In the 1950's, an experienced mountaineer climbed a peak so high he needed an oxygen tank. That peak was mighty old Mount Everest, the highest point in the world. That mountaineer was the first known who climbed to the summit.
Ever since that climb, many people have been aiming to hike up the highest peak in each continent, from Elbrus in Europe to Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. The first person to do this was Richard Bass in 1985.
Mt. Kosciuszco in Australia is by far the easiest summit to climb, at 2,228 meters above. Not that Australia is as flat as a pancake. Australia includes majestic peaks, terrible cliffs, and wonderful valleys. At least, part of it does. Most of the rugged terrain is condensed off the east coast in a very broken mountain chain known as the Great Dividing Range, and there are some smaller ranges in the desert to the west. The most southerly of the mountains in the Great Dividing Range are the Snowy Mountains. Mount Kosciuszco is in southern New South Wales.
There are three ways up to the summit of the mountain. A trail from the resort of Thredbo provides the easiest route, but this route is very popular. The Summit Road from the tiny ski resort of Charlotte's Pass provides a less crowded and possibly more beautiful way. For adventurous hikers, the Main Range track is the longest and most exploratory of the walks.
Mount Kosciuszco may be the tallest point in Australia, but is by no means the tallest point in Oceania. There are points in New Zealand that are higher. Not including Sumatra, the tallest point in Oceania is in New Guinea and is called Puncak Jaya, at 4,844 meters. The strange volcanic peak rises out of the rainforest at the top of a mountain range. As the climb includes a trek through the rainforest and a scramble up incredibly steep cliffs, Puncak Jaya is one of the more demanding climbs listed here.
The US state of Colorado includes very high mountains. But, there are even higher mountains to the north. Mount McKinley is in Alaska and is 6,194 meters high. It is permanently icecapped. However, the climb is not very hard compared to some other of the Seven Summits. There are a few alpine lakes in the range that can be wonderful in the height of the summer and frozen anytime else.
Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America at 6,961 meters and the second highest of the Seven Summits. It lies in Argentina. Did you know that 99.95 percent of the mass of the atmosphere is contained in the lower tenth? The air gets thinner as you go higher. Something else also changes as you go higher, the boiling point of water. If less than about 30 percent sea level pressure is present, your blood boils and you die. Aconcagua has 40 percent sea level air pressure, pretty close. Of course, the summit is snowcapped.
Elbrus is a great rounded mountain in the Caucasus mountain range in European Russia. Mount Elbrus is a gigantic sprawling snowcapped volcano.
It appears in satellite as a big white spot of paint off the main range. The west peak is 5,642 meters above sea level. However, people argue whether or not the peak is in Europe.
Mt. Blanc is in the alps on the Italian border. It is 4,810 meters high. There are two ways to climb. One way is the most popular and involves hiking up a glacier.
The other way includes rock climbing up a sheer cliff. The mountain is the most easily accessible of the Seven Summits.
Speaking of accessibility, Vinson Massif is the most remote of the peaks listed here. It is in Antarctica. Vinson Massif lies on the antarctic peninsula and is irregular and jagged. It is the coldest of the seven peaks at -30 degrees centigrade in the summer and is 4,892 meters high. 1,500 climbers have reached the top, a record low for the Seven Summits.
Mount Everest may be the highest point, but not the tallest mountain. Mount Kilimanjaro rises far above the African plains around. It is a volcanic, triple - summit mountain the highest summit of which is the Uhuru peak at 5,895 meters. There are many routes up the mountain. For a hundred miles around, the massif is very easy to see.
Now let's move back to the highest point in the world. Mount Everest is located on the Nepal/China border and the most common route up it has a Nepal approach. People say that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to climb Mount Everest. However, that might not be true.
On 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine set out to climb the Northeast Ridge. They never returned. On 1999, a research expedition found Mallory's body at the bottom of a cliff face. Were the two climbing up or down the mountain when the tragedy happened? It is still a mystery.
Really, Mount Kilimanjaro is not the highest mountain. Mauna Kea, or the island of Hawaii, is. If Mount Everest was moved into the water next by Hawaii, it would appear as a really small and pointy rocky island.
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