to the instability of the Khumbu Icefall. However some considered it slightly easier than the north due to the absence of the ladders and rock climbing on the steep steps of the North Ridge route. As of 2008, there have been about 4,024 summits since 1922 with 218 deaths.

The second highest mountain in Asia is K2 in Pakistan at 28,251'/8611m and is about 800 miles northwest of Everest but still in the Himalaya range. It is considered significantly more difficult than Everest requiring technical rock climbing and extreme weather.

I have climbed on Everest three times. You can read about my climbs on my Everest pages.

South America: Aconcagua (22,840'/6962m)

Aconcagua The highest peak outside the Himalaya it is located in Argentina near the border with Chile. It was first summited by Mathias Zurbriggen in 1897. It is the highest mountain in South America at 22,841' and one of the 7 Summits. Most climbers fly into Santiago (Chile) or Mendoza (Argentina) and take a bus to Puente del Inca for the normal route or to Penitentes for the Polish Glacier, Polish Traverse and Vacas routes. It is not part of the Andes mountain range but on an adjacent range thus stands out prominently above the surrounding peaks. There are no central statistics but about 3,500 climbers make a summit attempt each year with an estimated 30% success rate.

The second highest mountain in South America is Ojas del Salado also in Argentina at 22,608'/6983m and is 370 miles north of Aconcagua in the Andes range.

I have climb on Aconcagua two times. You can read about my climbs on my Aconcagua page.

North America: Denali (20,320'/6194m)

Denali is the native American name for the mountain but it was changed to Mt. McKinley in honor of President McKinley and then officially changed back to Denali by the National park Service in 1980. It is in central Alaska - 300 miles South of the Arctic Circle and 200 miles East of the Bearing Sea. Denali offers some the the largest vertical gain of any mountain on Earth. With base camp at 7,200' and the summit at 20,320', this 13,120' of gain over twelve miles is larger than Cho Oyu (8,407) or even Everest (10,535). The biggest threat on Denali is the weather. It is well known for socking you in for days with high winds and snow. An estimated 32,000 climbers have attempted Denali with about a 40% success rate. Almost 100 have died including 11 in 1992.

The second highest mountain in North America is Mt. Logan in Canada's Yukon at 19,551'/5959m and is 385 miles southeast of Denali. Similar to Denali it is a huge massif but with eleven peaks. Logan is believed to have the largest base circumference of any mountain. The normal route is consider straightforward but weather is a huge problem for Logan like it is for Denali in addition to being so remote.

I have climb on Denali two times. You can read about my climbs on my Denali page.

Africa: Kilimanjaro (19,340'/5896m),

Kilimanjaro One of the world's highest volcanoes it was first summited in 1889 by Meyer and Purtscheller. There are actually three peaks: Kibo, Shira and Mawenzi with Kibo being the summit. There are 5 main routes that meander from the jungle through five microclimates to join the three final ascent routes to Kibo. Both the Machame and Lemosho routes offer a more leisurely paced scenic climb. The Lemosho route is less crowded while the Machame route has a more difficult beginning but joins into the same route as the Lemosho. The Marangu climb is crowded since it follows a road part way.

It is considered a walk-up by many climbers but still represents a deadly threat when climbers go too fast or ignore difficult weather. The local park officials maintain strict rules thus requiring local guides to accompany each team. The climb takes anywhere from 4 to 7 days with 7 being the suggested time to allow for proper acclimatization. Huts are on some routes as well as tent camping. Porters carry most of the load so climbers usually just manage a small day pack with their personal gear.

The second highest mountain in Africa is Mt. Kenya in Kenya at 17,057'/5199m and is 250 miles north of Kilimanjaro. The normal route to Peak Lenana is considered a scramble but routes to Batina Peak offer challenging rock climbing (5.7 range) to reach the summit.

Europe: Elbrus (18,481'/5643m)

Elbrus Mount Elbrus is an extinct volcano in the Caucasus Main Range, the European border with Asia in southern Russia. Mt. Elbrus has two main summits - the western summit at 18,513'/5642m and the eastern summit at 18,442'/5621m.The first ascent of the west peak was in 1874 by a Russian army team and the east in 1829 by an English team. Mont Blanc is sometimes consider the highest in Europe but Elbrus technically holds that honor.

The normal climbing season is May to September. The climb is quite short by 7 Summits standards taking less than a week at most. The standard route on Elbrus is technically easy and includes a cable car up to the 12,500' level. It is snow slope from there to the summit. Climber stay in 'huts' which are single room, rock walled building with tin roofs at 12,700' and/or the Barrel Huts, 13,600', which are, well, huge barrels. A snow-cat is reported to be available for climbers who want a ride even higher - up to 15,750. It is common to have over 100 climbers going for the summit in a single day in July. As with most mountains that have a reputation for being easy, they are also deadly and Elbrus is no exception. About 25 climbers die each year due to ill-preparedness or the weather. It can be extremely cold and windy. However literally thousands of people have summited Elbrus included a Soviet team in 1956 of 400 climbers!

The second highest mountain in Europe, Dychtau in Russia at 17,077'/5205m and is 40 miles southeast of Elbrus. It considered a very dangerous and technical climb with the main peak accessible from a steep and narrow ridge from the adjacent saddle.

Oceania:Carstensz Pyramid (16,023'/4884m)

The 'newest' of the 7 summits when Reinhold Messner challenged Dick Bass's summit of Australia's Mt. Kosciuszko as the highest peak in Oceania. Carstensz Pyramid on Irian Jaya (Papua) in Indonesia's New Guinea is now consider one of the 7 but most 7 Summiteers try to bag the walk-up Kosciuszko as well.

The Dutch explorer Jan Carstensz first sighted the peak in 1623. It was first climbed by Austrian Heinrich Harrer and team in 1962. Carstensz is considered the most exotic of the 7 Summits surrounded by dense jungle and rumors of cannibals! Even though it is near the equator, snow sometimes graces the limestone slopes.

The climbing is consider the most technical of the 7 Summits requiring rock scrambling a short section of 5.8 rock climbing with fixed ropes. But the real challenge is just getting there. Often the road is closed to climbers by the owners of the Freeport mine thus requiring a 5 day hike to reach to base of Carstensz. Instead many teams charter a helicopter. Obtaining permits and travel logistics can be quite difficult.

The second highest mountain in Oceania is Puncak Trikora also in New Guinea at 15,580'/4730m and is 100 miles east of Carstensz.

Antarctica:Vinson (16,067'/4897m)

Vinson 600 miles from the South Pole, Mount Vinson was first summited in 1966 by climbers led by Nicholas Church from the American Alpine Club and the National Science Foundation, it was the last of the 7 Summits to be conquered. An American Antarctica explorer, Carl Vinson, named the peak. It is in Ellsworth Mountains Range. Just getting there is an adventure involving a 6 hour, 1800 mile plane trip on a Russian IIyushin 76 cargo plane from the tip of South America to the snow camp of Patriot Hills. Once there climbers are ferried via a Twin Otter to base camp. Climbs usually take place between December and February.

The climb is normally scheduled for about three weeks with the summit taking place around the middle of the time. However once there, weather can be the worst on the planet often stopping teams in their tracks for weeks. Similar to Denali, climbers carry all their personal gear plus a share of the group gear - no porters in Antarctica! The climb itself is a series of long snow slopes not requiring significant technical skills or gear however it is harsh with the weather and loads over 70 lbs split between a pack and a sled. Once you summit, if you summit, you might be stuck for more weeks waiting for the big IIyushin to return!

About 1100 people have summited Vinson since 1966. A popular option after a summit is to fly to the 89 degree and ski the final 70 miles to the South Pole.

The second highest mountain in Antarctica is Mount Tyree at 15,919'/4852m and is 7 miles north of Vinson. Only 7 climbers have made it the top of Tyree! It is significantly more difficult with it's steep faces. One of the most famous climbs in mountaineering took place in January 1989 when the legendary American alpinist Terry ‘Mugs’ Stump, an American climbing legend, soloed the west face without a rope in a roundtrip time of 12 hours - an amazing feat that still stands out 20 years later.

Australian Mainland: Kosciuszko (7,310'/2229m)

Kosciuszko A simple walk-up on the otherwise relatively flat Australian continent. But if you want to be very precise, there is a volcano that Australia has in her territory on Heard Island - Mawsons Peak, 9005'/2745m. It is an active volcano about 2500 miles off the western coast of Australia e.g. the middle of the Indian Ocean and the island has no ports or villages.

The second highest mountain on the Australian mainland is Mt. Townsend at 7,247'/2209m and is 2 miles north of Kosciuszko. It is somewhat more 'craggy' than Kosciuszko but is still a simple walk up. It is reported that the locals ask each climber to take a rock to the summit with the goal of surpassing it's higher neighbor!