Other Summits
Robert Alt leading the rope line on headwall, 2023
Vinson Massif | Antarctica
Photo courtesy of Jangbu Sherpa
What are the Seven Summits?
And why are they disputed?
Mountaineering as an international sport is in many ways ill-defined and has always been chock full of athletes who are idealists, dreamers, and free spirits (who are by nature nonconformists, eccentrics, and mavericks).
I will take this opportunity to summarize and expand upon the Encyclopedia Britannica’s interpretation of the Seven Summits:
Mountaineers more or less agree that the actual endeavor of climbing the Seven Summits—the highest peak on each of the world’s continents—is among the significant accomplishments of our sport.
It is much harder to get mountaineers to agree upon exactly which peaks make up the Seven Summits, and—unlike many international sports with official governing boards and overseeing bodies—we operate in the wild unsupervised.
The lack of unanimous geographical classification and perspective poses a problem. As an initial matter, there is the question of whether Europe is part of Asia or constitutes a continent unto itself.
If one accepts the notion of Eurasia as a singular continent, should there then be only six summits instead of seven? Fair question.
Another issue arises regarding Europe itself. If one accepts the Urals as the dividing line between Europe and Asia, is the highest point in Europe then Mont Blanc (the summit of which is in the French Alps), which is irrefutably in Europe? Or should it be Elbrus (Russia), which—depending on interpretation—just barely manages to escape classification as an Asian feature? The majority of international mountaineers count Russia’s Elbrus as the tallest mountain in Europe, for whatever that is worth.
Then, there is the question of whether Australia is classified in isolation as a continent unto itself (most Americans are taught and believe as much) or does that “continent” also include Oceania (Europeans tend to think so).
The two most popular lists followed by mountaineers attempting to complete the Seven Summits today are: 1) the Bass version compiled and climbed by American Richard Bass (who in 1985 became the first person to reach the summit of all seven), which draws the continental line at Australia proper and 2) the alternative and more challenging Messner option established by Italian Reinhold Messner (who is widely considered to be the greatest mountaineer of all time), which embraces Oceania and results in the latter’s list including Carstensz Pyramid/Puncak Jaya (in Western Papua, presently administered by Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea) in place of Australia’s Kosciuszko. Because neither of these groundbreaking mountaineers subscribed to the concept of Eurasia or seemed to have been bothered by the location of Elbrus, their Seven Summits lists are identical with the notable distinction regarding Oceania vs. Australia.
To be inclusive and accommodating of differing understandings, perhaps the safest option for an ambitious mountaineer is to recognize nine Seven Summits of the World and proceed accordingly.
It is my own goal to do all nine, and let the record indisputably reflect that I did not wish to contend with or quibble over this point about which of them officially do or do not count.
