Seven Summits

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven (sub-)continents. Summiting all of them is regarded to be a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such in the eighties by Richard Bass (Bass et al 1986).

Seven Summits definitions

The Seven Summits on an Elevation World Map

Due to different interpretations of continental borders (geografical, geological, geopolitical) several definitions for the highest summits per continent and the number of continents are possible. The Seven Summits number of seven continents is based on the continent model used in Western Europe and the United States.

Australia

Using a more geographical definition (continous landmass surounded by oceans), the Australian continent only consists of Mainland Australia which makes Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m) its highest summit. A more geological (Plate tectonics) view defines the Australian continent to be formed of Mainland Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea resulting in New Guinea's Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m) being its highest summit.

Europe

Depending on different definitions for the european subcontinent's borders the Caucasus with Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) is located in Asia and not Europe which then makes Mont Blanc (4,808 m) europe's highest mountain.

The Bass and Messner list

The first Seven Summits list as postulated by Bass (The Bass or Kosciusko list) did choose the highest mountain of Mainland Australia, Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m) to represent the Australian continent's highest summit. Reinhold Messner postulated another list (the Messner or Carstensz list) replacing Mount Kosciuszko with New Guinea's Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m). Neither the Bass nor the Messmer list includes the Mont Blanc. Out of a mountaineering point of view the Messner list is the more challengin one. Climbing Carstensz Pyramid has expeditional character, whereas a Kosciuszko climb is an easy hike.

"Seven" Summits (sorted by continent)
"Bass"	"Messner"	Summit	Elevation m	Continent	Range!Country
X	X	Kilimanjaro (Kibo Summit)	5,895	Africa	Kilimanjaro	Tanzania
X	X	Vinson Massif	4,892	Antarctica	Ellsworth Mountains	N/A (claimed by Chile)
X	Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya)	4,884	Australia	Pegunungan Maoke	Indonesia
X	Kosciuszko	2,228	Australia	Snowy Mountains	Commonwealth of Australia
X	X	Everest	8,848	Asia	Himalaya	Nepal, China (Tibet)
X	X	Elbrus	5,642	Europe (Asia)	Caucasus	Russia
Mont Blanc	4,808	Europe	Alps	France, Italy
X	X	Mount McKinley (Denali)	6,194	North America	Alaska Range	United States
X	X	Aconcagua	6,962	South America	Andes	Argentina

Mountaineering challenge

The mountaineering challenge to climb the Seven Summits is traditionally based on either the Bass or the Messmer list. It is considered that a lot of the mounatineers who compleeted the Seven Summits would have climbed Mont Blanc aswell. [1]

History

Richard Bass, an American businessman and amateur mountaineer, set himself the goal of climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents, including Australia. He hired David Breashears to guide him up Everest, the most difficult of his Seven, and completed his Everest summit on April 30 1985. He then co-authored the book Seven Summits, which covered the undertaking (Bass et al 1986).

Reinhold Messner revised Bass's list by substituting for Australia the complete Australian continent. Pat Morrow first met Messner's challenge, finishing with climbing Elbrus on August 5, 1986, shortly followed by Messner himself climbing Vinson on December 3rd, 1986. Morrow has also been the first to complete all eight summits from both lists.

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 Mount Everest on May 10 1990 and finished with Vinson on December 12, 1990, hours before the seven-month deadline.

The first woman to complete the Bass and Messner lists has been Junko Tabei finishing on July 28 1992 by climbing Elbrus.

As of 2005, more than 150 climbers have 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. While the numbers of completions of the two lists are very close, two statistics suggest the difference in degree of effort:
* Even discounting both the 1985 completions using Kosciuszko (since they could be thought of as a head start before Messner's challenge was made), five more climbers completed the Sevens using Kosciuszko before the third climber completed the feat using Carstensz Pyramid.
* The shortest spans a person has made the seven ascents using Kosciuszko is about six months, and about ten months using Carstensz Pyramid. [2]

Criticism of the Seven Summits challenge

Many mountain climbers, beyond these hundredfifty and some, aspire to complete the seven ascents of one or both of these lists, but the expense, physical ability, and danger involved often turn out to be far beyond the resources they can bring to the project. Popularization of the Seven Summits has not been without its detractors, who argue that it tempts the ambitious but inexperienced into paying large sums to professional guides who promise the "seven," and that the guides are therefore pressured to press on toward summits even to the detriment of their clients' safety.

Alpinism author Jon Krakauer (1997) wrote in Into Thin Air that it would be a bigger challenge to climb the second-highest peak of each continent. This is especially true for Asia, as K2 (8,611 m) demands much more enhanced climbing skills than Everest (8,848 m), while the altitude-related factors such as oxygen deficiency remain the same.

References

*

External links

*7summits.com, voluminous information within commercial site