THE SEVEN SUMMITS CHALLENGE
It’s not the mountains we conquer but ourselves.
Edmund Hillary

 

DENALI
2024
The great one.

Mount Everest

Standing on the top of the world

The ‘Seven Summits’ Challenge is simple – summit the highest mountain on each continent. Easier said than done. For one thing, there’s some debate about which mountains should be on the list based on the definition of a continent, or more specifically where the border of a continent lies and whether the continent is only the mainland or if it includes surrounding islands and archipelagos as well. There’s a bit of a tussle as to whether Mt Blanc or Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe, so I climbed both, just to be sure.

Here’s my list, based on the Messner list, basically because the mountains on it are a more of a mountaineering challenge – expeditions rather than hikes.

Asia: Everest, 29 035 ft – DONE
South America: Aconcagua, 22 834 ft – DONE
North America: Denali, 20 310 ft – DONE
Africa: Kilimanjaro, 19 339 ft – DONE. Twice.
Europe: Elbrus, 18 510 ft – DONE
Antarctica: Vinson, 16 067 ft – DONE
Australia: Carstensz Pyramid a.k.a. Puncak Jaya 16 023 ft – DONE

All seven complete – what an adventure!

THE SEVEN SUMMITS

Completed all 7 out of 7

KILIMANJARO

ACONCAGUA

ELBRUS

DENALI

EVEREST

VINSON

CARSTENSZ

OTHER ADVENTURES

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King Jr.