The Seven Summits
Mount Everest
Asia • 8,848m
The highest mountain in the world above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. First summited in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
Aconcagua
S. America • 6,960m
The highest mountain in the Americas and the highest outside of Asia. Located in the Andes mountain range in Argentina. Known for extremely severe winds.
Denali
N. America • 6,190m
Located in Alaska, it is the highest mountain peak in North America. Known for its extreme isolation and severe weather, making it a grueling expedition.
Kilimanjaro
Africa • 5,895m
A dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest single free-standing mountain in the world. Requires no technical climbing, but altitude sickness is a major risk.
Born of Tectonics
Mountains are the violent, magnificent result of Earth's internal mechanics. The lithosphere is broken into massive tectonic plates that float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere below.
When these immense plates collide, the colossal pressure forces the earth's crust to buckle, fold, and thrust upward. The Himalayas, home to the world's highest peaks, were formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates approximately 50 million years ago.
The Death Zone
ALTITUDE: > 8,000 meters (26,000 ft)
At this extreme altitude, the atmospheric pressure is so low that there is not enough oxygen to sustain human life. The body slowly begins to die, degrading faster than it can adapt. Climbers must utilize supplemental oxygen and minimize time spent in this zone.
Legendary Expeditions
ARCHIVE OF HUMAN ENDURANCE
First Ascent of Everest
British expedition culminating in New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay becoming the first individuals to reach the summit of Mount Everest, utilizing the South Col route and supplemental oxygen.
Everest Without Oxygen
Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler shocked the medical and mountaineering communities by successfully reaching the summit of Mount Everest entirely without the use of supplemental oxygen, proving it was biologically possible.
K2 Winter Summit
A team of ten Nepali climbers made history by completing the first-ever winter ascent of K2, the world's second-highest and arguably deadliest mountain. They waited below the summit to cross the finish line singing the Nepalese national anthem together.
Plan Your Expedition
COMPLETE QUIZZES TO GAIN ELEVATION [METERS]