The following article lists the Seven Summits and Seven Second Summits. Climbing each of the summits is a mountaineering challenge.
Seven First Summits
The Seven Summits are the tallest mountains on each continent. The summits are:
- 1 Mount Everest, Asia, 8,848 m
- 2 Aconcagua, South America, 6,961 m
- 3 Denali, North America, 6,194 m
- 4 Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa, 5,895 m
- 5 Elbrus, Europe, 5,642 m
- 6 Vinson, Antarctica, 4,892 m
Australia's tallest mountain, 7 Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 m), was on the original Seven Summits list. As this mountain is considered a rather trivial challenge, 8 Puncak Jaya on New Guinea (4,884 m) is considered to represent Oceania.
9 Mont Blanc (4,810 m) is occasionally regarded as Europe's tallest mountain, as Elbrus, and nearby peaks, are on different sides of the Europe-Asia border, depending on definition. However, the mountain is not on any of the Seven Summits lists. It is however a classic in mountaineering, and an alternative to Elbrus, due to the often unstable political situation in the North Caucasus.
Seven Second Summits
Some mountaineers attempt to climb the second highest peak on each continent. While the peaks are at lower altitudes than the Seven Summits, some of them are more technically difficult, so the Second Summits are considered a greater mountaineering challenge than the Seven Summits.
- 1 K2, Asia, 8,611 m
- 2 Ojos del Salado, South America, 6,893 m; highest volcano of the Earth
- 3 Mount Logan, North America, 5,959 m
- 4 Dykh-Tau, Europe, 5,205 m
- 5 Mount Kenya, Africa, 5,199 m
- 6 Mount Tyree, Antarctica, 4,852 m
Once again, there's some disagreement about the seventh mountain on the list. If you prefer a mountain in Australia, it's 7 Mount Townsend (2,209 m); otherwise, it's 8 Puncak Mandala (4,760 m) in Indonesia.
Those who consider Mont Blanc the tallest mountain in Europe would consider 9 Monte Rosa (4,634 m; Switzerland's tallest mountain) to be the second tallest.