The Seven Summits is a mountaineering challenge to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. These are not necessarily the seven most difficult mountains in the world, but each offers a completely different climbing experience. The challenge ranges from basic hiking to technical rock climbing, extreme cold, long expeditions, and eventually the death zone above 8,000 meters, where the human body cannot survive indefinitely without supplemental oxygen.
I started pursuing this goal more than two decades ago without ever really believing I would come close to finishing it. So far, I have successfully climbed six of the Seven Summits. Vinson Massif in Antarctica is the last mountain remaining.
6 of 7 Summits Climbed
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro is by far the easiest of the Seven Summits from a technical climbing perspective. Located almost directly on the equator in Tanzania, it is essentially a hike from bottom to top and does not require technical mountaineering skills. Anyone in reasonably good physical condition who trains and acclimatize properly has a realistic chance of reaching the summit.
Basic equipment such as hiking boots, a sleeping bag, and warm, waterproof clothing is generally sufficient for a standard trekking route. The real challenge is altitude. Many people underestimate Kilimanjaro because the climbing itself is technically simple, but that does not mean walking to nearly 20,000 feet is easy.
Location: Tanzania, Africa · Altitude: 19,341 ft / 5,895 m
Climbing Mount Elbrus
Elbrus is similar to Kilimanjaro but adds the challenges of snow, ice, crampons, an ice axe, and potentially severe mountain weather. Although its summit is slightly lower, much more of the climb takes place in freezing temperatures. The colder conditions and slippery slopes make it a more serious mountaineering objective than its African counterpart.
Elbrus is generally considered one of the easier Seven Summits, but unlike Kilimanjaro, it is more than a straightforward hike. Exposed snowfields, glaciated terrain, and sudden storms can catch inexperienced climbers by surprise.
Location: Russia, Europe · Altitude: 18,510 ft / 5,642 m
Climbing Aconcagua
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the world outside Asia and gives climbers an opportunity to experience a true high-altitude expedition without necessarily requiring highly technical climbing. At nearly 23,000 feet, it represents a major increase in difficulty compared with Kilimanjaro and Elbrus.
Unlike Kilimanjaro and Elbrus, simply being in basic physical condition is not enough. The expedition is longer, packs are heavier, the altitude is near 7,000 meters. With a much more demanding schedule, and less comfortable conditions, a higher level of fitness is required, and those who completed Kilimanjaro without much preparation will discover that Aconcagua is on an entirely different level.
Location: Argentina, South America · Altitude: 22,837 ft / 6,961 m
Climbing Denali
Denali is one of the greatest physical challenges of the Seven Summits. Unlike many other major expeditions, climbers on the standard route typically carry and haul their own equipment between camps rather than relying on porters. The combination of a heavy backpack and sled can make even relatively gentle terrain exhausting.
The mountain rises above 20,000 feet, but its high northern latitude makes the environment especially unforgiving. Severe weather, temperatures that can fall to -40°F, enormous loads, and weeks of physical effort combine to make Denali a miserable place at times. It is also one of the mountains I am proudest to have climbed.
Location: Alaska, United States, North America · Altitude: 20,310 ft / 6,190 m
Climbing Carstensz Pyramid
Carstensz Pyramid is the lowest of the Seven Summits on the Messner list, but it makes up for its relatively modest altitude with technical climbing. The ascent includes exposed rock climbing, scrambling, fixed ropes, and ascending steep sections using mechanical rope ascenders.
The real adventure, however, is getting to the mountain. The traditional approach involves a long trek through dense rainforest, mud, and bogs before finally reaching base camp. Helicopter access can shorten the journey dramatically, but for me, the jungle approach was part of what made Carstensz such a strange and memorable expedition.
The logistics are complicated, permits can be expensive, and access to the surrounding region has historically been one of the greatest challenges associated with the climb.
Location: Central Papua, Indonesia, Oceania · Altitude: 16,024 ft / 4,884 m
Vinson Massif — My Final Seven Summit
The Cold Climb — My Last Summit
Vinson Massif is the one remaining mountain between me and completing the Seven Summits. In many ways, it is similar to Denali but lower in altitude and generally less physically demanding on the standard route. Its greatest obstacle is its location in the remote interior of Antarctica.
Getting climbers and equipment into Antarctica requires expensive and complicated logistics. Once there, the expedition still involves extreme cold, isolation, glacier travel, and the usual challenges of a serious mountaineering expedition.
For years, I looked at Vinson as the mountain I would eventually climb after everything else. Now that it is the last one, that “eventually” has become much more real. At this point, the mountain itself is not what worries me most. Finding the time and money to return to Antarctica is the bigger challenge.
Location: Antarctica · Altitude: 16,050 ft / 4,892 m
Climbing Mount Everest
The Ultimate High-Altitude Climb
Everest takes many of the extremes found on the other Seven Summits and combines them into one climb. It is more than a vertical mile higher than Aconcagua, brutally cold, technically demanding in places, and long enough that the expedition becomes as much a mental challenge as a physical one.
On most of the Seven Summits, training and preparation can dramatically improve your chances of success. Everest is different. Even extremely fit and experienced climbers can be overwhelmed by altitude, exhaustion, weather, illness, or simple bad luck. Spending more than two months in that environment wears people down in ways that are difficult to understand until you’ve experienced it yourself.
For years, Everest was the great unknown in my Seven Summits goal. Eventually, I successfully climbed it, leaving Vinson Massif as the final mountain.
Location: Nepal/China, Asia · Altitude: 29,032 ft / 8,849 m
My Seven Summits Story
My interest in the Seven Summits began after I climbed Kilimanjaro in 1999. I was 18 years old and never looked at climbing all seven as a realistic goal. I just thought it would be fun to try some of the easier ones.
While I was in the Marines in 2002, I submitted a request to travel to Russia and attempt Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe. The request was denied because of manpower issues, although I was told I could try again in the future. As time passed, my interest faded, and I became pretty content with having climbed only Kilimanjaro.
Four years later, I was out of the military, had a new job, and started thinking about Elbrus again. What appealed to me wasn’t even necessarily the mountain itself. The Caucasus had several small countries I could backpack through on the same trip, and the climb would only take about a week. To me, Elbrus was almost an added bonus.
In the summer of 2006, I got the time off and successfully climbed Elbrus, completing my second Seven Summit. You might assume that climbing another one brought all my motivation back. It actually did the opposite.
I climbed Elbrus while I was sick, had a near-death experience, and lost about 10 pounds in a week. And this was supposed to be the second-easiest mountain of the entire challenge! The remaining climbs would require much more time, money, training, and suffering. I remember thinking that I’d rather spend my vacation exploring countries than use an entire year’s worth of time off being miserable on a mountain.
I also honestly questioned whether I was capable of the remaining climbs. The physical and financial challenges seemed overwhelming, if not impossible, for an average person like me.
There was no defining moment that changed my mind. For some reason, only a year later, I started thinking about Aconcagua constantly. I even began dreaming about it. Sometimes I was climbing, sometimes I was at the airport heading to Argentina, and a few times I was standing on the summit. Eventually, the desire became strong enough that I knew I had to try.
My boss was surprisingly supportive and helped me get the time off. In February 2008, I successfully climbed Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America. Somewhere along the way, I had learned how to train seriously, take climbing courses, and prepare for expeditions instead of simply hoping things would work out.
In June 2009, I climbed Denali, a mountain I once thought was completely beyond me. In 2011, I reached the highest point in Oceania after climbing Carstensz Pyramid and surviving its miserable rainforest approach. Eventually, I took on the mountain that had always seemed like the biggest question mark: Everest. Reaching that summit brought me to six.
Now only Vinson remains.
Everyone has a different reason for attempting the Seven Summits, but I’ve always seen this as more of a travel goal than a climbing one. Just as I want to see the unique places in every country in the world, I also believe the highest point on each continent is a special place to reach.
I appreciate the physical and mental challenge of climbing, but I’ve never really considered myself a mountaineer. I don’t have some endless list of peaks I need to climb after this. A lot of climbers say, “There is always another mountain.” Maybe for them there is. For me, the Seven Summits have always represented enough of everything I wanted from climbing.
