What are the Volcanic 7 summits?

The Volcanic 7 summits are the highest volcano on each continent. They are Ojos del Salado in South America, Kilimanjaro in Africa, Elbrus in Europe, Pico de Orizaba in North America, Damavand in Asia, Giluwe in Oceania and Sidley in Antarctica. Two of them, Kilimanjaro and Elbrus, are also on the 7 summits, so a 7 summits finisher is already two sevenths of the way there. Nobody had climbed all seven volcanoes before 2011, and around 70 to 80 people have done so since.

The seven volcanoes

• Ojos del Salado, 6,893 m22,615 ft, on the Argentina and Chile border: the highest volcano on earth and, by its normal route, a walk at altitude in a cold desert.

• Kilimanjaro, 5,895 m19,341 ft, Tanzania: the one everyone starts with.

• Elbrus, 5,642 m18,510 ft, Russia: a glacier walk with crampons.

• Pico de Orizaba, 5,636 m18,491 ft, Mexico: a glacier climb that is the usual next step after Kilimanjaro.

• Damavand, 5,610 m18,406 ft, Iran: a long walk with sulphur fumes near the top.

• Giluwe, 4,368 m14,331 ft, Papua New Guinea: a trek through the highlands, with no technical climbing.

• Sidley, 4,285 m14,058 ft, Antarctica: easy ground in the most remote place of the seven.

Why so few have finished

Sidley. It stands in Marie Byrd Land, far from any base, and the only practical way to reach it is a ski-plane flight from the Union Glacier camp that serves Vinson, which the Antarctic logistics operator sells as a short expedition each season. Until the first commercial trip in January 2011 the mountain had been climbed only by scientists, and it is still the most expensive and least climbed of the seven, which is why most finishers leave it for last.

The firsts

Mario Trimeri of Italy and Crina "Coco" Popescu of Romania, then 16, reached the top of Sidley together on 24 January 2011 and became the first to finish the list; Popescu is also the first woman and the youngest. The fastest completion recognised by Guinness World Records is 92 days, by Bhupathiraju Anmish Varma of India, who finished in January 2025. Caroline Leon of Australia set the fastest time by a woman, 183 days, in 2023.

Variants and relatives

Some climbers count Big Ben on Heard Island, an Australian territory, instead of Giluwe, by the same argument as Kosciuszko against Carstensz Pyramid, but the Giluwe list is the one in general use. The volcanoes are a separate challenge from the 7 summits, and this site's finisher lists record the 7 summits only. Other lists built on the same idea are described in What is the Explorers Grand Slam? and Why is K2 not one of the 7 summits?, which covers the second summits.