Bucket List / Adventure Travel Goals
Complete The 7 Summits Challenge
Still to do
Seven continents, seven summits, from an easy Australian hilltop to the top of the world, and years of adventure in between.
The adventure
The Seven Summits is less a single climb than a years-long journey around the planet's extremes. It can begin gently, on the 2,228-metre top of Kosciuszko in Australia, or on Kilimanjaro's crater rim at sunrise, then build through the icy volcanic dome of Elbrus and the thin, wind-blasted air of Aconcagua at nearly 7,000 metres.
Then the real tests arrive. Denali means hauling sleds across glaciers in brutal Alaskan cold. Vinson means flying onto blue ice deep in Antarctica, where the summer sun circles but never sets. And Everest, at 8,849 metres, means weeks of acclimatisation, the Khumbu Icefall and a summit push into the death zone. The American businessman Dick Bass first completed the set in 1985, and it remains one of mountaineering's great personal quests, as much a test of patience, planning and nerve as of strength.
Why it’s epic
- Standing on the highest point of every continent, from Everest (8,849 m) down to Kosciuszko (2,228 m).
- Flying to Union Glacier in Antarctica to climb Vinson (4,892 m).
- Two versions of the list, with Kosciuszko on the Bass list or the far more technical Carstensz Pyramid in Papua on the Messner list.
- Following Dick Bass, who first completed the set in 1985.
What it is
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each continent: Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson and Kosciuszko or Puncak Jaya.
How to do it
Climbers usually start with Kilimanjaro and Kosciuszko, then build experience on Aconcagua and Elbrus before Denali, Vinson and Everest, all with guided expeditions.
Top tip
Budget is the biggest hurdle; Everest and Vinson alone cost tens of thousands of pounds.
Need to know
- Most climbers take several years, building skills from trekking peaks to glacier travel and fixed ropes before Denali and Everest.
- Each mountain has its own short season, so plan the order around climbing windows.
- Logistics vary widely, as Everest needs an expedition permit, Denali needs National Park Service registration and Vinson is reached only by specialist flights from Punta Arenas.
- Insurance must cover high-altitude mountaineering and helicopter rescue.
Make it happen
Why it’s on my list
Not done yet. If you’ve done it and have tips, tell me about it.
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