The Seven Summits

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Completing the Seven Summits and additionally reaching the north and south poles has been dubbed the Explorers Grand Slam. Find your seven summit climbing poster today!

1. EVEREST : 8 848 M
Asia (Nepal – China)

Mount Everest is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China-Nepal border runs across its summit point.
In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society, as recommended by Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India, who chose the name of his predecessor in the post, Sir George Everest, despite Everest’s objections.
Mount Everest attracts many climbers, some of them highly experienced mountaineers.

2. ACONCAGUA : 6 959 M
South America (Argentina)

Aconcagua is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Argentina, with a summit elevation of 6,962 metres.
The mountain is one of the so-called Seven Summits of the seven continents.
The mountain and its surroundings are part of the Aconcagua Provincial Park, a large provincial Park protecting typical animal species from Cordillera, such as the Andean condor, the guanaco and a delicate vegetation.
The first official climbing was realized by the Switzerland Matthias Zurbriggen in 1897 by the North Face.

3. DENALI : 6 190 M
North America (United States)

Denali, formaly called McKinley Mount, is the highest mountain of North America.
Located in the middle of Alaska in the United States with a summit elevation of 6,190 metres.
Its elevation, its extreme climate and its geographical Arctic situation qualifies it as one of the most difficult summit to climb in the world ! It is only in 1913 that it was first climbed by a man.
Since 1917, the mountain is part of the protected area of the National park of Denali.

4. KILIMANDJARO : 5 895 M
Africa (Tanzania)

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 single free-standing mountain in the world: 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level and about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) above its plateau base.
Kilimanjaro is the fourth most topographically prominent peak on Earth. The first people known to have reached the summit were Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller, in 1889. It is part of Kilimanjaro National Park and is a major climbing destination. Because of its shrinking glaciers and disappearing ice fields, it has been the subject of many scientific studies.

5. ELBROUZ : 5 642 M
Europe (Russia)

Mount Elbrouz is the highest mountain in Europe. As the highest peak in the Caucasus Mountains, the dormant volcano rises 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level, and is the highest stratovolcano in Eurasia, and the tenth most prominent peak in the world. The mountain stands in Southern Russia, at the Western Caucasus, in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. The taller, western summit is 5,642 metres (18,510 ft), the eastern summit is 5,621 metres (18,442 ft). The eastern summit was first ascended on 10 July, 1829 by Khillar Khachirov, and the western summit in 1874 by a British expedition led by F. Crauford Grove and including Frederick Gardner, Horace Walker, and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel.

6. VINSON : 4 892 M
Antarctica (Chile)

Mount Vinson is the highest peak in Antarctica, at 4,892 metres (16,050 ft). It lies in the north part of Vinson Massif’s summit plateau in the south portion of the main ridge of the Sentinel Range about 2 kilometres north of Hollister Peak. It was first climbed in 1966 by an American team led by Nicholas Clinch. An expedition in 2001 was the first to climb via the Eastern route, and also took GPS measurements of the height of the peak. As of February 2010, 1,400 climbers have attempted to reach the top of Mount Vinson.

7. CARSTENSZ PYRAMIDE : 4 884 M
Oceania (Indonesia)

Puncak Jaya or Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m) is the highest summit of Mount Jayawijaya or Mount Carstensz in the Sudirman Range of the western central highlands of Papua Province, Indonesia (within Puncak Jaya Regency). Other summits are East Carstensz Peak (4,808 m, Sumantri (4,870 m]) and Ngga Pulu (4,863 m). Other names include Nemangkawi in the Amungkal language, Carstensz Toppen and Gunung Soekarno.
At 4,884 metres above sea level, Puncak Jaya is the highest mountain in Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea.
It is also the highest point between the Himalayas and the Andes. Some sources claim Papua New Guinea’s Mount Wilhelm, 4,509 m (14,793 ft), as the highest mountain peak in Oceania, on account of Indonesia being part of Asia (Southeast Asia). The massive, open cut Grasberg mine is within 4 km (2.5 mi) west of here.