Robert Alt arrives in Lukla via alternative transportation and treks through several villages in the Khumbu Valley to reach Tengboche.

A personal message Robert Alt wrote from his expedition in Antarctica to The Buckeye Institute’s supporters on December 29, 2022, explaining the inspirational role his late father plays in his mountain climbing.

Location: Nepal/Tibet – Asia
Height: 29,032 feet (8,848 meters)

First summitted in 1953 by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, Everest has since garnered fame not just for its astounding height, but for its harsh conditions including avalanches, extreme weather, and—of course—altitude sickness. Its summit crowns the Himalaya and straddles the border between Nepal and Tibet (the latter being administered as an Autonomous Region of China) and can be approached from either side.

Location: Argentina – South America
Height: 22,841 feet (6,961 meters)

As the highest peak outside of Asia, Aconcagua is also the tallest mountain in the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. It is situated close to the Chilean border in Mendoza Province, and its precise elevation has been a source of contention for more than a century. It was first summitted in 1897 by Swiss climber Matthias Zurbriggen.

Location: Alaska, United States of America – North America
Height: 20,310 feet (6,190 meters)

Renowned for stunning grandeur and severe weather conditions, Denali/McKinley remains a key site in the study of glaciology—given its majestic ice cap. Its first verified summit was in 1913 by Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum.

Location: Tanzania – Africa
Height: 19,341 feet (5,895 meters)

Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano located near the Kenyan border. Its distinctive shape and ecosystems ranging from lush rainforest to arctic desert create a rich experience for climbers. It was first summited in 1889 by German Hans Meyer and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller.

Location: Russia – Europe (or Eurasia, depending how you categorize it)
Height: 18,510 feet (5,642 meters)

Situated in the Caucasus in southwestern Russia, not far from the Georgia border, this extinct volcano is covered by 22 glaciers. The taller cone of its dual peaks was first reached in 1874 by a British expedition led by Swiss guide Peter Knubel.

Location: Antarctica
Height: 16,050 feet (4,892 meters)

Located within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains in the western part of the continent, Vinson Massif overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is characterized by extremely cold, harsh, and remote conditions. Discovered in 1935 by American Lincoln Ellsworth, its first successful summit occurred in 1966 by an expedition organized jointly by the American Alpine Club (AAC) and National Geographic Society. It was named for Carl Vinson, a U.S. congressman (D-GA) who championed the exploration of Antarctica.

Location: Western Papua (Indonesia) – Oceania
Height: 16,024 feet (4,884 meters)

Located in the Sudirman Range of the west-central highlands on the island of New Guinea. It was first summitted in 1962 by an expedition led by Austrian Heinrich Harrer (author of Seven Years in Tibet, 1953), New Zealander Philip Temple, Australian Russell Kippax, and Dutch Albertus Huizenga

Location: France – Europe
Height: 15,766 feet (4,805 meters)

It has been included as an alternative on certain Seven Summits of the World lists when geopolitics have prevented or made travel to Russia difficult.

Location: Australia
Height: 7,310 feet (2,228 meters)

Sited in southeastern New South Wales, Kosciuszko is acknowledged to be the least challenging of the Seven Summits. It was first summitted in 1840 by Polish explorer and geologist Paul Strzelecki, who in turn named the mountain after Polish patriot and hero of the American Revolution Tadeusz Kościuszko.

“Our friend and leader Robert Alt is on the mend after his attempt to summit Mount Elbrus in Southern Russia took a turn for the worse.”

“While attempting an ascent of Mount Elbrus in southern Russia, …[Alt was] stricken with high-altitude pulmonary edema, a potentially fatal illness. It took an international effort to secure his health and journey home,” writes The Columbus Dispatch.

Robert Alt returned home after a serious health issue he encountered while climbing in remote and rugged rural Russia, a dramatic event that was covered extensively in a report by Columbus, Ohio’s NBC4.