Seven Summits

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In 1981, Dick Bass, 51, a successful Texas businessman and owner of Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah, and Frank Wells, 49, president of Warner Brothers Studios, decided they wanted to climb the highest peak on each of seven continents.

On April 30, 1985, on the summit of Mount Everest, Dick Bass became the first person to complete the Seven Summits.  Frank Wells completed six of the seven.  (Read Seven Summits by Dick Bass)

Since then, climbing the Seven Summits has become a popular goal of many climbers.  Mountain guiding companies, eager to sell their trips, now offer Seven Summit packages.  Personally, I think it's too bad some people focus solely on the Seven Summits when there are so many other spectacular mountains...but I understand the hype.  Pursuing international climbs is expensive.  Getting time away from work and family is a challenge, so having an objective helps. The following are the Seven Summits (underlined mountains are links to photos):

Everest (29,035f /8,848m) Asia-Nepal/China

Denali (20,320f / 6,194m) North America-Alaska, USA

Aconcagua (22,841f / 6,962m) South America-Argentina

Elbrus (18,510f / 5,642m) Europe-Russia

Kilimanjaro (19,335f / 5,895m) Africa-Tanzania

Vinson Massif (16,067f / 4,897m) Antarctica

Kosciuszko (7,310f / 2,228m) Australia

Carstensz Pyramid (16,023f / 4,884m) Oceana-Indonesia

Kosciuszko is the highest point in Australia, long considered the seventh continent.  But many now view Australia as part of the larger continental formation of Oceana, or Australasia.  From that perspective, Carstensz Pyramid (Indonesia) is the taller peak. People aspiring to climb the Seven Summits often climb both Kosciuszko and Carstensz Pyramid, making Eight Seven Summits and two lists.  Oh brother.

I've heard the Seven Summits referred to as the Poor Man's Four (Denali, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua and Elbrus, each costing roughly $5,000 to climb) and the Rich Man's Three (Everest, Vinson, and Carstensz, each costing at least $14,000).  Or it could be the Poor Man's Five and Rich Man's Two, depending on whether you climb Carstensz or Kosciuszko.  Until I climbed Everest last year, I was perfectly content climbing the Poor Man's Four.

7summits.com reports that as of 1/1/07, 198 climbers completed the Seven Summits, either with Kosciuszko or Carstensz Pyramid or both, including 26 women.

In 1990, Rob Hall and Gary Ball (New Zealand) completed the Seven Summits (Kosciuszko) in seven months.  The shortest time for the Seven Summits to be completed with Carstensz is 297 days, by Andrew Salter (British).

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