The Seven Summits: The Ultimate Mountaineering Challenge Explained

Okay, so as I mentioned, we are talking about The Seven Summits, but what are The Seven Summits? On paper, they sound quite straightforward.

So you're taking each continent, you're finding the highest mountain, and you climb it.

You repeat that seven times, and that's it.

You have climbed the seven summits, the highest point on each continent.

Job done.

But in reality, it's not that simple.

It's very, very complicated because as soon as the idea started to become popular, lots of climbers started arguing.

And it wasn't about how difficult the mountains were.

It wasn't about which one was colder.

But they all started arguing over the geography.

And actually, that debate still hasn't completely gone away.

So let's begin with the mountains themselves.

If you're following what's known as the Messner list, which is now the version that's recognized by the most mountaineers, then the seven summits are as follows.

You've got Mount Everest, which is in Nepal.

That's the highest mountain in Asia.

It sits at 8,849 meters or, if you're working in feet, 29,032 feet.

It is the highest mountain on Earth, and that is the one that everyone knows.

But what you might not know is that now more than 8,000 people have reached its summit.

If you've listened to my earlier episodes, we'll have talked about Mallory and Irvine, we'll have talked about Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.

Those were the first people to attempt and to successfully climb Mount Everest.

Now 8,000 people have reached its summit.

Now, next on the list we have Aconcagua, which is in Argentina.

It's 6,961 meters.

It's the highest mountain in South America, the highest mountain outside of Asia, and that is one of the most coveted mountains of the seven summits.

And although it's technically a non-technical climb via the normal route, the altitude makes it a serious challenge.

Okay, so as I mentioned, we are talking about The Seven Summits, but what are The Seven Summits? On paper, they sound quite straightforward.

So you're taking each continent, you're finding the highest mountain, and you climb it.

You repeat that seven times, and that's it.

You have climbed the seven summits, the highest point on each continent.

Job done.

But in reality, it's not that simple.

It's very, very complicated because as soon as the idea started to become popular, lots of climbers started arguing.

And it wasn't about how difficult the mountains were.

It wasn't about which one was colder.

But they all started arguing over the geography.

And actually, that debate still hasn't completely gone away.

So let's begin with the mountains themselves.

If you're following what's known as the Messner list, which is now the version that's recognized by the most mountaineers, then the seven summits are as follows.

You've got Mount Everest, which is in Nepal.

That's the highest mountain in Asia.

It sits at 8,849 meters or, if you're working in feet, 29,032 feet.

It is the highest mountain on Earth, and that is the one that everyone knows.

But what you might not know is that now more than 8,000 people have reached its summit.

If you've listened to my earlier episodes, we'll have talked about Mallory and Irvine, we'll have talked about Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.

Those were the first people to attempt and to successfully climb Mount Everest.

Now 8,000 people have reached its summit.

Now, next on the list we have Aconcagua, which is in Argentina.

It's 6,961 meters.

It's the highest mountain in South America, the highest mountain outside of Asia, and that is one of the most coveted mountains of the seven summits.

And although it's technically a non-technical climb via the normal route, the altitude makes it a serious challenge.