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The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional
continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
s. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by
Richard Bass Richard Daniel "Dick" Bass (December 21, 1929 – July 26, 2015) was an American businessman, rancher and mountaineer. He was the owner of Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah and the first man to climb the "Seven Summits", the tallest mountain on each co ...
. Climbing the Seven Summits and additionally reaching the
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
and South poles has been dubbed the Explorers Grand Slam.


Definition

The Seven Summits are composed of each of the highest mountain peaks on each of the continents. Different lists include slight variations, but generally the same core is maintained. The seven summits depend on the definition used for a continent – in particular the location of the border of that continent. This results in two major points of variation. The first one is
Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and it ...
versus Mount Elbrus for Europe, which depends on whether the crest of the Greater Caucasus Mountains is taken to
define A definition is a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols). Definitions can be classified into two large categories: intensional definitions (which try to give the sense of a term), and extensional definiti ...
the
Greater Caucasus watershed The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...
which marks the continental boundary between Asia and Europe for the region between the
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...
and Caspian seas; this classification would place Mount Elbrus in Asia instead of Europe. The second one is Puncak Jaya (also known as "Carstensz Pyramid") versus
Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; Ngarigo: , ), previously spelled Mount Kosciusko, is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National P ...
for the continent of Australia, which depends on whether one includes the Sahul Shelf or only mainland Australia as the continent. This also gives rise to another list called the "
Eight Summits The Eight Summits is the collective name for the eight highest mountain peaks on each of the seven continents (Australia has two entries). It is an alternative name for the "Seven Summits" due to different ways in naming the highest mountain on th ...
", which includes both Puncak Jaya and Mount Kosciuszko along with the six summits on the other continents. This creates several possible versions of the seven summits: * Everest,
Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere with a summ ...
, Denali,
Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...
,
Vinson VINSON is a family of voice encryption devices used by U.S. and allied military and law enforcement, based on the NSA's classified Suite A SAVILLE encryption algorithm and 16 kbit/s CVSD audio compression. It replaces the Vietnam War-era N ...
,
Elbrus Mount Elbrus ( rus, links=no, Эльбрус, r=Elbrus, p=ɪlʲˈbrus; kbd, Ӏуащхьэмахуэ, 'uaşhəmaxuə; krc, Минги тау, Mingi Taw) is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the we ...
, Mount Wilhelm (Continent) *Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Elbrus, Kosciuszko (the
Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
version) *Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Elbrus, Puncak Jaya (the Messner version) *Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Mont Blanc, Mount Wilhelm (the Wilhelm version) *Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson,
Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and it ...
, Kosciuszko (the 1950s explorer Hackett version) *Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Mont Blanc, Puncak Jaya *Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Mauna Kea, Puncak Jaya / Kosciuszko (the tectonic version) The concept Richard Bass and his climbing partner
Frank Wells Franklin G. Wells (March 4, 1932 – April 3, 1994) was an American businessman who served as president of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until his death in 1994. Life and career Wells was born in Coronado, California and traced his ancestry ...
were pursuing was to be the first to stand atop the highest mountain on each continent. They pursued this goal as they defined it, climbing Aconcagua for South America, McKinley (now Denali) for North America, Kilimanjaro for
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, Elbrus for Europe, Vinson for
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
, Kosciuszko for Australia, and finally Everest for
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
.


Definition using tectonic plates

Using the largest
tectonic plates Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large te ...
, Asia and Europe could be grouped as Eurasia, and the very large
Pacific Plate The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate. The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Iza ...
would have Mauna Kea as its highest mountain. Puncak Jaya is actually on the
Maoke Plate The Maoke Plate is a small tectonic plate located in western New Guinea underlying the Sudirman Range from which the highest mountain on the island- Puncak Jaya rises. To its east is a convergent boundary with the Woodlark Plate. To the south li ...
, while Mount Wilhelm is on the
Woodlark Plate The Woodlark Plate is a small tectonic plate located in the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. It subducts beneath the Caroline plate along its northern border while the Maoke Plate converges on the west, the Australian plate converges o ...
, both of which are usually grouped with the larger Australian Plate. If not, then
Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; Ngarigo: , ), previously spelled Mount Kosciusko, is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National P ...
would revert to being the highest of that plate (see also
list of highest points of Oceanian countries This page lists the 'highest natural elevation of each sovereign state on the continent of Oceania defined physiographically. States sometimes associated with Oceania politically and culturally, but not geographically part of Oceania, are not in ...
). *
African Plate The African Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes much of the continent of Africa (except for its easternmost part) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It is bounded by the North American Plate and South American Plat ...
– Kilimanjaro *
Antarctic Plate The Antarctic Plate is a tectonic plate containing the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau, and some remote islands in the Southern Ocean and other surrounding oceans. After breakup from Gondwana (the southern part of the superconti ...
– Vinson *
Australian Plate The Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate in the eastern and, largely, southern hemispheres. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, Australia remained connected to India and Antarctica until approximately when India broke ...
– Puncak Jaya / Kosciuszko * Eurasian Plate – Mount Everest * North American Plate – Denali *
Pacific Plate The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate. The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Iza ...
Mauna Kea * South American Plate – Aconcagua


Australia

The highest mountain in mainland Australia is
Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; Ngarigo: , ), previously spelled Mount Kosciusko, is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National P ...
,
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. However, the highest mountain on the
Australian continent The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, Meganesia, or Papualand to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and Easte ...
, which includes Australia and New Guinea, is Puncak Jaya, above sea level, in the Indonesian province of Papua and on the island of New Guinea, which shares the
Sahul __NOTOC__ Sahul (), also called Sahul-land, Meganesia, Papualand and Greater Australia, was a paleocontinent that encompassed the modern-day landmasses of mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands. Sahul was in the south-we ...
continental shelf with Australia. Mount Kosciuszko is easier to climb, being a four-hour, grade 3 return walk from the nearest car park, while Puncak Jaya is classed as a mountaineering expedition. Some sources claim Mount Wilhelm () in Papua New Guinea's
Bismarck Range The Bismarck Range is a mountain range in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. The range is named after the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. From the 1880s to 1914, this part of the island was a German colony. The highest ...
(on the island of New Guinea, like Puncak Jaya) as the highest mountain on the Australian continent, on account of Indonesia being a part of
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
(see
list of Southeast Asian mountains The following is a list of some of the mountains of Southeast Asia. List of highest mountains See also *List of highest mountains * List of highest mountains of New Guinea *List of islands by highest point * List of ribus (summits in Indonesia ...
, which includes Puncak Jaya and other mountains in Western New Guinea, Indonesia). However, such a definition is political, not geophysical, and would mean that the western part of New Guinea changed continents in 1969. In terms of Australia as a country,
Mawson Peak Mawson Peak is an active volcanic summit of the Big Ben massif on Heard Island, an external Australian territory in the Indian Ocean. With an elevation of , it is the third highest peak in any state or territory of Australia, higher than t ...
() is higher than Kosciuszko. However, it is not located in Oceania, but on Heard Island, a small offshore island in the southern Indian Ocean. If excluding the island of New Guinea, then
Aoraki / Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ...
on the
South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman S ...
of New Zealand is the highest mountain in
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...
at . Sources that list Mount Wilhelm as highest point in Oceania or show boundaries putting Puncak Jaya in Asia include: the United Nations, 7 Continent Summits, World Atlas, the CIA World Factbook, Canada Atlas, and Papua New Guinea PNG Trekking.


Europe

The generally accepted highest summit in Europe is Mount Elbrus () in the Caucasus, appearing on both the Bass and Messner lists. However, because the location of the
boundary between Asia and Europe Determining the boundaries between the continents of Earth is generally a matter of geographical convention. Several slightly different conventions are in use. The number of continents is most commonly considered seven (in English-speaking cou ...
is not universally agreed upon, its inclusion in Europe is disputed: if the
Kuma–Manych Depression The Kuma–Manych depression ( rus, Кумо–Манычская впадина, Kumo–Manychskaya vpadina), is a geological depression in southwestern Russia that separates the Russian Plain to the north from Ciscaucasia The North C ...
is used as the geological border between Asia and Europe, the Caucasus and Elbrus lie wholly in Asia. If the
Greater Caucasus watershed The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...
is used instead, Elbrus' peaks are wholly in Europe, albeit close to the border with Asia.
Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and it ...
(), lying on the border between France and Italy in the Graian Alps, is seen by some to be the highest mountain in Europe.


North America

Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America. The
Caribbean Plate The Caribbean Plate is a mostly Oceanic crust, oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America. Roughly 3.2 million square kilometers (1.2 million square miles) in area, the Caribbea ...
and the Panama Plate, both of which share geological processes with the North American continent, have their own highest mountain peaks: *North America – Denali () *Caribbean Plate – Acatenango Volcano () *Panama Plate – Mount Chirripó ()


South America

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere with a summ ...
is the highest mountain peak in South America. The Altiplano Plate and the North Andes Plate, both of which share geological processes with the South American continent, have their own highest mountain peaks: *South America –
Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the Southern Hemisphere with a summ ...
() *Altiplano Plate – probably
Nevado Sajama Nevado Sajama (; ) is an extinct stratovolcano and the highest peak in Bolivia. The mountain is located in Sajama Province, in Oruro Department. It is situated in Sajama National Park and is a composite volcano consisting of a stratovolcano on top ...
() *North Andes Plate –
Chimborazo Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from the ...
()


The Bass and Messner lists

The first Seven Summits list as postulated by Bass (the Bass or Kosciusko list) chose the highest mountain of mainland Australia, Mount Kosciuszko (), to represent the Australian continent's highest summit.
Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...
postulated another list (the Messner or Carstensz list), replacing Mount Kosciuszko with Indonesia's Puncak Jaya, or Carstensz Pyramid (). Neither the Bass nor the Messner list includes
Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and it ...
. From a mountaineering point of view, the Messner list is the more challenging one. Climbing Carstensz Pyramid has the character of an expedition, whereas the ascent of Kosciuszko is an easy hike. Indeed, Patrick Morrow used this argument to defend his choice to adhere to the Messner list, "Being a climber first and a collector second, I felt strongly that Carstensz Pyramid, the highest mountain in
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...
... was a true mountaineer’s objective."


Mountaineering challenge

The mountaineering challenge to climb the Seven Summits is traditionally based on either the Bass or the Messner list. (It is assumed that most of the mountaineers who have completed the ''Seven Summits'' would have climbed
Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and it ...
as well.) As of January 2010, approximately 275 climbers climbed all seven of the peaks from either the Bass or the Messner list; about 30% of those have climbed all of the eight peaks required to complete both lists.


History

In 1956, William D. Hackett (1918–1999), an American mountaineer, reached the top of five continents. He climbed Denali (then known as Mount McKinley) (1947), Aconcagua (1949), Kilimanjaro (1950), Kosciuszko (1956) and Mont Blanc (1956). In that time, Mont Blanc was considered to be the highest mountain of the European continent. Hackett made an attempt to climb Mount Vinson and obtained a permit for Mount Everest in 1960, but due to several circumstances (frostbite, lack of funds, etc.), he never made it to more than five summits.abc-of-mountaineering.co
''"History of the Quest for the Seven Summits (2004)"''
Retrieved 2 January 2015.
In 1970, the Japanese mountaineer and adventurer
Naomi Uemura was a Japanese adventurer who was known particularly for his solo exploits. For example, he was the first person to reach the North Pole solo, the first person to raft the Amazon solo, and the first person to climb Denali solo. He disappeared a ...
(1941-1984) was the first person to reach five of the Seven Summits including Mount Everest. He climbed Mont Blanc (1966), Kilimanjaro (1966), Aconcagua (1968), Mount Everest (1970 solo) and Denali (1970 solo). After the first solo trip to the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Magn ...
(1978), he planned to go on his own to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson. In preparation for the Antarctica expedition, he did a solo winter ascent of Denali (1984). On the descent he disappeared in a winter storm. In 1978, the Italian mountaineer
Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...
was the first person to reach six of the Seven Summits (1971 Puncak Jaya, 1974 Aconcagua, 1976 Mount McKinley (now Denali), 1978 Kilimanjaro, 1978 Mount Everest). For Messner, Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) was the highest peak in Australia (Messner list), but in 1983, he climbed Mount Kosciuszko to also satisfy the other geographic definition of Australia. In the same year, Messner climbed Mount Elbrus and declared that it was the true highest peak of Europe. This definition was quickly accepted by others in the mountaineering community. Finally in 1986, he climbed Mount Vinson. At that time, he was only the fifth person to reach the Seven Summits.In 1985,
Richard Bass Richard Daniel "Dick" Bass (December 21, 1929 – July 26, 2015) was an American businessman, rancher and mountaineer. He was the owner of Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah and the first man to climb the "Seven Summits", the tallest mountain on each co ...
, a businessman and amateur mountaineer, was the first man to climb all Seven Summits. In only one year, 1983, he climbed six peaks: Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus, Mount Vinson and Mount Kosciuszko. All of these climbs he did together with his companion
Frank Wells Franklin G. Wells (March 4, 1932 – April 3, 1994) was an American businessman who served as president of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until his death in 1994. Life and career Wells was born in Coronado, California and traced his ancestry ...
and different mountain guides. Beginning in 1983, Bass and Wells made various guided attempts to climb Mount Everest, the highest and most difficult peak in the list. On 30 April 1985, Bass reached the summit of Mount Everest in a party without Wells, guided by the American professional mountaineer
David Breashears David Finlay Breashears (born December 20, 1955) is an American mountaineer, filmmaker, author, and motivational speaker. In 1985, he reached the summit of Mount Everest a second time, becoming the first American to reach the summit of Mount Evere ...
. He then co-authored the book ''Seven Summits'', which covered the undertaking. Later in 1985, American mountaineer Gerry Roach became the second person to climb the Seven Summits. In 1986, the Canadian mountaineer Patrick Morrow became the first man to climb the Seven Summits in the Carstensz version (Messner list). He climbed Denali (1977), Aconcagua (1981), Mount Everest (1982), Kilimanjaro (1983), Mount Kosciuszko (1983), Mount Vinson (1985), Mount Elbrus (1985) and finally the Puncak Jaya (Carstensz Pyramid) on May 7, 1986. Morrow was also the first to complete both lists (Bass and Messner).Jahoda, Petr (2006)
''History of 7 Summits project – who was first?''
carstenszpapua.com. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
In 1990, Rob Hall and Gary Ball became the first to complete the "Seven Summits" in seven months. Using the Bass list, they started with Everest on 10 May 1990, and finished with Vinson on 12 December 1990, hours before the seven-month deadline. In 1992,
Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer, author and a teacher. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first woman to ascend the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on every continent. Tabei wrote seven books, organized e ...
became the first woman to complete the "Seven Summits". Mary "Dolly" Lefever became the first American woman to climb the "Seven Summits" on March 11, 1993, when she climbed Australia's
Mount Kosciuszko Mount Kosciuszko ( ; Ngarigo: , ), previously spelled Mount Kosciusko, is mainland Australia's tallest mountain, at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level. It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National P ...
. Earlier in 1993, she had become the oldest surviving woman to have reached the summit of Mount Everest; she was 47 years old. In January 1996, Chris Haver became the first American to climb and ski all seven summits.
Yasuko Namba was the second Japanese woman (after Junko Tabei) to reach all of the Seven Summits. Namba worked as a businesswoman for Federal Express in Japan, but her hobby of mountaineering took her all over the world. She first summited Kilimanjaro on ...
was famous in her native Japan for becoming the second Japanese woman to reach all of the Seven Summits including Everest, where she died during the storm of May 1996 during her descent. In 2000, Croatian mountaineer Stipe Božić completed the Seven Summits. In May 2002, Susan Ershler and her husband, Phil, became the first married couple to climb the "Seven Summits" together. The first person to complete Seven Summits without the use of supplemental oxygen on Mount Everest is Reinhold Messner. Miroslav Caban is the second climber to finish the project without supplemental oxygen on Everest (finished in 2005 with Carstensz). Ed Viesturs also summitted all peaks without supplemental oxygen. Between 2002 and 2007, Austrian climber Christian Stangl completed the Seven Summits (Messner list), climbing alone and without supplemental oxygen, and reported a record total ascent time from respective base camp to summit of 58 hours and 45 minutes.58 Stunden, 45 Minuten
, '' Süddeutsche Zeitung'', 10 December 2007.
On 17 May 2006, Rhys Jones became the youngest person to complete the Seven Summits (Bass list) at the age of exactly 20 years. Notable climbers who had previously been the youngest to complete the Seven Summits include Rob Hall in 1990 and David Keaton in 1995. In May 2007, Samantha Larson completed the seven at the age of 18 years and 220 days (she is still the youngest woman to have climbed the Seven Summits). Johnny Strange finished climbing the summits at the age of 17 years and 161 days in June 2009. On 26 May 2011, at 6:45 Nepali time, Geordie Stewart became the youngest Briton to complete the Seven Summits at the age of 22 years and 21 days. In 2009-10, Indian mountaineer Krushnaa Patil made a bid for the fastest woman to complete the challenge; she fell short of the challenge when, in May 2009, her seventh and final summit bid on Denali was halted by her guide's illness. George Atkinson then became the youngest person in the world to complete the round aged 16 years 362 days. On 24 December 2011, the record was once again beaten, by American
Jordan Romero Jordan Romero (born July 12, 1996) is an American mountain climber who was 13 years old when he reached the summit of Mount Everest. Romero was accompanied by his father, Paul Romero, his step-mother, Karen Lundgren, and three Sherpas, Ang Pasang ...
, who completed the challenge at the age of 15 years, 5 months and 12 days by climbing Vinson. In October 2006, Kit Deslauriers became the first person to have skied down (parts of) all seven peaks (Bass list). Three months later, in January 2007, Swedes Olof Sundström and Martin Letzter completed their Seven Summits skiing project by skiing down (parts of) Carstensz Pyramid, thus becoming the first and only people to have skied both lists. Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu also had the eminence of setting a Guinness world record by surmounting the Seven Summits in 172 days in 2006. The world record for completion of the Messner and Bass list was 136 days, by Danish climber Henrik Kristiansen in 2008. Kristiansen completed the summits in the following order: Vinson on Jan 21, Aconcagua on Feb 6, Kosciuszko on Feb 13, Kilimanjaro on Mar 1, Carstensz Pyramid on Mar 14, Elbrus on May 8, Everest on May 25, spending just 22 days on the mountain (normally, expeditions take up to two months acclimatizing, laying ropes, etc.) and finally Denali on June 5, beating Ian McKeever's previous record by 20 days. Vern Tejas set the new record for the same, in 134 days. Tejas began with summiting Vinson on 18 January 2010 and ended with summiting Denali on May 31. This was Tejas' ninth time to complete the Bass Seven Summits. In January 2010, the Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontán, at the age of 71, completed the seven summits (Messner list) after reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro. He had climbed the first one in 1968. On 23 May 2010, AC Sherpa summited Mount Everest as his last and final conquest of the Seven Summits (Bass list). In doing this, he set a new record by climbing the Seven Summits within 42 climbing days. Additionally, when climbing Mount Kilimanjaro (via Marangu) he summited in just 16 hours and 37 minutes, easily beating the previous record of 18 hours. As of 24 December 2011, it is reported that only 118 people have climbed the Seven Summits if one assumes "full" completion of the quest requires climbing the "Eight Summits" across both the Bass and Messner lists (climbing both Carstensz Pyramid and Kosciusko in addition to the other six "undisputed" summits such as Everest). 231 persons have climbed the Messner list, while 234 have completed the Bass list. 348 have done either the Bass or Messner list. In 2013,
Vanessa O'Brien Vanessa Audi Rhys O'Brien (born 2 December 1964) is a British and American mountaineer, sub-orbital spaceflight participant, explorer, author and former business executive. On 4 August 2022, O'Brien became the first woman to complete the Explore ...
became the fastest female to complete the Seven Summits (including Carstensz Pyramid), finishing in 10 months. Cason Crane became the first openly gay man to climb the Seven Summits. On 21 November 2013, Werner Berger (Canada, ex-South African), at the age of 76 years and 129 days, became the oldest person in the world to complete the Seven Summits after a 6-day jungle trek to Carstensz Pyramid. In 2013, Cheryl and Nikki Bart became the first mother-daughter team to complete the Seven Summits. On 16 December 2014,
Tashi and Nungshi Malik Tashi and Nungshi Malik (born 21 June 1991) are the first siblings and twins to climb the Seven Summits and reach the North and South Poles and complete the Adventurers Grand Slam and Three Poles Challenge. Personal life The Malik twins ...
became the world's first twins and siblings to complete the Seven Summits (Messner list).
Colin O'Brady Colin Timothy O'Brady (born March 16, 1985) is an American professional endurance athlete, motivational speaker and adventurer. He is a former professional triathlete, representing the United States on the ITU Triathlon World Cup circuit, racin ...
broke the record for the Messner and Bass lists in 131 days, summiting Vinson on 17 January 2016 and completing with Denali on 27 May 2016. The youngest person to complete both the Seven Summits and the Volcanic Seven Summits is Satyarup Siddhanta from India. He completed the feat on 15 Jan 2019 after summitting Mt Sidley, Antarctica at the age of 35 years 261 days breaking the record of Daniel Bull from Australia . He was also the first Indian to accomplish the feat and created a Guinness world record. On 6 January 2018, Chris Bombardier reached the summit of Mount Vinson, becoming the first person with hemophilia to complete the Seven Summits (Messner list). On 23 June 2018, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado reached the summit of Denali, becoming the first openly gay woman to complete the Seven Summits (including Carstensz Pyramid). On 4 January 2019,
Arunima Sinha Arunima Sinha is an Indian mountaineer and sportswoman. She is the world's first female amputee to scale Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Mount Elbrus (Russia), Mount Kosciusko (Australia), Mount Aconcagua (South America), Mount Den ...
reached the summit of Mount Vinson, becoming the first female
amputee Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...
to complete the Seven Summits (including Carstensz Pyramid).


Criticism

Alpinism author Jon Krakauer (1997) wrote in ''
Into Thin Air ''Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster'' is a 1997 bestselling nonfiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It details Krakauer's experience in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight climbers were killed and several ...
'' that it would be a bigger challenge to climb the second-highest peak of each continent, known as the
Seven Second Summits The Seven Second Summits are the second-highest mountains of each of the seven continents. All of these mountain peaks are separate peaks rather than a sub-peak of the continents' high point. The Seven Second Summits are considered by many mountain ...
– a feat that was not accomplished until January 2013. This discussion had previously been published in an article titled ''The Second Seven Summits'' in Rock & Ice Magazine (#77) authored by the mountaineer and Seven Summits completer David Keaton. This is especially true for Asia, as K2 (8,611 m) demands greater technical climbing skills than Everest (8,848 m), while altitude-related factors such as the thinness of the atmosphere, high winds and low temperatures remain much the same. Some of those completing the seven ascents are aware of the magnitude of the challenge. In 2000, in a foreword to Steve Bell et al., ''Seven Summits'', Morrow opined " e only reason Reinhold essnerwasn’t the first person to complete the seven was that he was too busy gambolling up the 14 tallest mountains in the world."


Defence

Bill Allen, who completed the Seven Summits twice, said that getting to the summit never gets old. The 8000ers are all in East Asia; Nepal, China, India and Pakistan in a more narrow region of Earth, and many of the climbs are quite dangerous with several climbers dying short of completing all 14. Another problem is that while there are 14 main summits, there are additional sub-peaks over 8000 m. Indeed, in 2013, authorities were considering officially recognizing some additional peaks as 8000ers.


Impact and related climbing list concepts

One idea is to climb shorter peaks rather than the highest such as with the
Seven Second Summits The Seven Second Summits are the second-highest mountains of each of the seven continents. All of these mountain peaks are separate peaks rather than a sub-peak of the continents' high point. The Seven Second Summits are considered by many mountain ...
and
Seven Third Summits The Seven Third Summits are the third-highest mountains of each of the seven continents. All of these mountain peaks are separate peaks rather than a sub-peak of the continents' high point. Christian Stangl from Austria claims to be the first pers ...
. The Explorers Grand Slam includes the Seven Summits and both poles. Like the number one list, the number two and three lists is subject to the Bass vs. Messner geophysical/political dichotomy. ;Number twos * K2 *
Ojos del Salado Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapping lava domes, ...
("Eyes of Salt") *
Mount Logan Mount Logan () is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America after Denali. The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Moun ...
* Dykh-Tau ("Jagged Mount") * Mount Kenya *
Mount Tyree Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
*
Puncak Mandala Puncak Mandala or Mandala Peak (until 1963 Julianatop or Juliana Peak) is a mountain located in Highland Papua, Indonesia. At , it is the highest point of the Jayawijaya (Orange) Range and included in Seven Second Summits. Following Mount Carst ...
(formerly "Juliana Peak") *
Mount Townsend Mount Townsend, a mountain in the Main Range of the Great Dividing Range, is located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. With an elevation of above sea level, Mount Townsend is the second-highest peak of mainlan ...
A Seven Second Summits collection was first achieved in January 2013 by Christian Stangl. It is considered to be a more difficult mountaineering challenge than the standard Seven Summits, even if the peaks are lower.


See also

* Eight-thousander * Explorers Grand Slam, also known as the Adventurers Grand Slam * Extremes on Earth *
List of elevation extremes by country The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory. Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential grav ...
*
List of highest mountains on Earth Currently, There are at least 108 mountains on Earth with elevations of or greater above sea level. The vast majority of these mountains are located on the edge of the Indian and Eurasian plates in China, India, Nepal and Pakistan. The d ...
*
List of islands by highest point This is a list of islands in the world ordered by their highest point; it lists islands with peaks by elevation. At the end of this article continental landmasses are also included for comparison. Island countries and territories listed are tho ...
*
Lists of mountains Mountains are listed according to various criteria: * List of mountains by elevation ** List of highest mountains greater than above sea level ** List of highest unclimbed peaks ** List of volcanoes by elevation * Topographic prominence ** List ...
(for other climbing lists) *
Seven Second Summits The Seven Second Summits are the second-highest mountains of each of the seven continents. All of these mountain peaks are separate peaks rather than a sub-peak of the continents' high point. The Seven Second Summits are considered by many mountain ...
*
Seven Third Summits The Seven Third Summits are the third-highest mountains of each of the seven continents. All of these mountain peaks are separate peaks rather than a sub-peak of the continents' high point. Christian Stangl from Austria claims to be the first pers ...
*
Three Poles Challenge The Three Poles is an adventurer’s challenge to reach the North Pole, the South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest. The first person to reach all three locations was Edmund Hillary. He reached the top of Everest in May 1953, summited the Sout ...
* Volcanic Seven Summits


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Updated until December 2011, 348 summiteers. * * * * * * * *


External links


3D Tour of the Seven Summits
in
Virtual Earth Bing Maps Platform (previously Microsoft Virtual Earth) is a geospatial mapping platform produced by Microsoft. It allows developers to create applications that layer location-relevant data on top of licensed map imagery. The imagery includes sam ...

7Summits.com, voluminous information within a commercial website


{{Seven Summits Peak bagging