Makalu from the Third Step on Everest, just after sunrise
Routes, seasons, permits, operators and what each peak actually asks of you.
Every finisher on our record, searchable by name, country, year and route.
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7 continents, but two defensible answers for Australasia, which is why the full set is 8 mountains, not 7. Each one has its own guide.
'Everest: The Other Side' gets a 30 October releaseThe IMAX documentary following ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson on the north side of Everest opens in theatres…
Bass or Messner: two lists of the 7 summits, and why both countThe 7 summits come in two versions that differ by one mountain: Kosciuszko on Dick Bass's list, Carstensz Pyramid on…
This week on the 7 summits: 12–18 October 2026Aconcagua bans high-risk sports in its busiest weeks, and wildfire smoke ends the Carstensz Pyramid season.
The Kangshung Face: what the record holds about Everest's eastern wallEverest's Kangshung Face rises around 3,350 metres from the Kangshung Glacier to the summit and was first climbed by an…Which one counts? Two people drew the list differently, so we record both and say which one each finisher completed.
Dick Bass took Kosciuszko, the highest point of mainland Australia and a walk-up. It is the older list, and the one most finishers claim.
Reinhold Messner argued the continent is Australasia, which makes Carstensz Pyramid the peak: a technical rock climb in Papua, and a far harder day.
Film of the week
Book of the week
Dick Bass's own account of the climbs that created the list almost everyone still counts by. Read it and the Bass-versus-Messner argument stops being trivia.
Each of these was checked by hand before it appeared here.
Completed both lists Provisional approval: more details needed
Behind every line in the record is someone who spent years, and usually a good deal more than money, getting there.
Victor Lance Vescovo
Hall Wendel Jr.
Hugh Morton
Pat Morrow
Scott Cutlan
Ramón Portilla
Geoff Tabin
Bernard Voyer
Melissa Bowerman
Pavel Bem
Karla Wheelock
Yuriy Gurgov
Nikol Kovalchuk
Bob Hoffman
Stuart Smith
Samuel Urech
Haruhisa Watanabe
Maxim Shakirov
Alan Keller
Katrina Follows
David Buchwald
Jason Rodi
Max Chaya
Leszek CichyThe 7 summits are the highest mountains of the seven continents: Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson and, depending on which list you follow, Carstensz Pyramid or Kosciuszko. This site holds a guide to each of the eight, the record of everyone who has climbed them all, and the companies that take people up.
What are the 7 summits? →Send us your summit dates and we will check them against operators, photographs and what is already on file. It costs nothing, and your entry stays yours to correct.
