What is the 7 summits challenge?

The 7 summits challenge is to climb the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. As of 7 november 2026, 813 people have done it, as recorded here on 7summits.com. It is not an event with an organiser. There is no start date, no entry fee and no time limit, and a climber who finishes sends in their dates to join the finisher lists.

The seven mountains

• Everest, Asia, 8,849 m29.032 ft
• Aconcagua, South America, 6,961 m22.838 ft
• Denali, North America, 6,190 m20.308 ft
• Kilimanjaro, Africa, 5,895 m19.341 ft
• Elbrus, Europe, 5,642 m18.510 ft
• Vinson, Antarctica, 4,892 m16.050 ft
• Carstensz Pyramid, 4,884 m16.024 ft, or Kosciuszko, 2,228 m7.310 ft, for Australia and Oceania

Why there are two versions

The seventh mountain depends on where you draw Australia's continent. Dick Bass, who finished first in 1985, counted Kosciuszko, the highest point of mainland Australia. Reinhold Messner counted Carstensz Pyramid in New Guinea, the highest point of the wider continent, and Pat Morrow was the first to finish that version, in 1986. The site keeps both lists: 475 people on the Kosciuszko list, 575 on the Carstensz Pyramid list and 265 on both, all 8 summits. What about Kosciuszko? has the argument.

How hard it is

By their normal routes, Everest is the hardest, then Denali and Carstensz Pyramid, then Aconcagua and Vinson, then Kilimanjaro and Elbrus, with Kosciuszko a walk. Carstensz Pyramid is the only real rock climb, and Denali and Vinson mean days of roped glacier travel; on the others, altitude and cold are the harder test. The 7 summits in order of difficulty sets out the main danger on each, and Which skills do the 7 summits need? covers learning them.

Cost, time and order

What the 7 summits cost gives the range, guided or independent, and In what order should I climb the 7 summits? suggests a sequence. How long a round takes varies from months to decades; the statistics page measures it from the recorded summit dates, and the fastest anyone has climbed the 7 summits has the records.

Getting on the list

Applying is free and always has been. A finisher sends the dates and evidence for each summit through the finisher application, and every record is checked before it is published.