Following in Messner's Footsteps

Next to eco-tourism, adventure travel is taking the world by storm. With more companies booking tours to out-of-the-way places, and more products hitting the market making these tasks easier to complete, activities like mountaineering or alpining are growing in popularity.

Climbing mountains is serious business. Many people die each year from being ill prepared, or having accidents.
All the same, mountain climbing remains a trendy new activity for those who want to experience something other people only dream about.

If you have serious thoughts about climbing one of the Seven Summits - one of the top peaks of any of the seven continents - you should start training beforehand with a reputable climbing company. This is one sport where the training wheels are OFF. In the meantime, there is some haggling over which summits count.

Top Peaks in the World?

For those who've decided to take the Seven Summit challenge generally go by the list of Reinhold Messner, a mountaineer and explorer who was the first to climb all 14 peaks in the world 8,000+ meters above sea level. Also one of the first men to climb Everest without an oxygen tank, and the first solo Everest climb. (He also lost a brother while climbing another mountain.)

Other sources have used the list by Richard Bass, the first man to climb all Seven Summits, and at one time the oldest man to have climbed Everest. (A Japanese man in his 70's recently took that title.)

Their opinions differ only on one region - Oceania. Bass claims the 2,228 m. peak in Australia, Kosciuszko, is a more appropriate choice than Messner's Carstensz Pyramid in New Guinea, based on the general acceptance of Indonesia (of which New Guinea is a province) being part of Asia. Many climbers dislike the idea of Kosciuszko being on the list however, as its more a hike to the top and not really an intensive or technical affair.

In any event, they agree on the other six peaks. The following are regarded as the tallest mountains in the world (and as such, are some of the most popular for climbing):

AFRICA

Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at 5,895 m. (19, 341 ft)

ANTARCTICA

Vinson Massif claimed by Chili at 4,892 m. (16, 050 ft)

AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA

Kosciuszko in Australia at 2228 m. (7, 310 ft)
or
Carstensz Pyramid in New Guinea, Indonesia at 4,884 m. (16, 024 ft)

ASIA

Mount Everest in Nepal, China at 8,848 m. (29,029 ft)

EUROPE

Elbrus in Russia at 5,642 m. (18,510 ft)

NORTH AMERICA

Denali in the U.S.A. at 6,194 m. (20,322 ft)

SOUTH AMERICA

Aconcagua in Argentina at 6,962 m. (22,841 ft)

Critics of the Seven Summit challenge worry that mountain climbers and tourist companies will use the challenge as motivation to push people further than they're ready to go. Beginners should stick to peaks lower than 13,000 ft. and continue to work on their physical health and knowledge of climbing. It takes more than sheer muscle to make it up Kilimanjaro alive. Just make sure you don’t skimp on travel insurance!

** Information accurate at time of writing. May be changed at sole discretion of service/product provider.