The 7 summits come in two versions that differ by one mountain: Kosciuszko on Dick Bass's list, Carstensz Pyramid on Reinhold Messner's. Where each list came from, why both survive, and how to choose. Climb all eight and nobody can ask which you meant.
There are two lists of the 7 summits, and they differ by one mountain. The Bass list counts Kosciuszko, 2,228 metres, as the highest point of Australia. The Messner list counts Carstensz Pyramid, 4,884 metres, on the island of New Guinea. The other six peaks are the same on both.
This site keeps both lists, ranks neither above the other, and counts every finisher on each. On our record 453 climbers have completed the Bass list and 558 the Messner list. 248 have climbed all eight.
Dick Bass drew the first list
The idea came from two businessmen who were not professional climbers. Dick Bass was a Texas oilman and ski-resort owner. Frank Wells had just left the top of Warner Bros and would later run Disney. In 1983 they set out to climb the highest mountain on every continent. For Australia they chose the obvious summit: Kosciuszko, the highest point of the Australian mainland.
Wells stopped short of Everest. Bass reached the top on 30 April 1985, at 55, and became the first person to complete the set. The two men told the story in their book, written with Rick Ridgeway.
Reinhold Messner drew the second
Reinhold Messner looked at the same map and saw a different continent. Geologically, Australia and New Guinea sit on one continental shelf, and in the ice ages they were one landmass. On that reading the highest point of the continent is not Kosciuszko but Carstensz Pyramid, a limestone wall in the Indonesian province of Papua.
Messner had climbed Carstensz in 1971, years before anyone spoke of a set. By 1978 he held six of the seven. He climbed Kosciuszko in 1983 as well, and finished his own version on Vinson on 3 December 1986.
He was not the first to do it. Pat Morrow, a Canadian photographer, completed the Carstensz list earlier in 1986, and he was also the first to climb all eight.
Why both lists survive
Each list answers a fair question. The Bass list follows the continent as most atlases draw it, and it is the list that started the whole idea. The Messner list follows the continental shelf, and it is the harder climb by a wide margin.
The difference in effort is real. Kosciuszko is a walk of a few hours on a good path. Carstensz is a rock climb with abseils and a Tyrolean traverse, reached by helicopter, with permits that depend on the security situation and the season. In October 2026 wildfire smoke ended the autumn season before anyone reached the top.
That gap is why some climbers see the Bass list as the lighter set. Yet more finishers on our record have completed the Messner list than the Bass list, so the harder seventh peak has not put people off. Both views are reasonable, and neither needs the other to be wrong.
Which one should you climb
Our position is simple. Either list is a complete set of 7 summits, and a finisher of either is a finisher. If you can manage it, climb all eight, because then nobody can ask which list you meant.
In practice the choice often makes itself. Carstensz needs a licensed organiser, rock-climbing skills and a flexible calendar, since access can close for a season at short notice. Kosciuszko needs a free afternoon in Australia. Many climbers start with the six shared peaks, then decide on the seventh once they know how they feel about rock, cost and risk.
The Carstensz Pyramid guide covers access, permits and the climb. The Kosciuszko guide covers the walk, and the FAQ What about Kosciuszko? Dick Bass climbed it. has the short version of this argument.
The quieter dispute about Europe
Both lists agree on Elbrus, 5,642 metres, for Europe. Some climbers argue for Mont Blanc instead, because the border between Europe and Asia in the Caucasus can be drawn more than one way. Both lists settled on Elbrus long ago, and our FAQ Is Elbrus really in Europe, and why not Mont Blanc? explains why.
Where the lists live on this site
The 7 summits page sets out the eight peaks side by side. The finishers have a tab for each list: the Bass list and the Messner list. Every climber page shows which lists that person completed, with a tick for each.