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 1980s by Richard Bass (Bass et al 1986).

Seven Summits definitions

The Seven Summits on an Elevation World Map. The picture actually shows nine possible summits according to the different definitions of continental borders

Due to different interpretations of continental borders (geographical, 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 (continuous landmass surrounded 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 as mainland Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, resulting in New Guinea's Carstensz Pyramid (4,884 m) being its highest summit.

Europe

The generally accepted highest summit in Europe is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in the Caucasus. This is the accepted summit when the Caucasus mountains are included within Europe's boundaries. The issue is disputed, with some people considering Mont Blanc (4,808 m) to be 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 Messner list includes Mont Blanc. From a mountaineering point of view the Messner list is the more challenging one. Climbing Carstensz Pyramid has the character of an expedition, whereas the ascent of Kosciuszko is an easy hike. Indeed, Pat Morrow used this argument to defended his choice to adhere to the Messner list. 'Being a climber first and a collector second, I felt strongly that Carstensz Pyramid, the highest mountain in Australasia … was a true mountaineer’s objective.'

Mountaineering challenge

The mountaineering challenge to climb the Seven Summits is traditionally based on either the Bass or the Messner list. It is considered that a lot of the mountaineers who completed the Seven Summits would have climbed Mont Blanc as well. [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 the complete Australian continent for mainland Australia. Pat Morrow first met Messner's challenge, finishing with climbing Carstensz Pyramid on May 7, 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 was 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[2]
• The world record for the Carstensz Pyramid list is 187 Days, by Canadian climber Daniel Griffith in 2006. Griffith completed the summits in the following order: Everest-May 24, McKinley-June 15, Elbrus-July 4, Carstensz Pyramid-Sep 24, Kilimanjaro-Oct 3, Aconcagua-Oct 20 and Vinson-Nov 27[3].

Criticism of the Seven Summits challenge

Many mountain climbers, beyond these one hundred and fifty, aspire to complete the seven ascents of one or both of these lists, but the expense, the demands placed on fitness, the physical hardship and the dangers involved are often greater than imagined. 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.^{[citation needed]}

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, knowns as the Seven Second Summits. This is especially true for Asia, as K2 (8,611 m) demands greater technical climbing skills than Everest (8,848 m), while altitude-related factors such as the thinness of the atmosphere, high winds and low temperatures remain much the same. Some of those completing the seven ascents are aware of the magnitude of the challange. In 2000, in a forward to Steve Bell et al., Seven Summits, Morrow opined with humility '[t]he only reason Reinhold [Messner] wasn’t the first person to complete the seven was that he was too busy gambolling up the 14 tallest mountains in the world.'

References

• Bell, Steve, et al. (2000). Seven Summits. Mitchell Beazley . ISBN 0-8272-2676-2.
• Bass, Dick, Frank Wells, Rick Ridgeway (1986). Seven Summits. Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-51312-1.
• Morrow, Patrick (1986). Beyond Everest - Quest For the Seven Summits. Camden House. ISBN 0-920656-46-3.
• Krakauer, Jon (1997). Into thin Air. Villard. ISBN 0-385-49208-1.
• The Seven Summits. adventurestats.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-08.
• Statistics, Facts & figures of all 7summiteers!. 7summits.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-09.
• Carstensz Pyramid, the Summit of Oceania. 7summits.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-08.

External links

• 7summits.com, voluminous information within commercial site

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