The Seven Summits, or the mountain ranges with the highest peaks on each of the seven continents, is a challenge to all those who consider themselves mountaineers.
Mount Everest, Asia, 29,029 feet
Also called Mount Chomolungma, Mount Everest is located in Nepal and is the highest elevation in the world. From standard climbing routes that pass through the “death zone” – altitudes higher than 26,246 feet – corpses can be seen in their unaltered positions.
Aconcagua, South America, 22,841 feet
This mountain, located in the Andes mountain range, is located in Argentina with its summit 15 kilometers from the border with Chile. Aconcagua was famously used in a Disney cartoon, in which it was made to be a terrorizing character.
Mount McKinley, North America, 20,327 feet
This Alaskan Mountain, also referred to as Denali, is known for its extreme temperatures – which have been recorded as being as low as -75.5 °F (-59.7 °C) with a windchill of -118.1 °F (-83.4 °C).
Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa, 19,341 feet
In ancient Swahili, Kilima means “hill, little mountain” and Njaro meaning “white” or “shining.” The amount of ice on the summit of Kibo has decreased by over 90% between 1993 and 2000, with scientists predicting that the seasonal ice may disappear completely by 2022.
Vinson Massif, Antarctica, 16,050 feet
A massif is “a section of a planet’s crust that is demarcated by faults and flexures.” Vinson Massif is located about 150 miles from the South Pole, and was first climbed by the American Alpine club in 1963, which is quite recent in history due to its particularly hazardous conditions.
Carstensz Pyramid, Oceania, 16,024 feet
This mountain, located in Indonesia, is also called Mount Carstensz or Puncak Jaya. There is a government permit required for access to the summit and is home to one of the world’s largest mines.
Mount Elbrus, Europe, 18,510 feet
Mount Elbrus mountain has many names (some of which are of Turkic, Georgian and Perso-Arabic in origin) because of its location on the border of Asia and Europe. Mount Elbrus is actually an inactive volcano, whose last eruption took place between 0 and 100 AD.