Seven Summits: The Quest to Reach the Highest Point on Every Continent

FROM OUR EDITORS

The quest to conquer the so-called Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each of the seven continents, has become an obsession among climbers. As Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air demonstrates, the dream of this achievement sometimes draws mountaineers into life-threatening situations. Fortunately, for most of us, this lavish pictorial solves that problem. Organized by mountain, Seven Summits offers first-person essays about mastering each peak. The essays are well-chosen, featuring not only master climbers such as Viki Groselji, Ronald and Brigitte Muir, but businessmen and other part-time enthusiasts with relatively little experience. The photographs, all two hundred & eighty of them, are ravishing, and the forewords by Dick Bass and Pat Morrow set the stage nicely for your Walter Mitty triumph.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This book conveys the pain, the ecstasy, and the tragedy involved in realising the dream, bringing together for the first time gripping first-hand accounts and photographs from those who have stood on top of all the continents of the world.

Mountaineers thrive on challenge: the desire to stand on top of the highest point on each of the seven continents has fired the imagination of climbing enthusiasts of all levels from around the globe.

Completion of this amazing feat, known as the Seven Summits, demands much of the climber -- to travel to the remote and exotic corners of the world, scale the heights of mountain giants such as Everest and McKinley, and face extreme weather conditions and hostile environments for long periods over many years.

Though the mountains can present deadly conditions and arduous climbs, they are attainable, with appropriate assistance and guidance, by the amateur climber as well as the highly skilled professional. Tales from both ends of the spectrum are contained in the book -- from a wealthy American businessman with little previous experience to arguably the finest alpine climber in the world -- all ensnared by the dream and stretched to the limits.

The book is organized by mountain and looks at the character and history of each with notable ascents. Then, by means of gripping diaries and essays, the climbers reveal the conditions in which they climbed, the decisions they made, and the exhilaration and danger they experienced along the way. All successful seven summiteers are listed together with details of record holders and other amazing facts and figures.

For anyone interested in the outdoors and adventure against the elements, whether amateur climber, professional guide, or armchair enthusiast, Seven Summits provides a compelling and personal look at the heroism of these climbers and the mountains that inspired them.

More than 280 color photographs and illustrations

Climbing the world's Seven Summits, the highest peak of each continent, has become one of the most sought-after achievements of the modern mountaineering age.

Everest
Aconcagua
McKinley
Kilimanjaro
Elbrus
Vinson
Kosciuszko/Carstensz