The Seven Summits

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven continents and together are considered one of the highest mountaineering achievements one can attain. While all the mountains on the list are not technically difficult, summiting each comes with its own challenges and experiences. The Seven Summits were first conquered by Richard Bass on April 30^th, 1985 and included Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Kosciuszko, Elbrus, Denali, Vinson and of course Everest. However another mountaineer by the name of Reinhold Messner coined a new list, the Messner List, replacing Kosciuszko with Puncak Jaya (a.k.a. The Carstensz Pyramid) in Indonesia. This new list was considered to be more challenging and was officially completed by Pat Morrow in May 1986, followed later that year by Messner.

While both lists are impressive, we will attempting to complete the Bass List as it is the original Seven Summits list and Richard Bass co-founded one of our all-time favorite ski resorts, Snowbird, located just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. Below you can find detailed information about each mountain as well as links to our personal experiences as we complete this journey.

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – Africa
Aconcagua, Argentina – South America
Kosciuszko, Australia – Oceana
Elbrus, Russia – Europe
Denali, Alaska – North America
Vinson, Antarctica – Antarctica
Everest, Nepal – Asia