Location: Antarctica
Height: 16,050 feet (4,892 meters)

Located within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains in the western part of the continent, Vinson Massif overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is characterized by extremely cold, harsh, and remote conditions. Discovered in 1935 by American Lincoln Ellsworth, its first successful summit occurred in 1966 by an expedition organized jointly by the American Alpine Club (AAC) and National Geographic Society. It was named for Carl Vinson, a U.S. congressman (D-GA) who championed the exploration of Antarctica.

Location: Western Papua (Indonesia) – Oceania
Height: 16,024 feet (4,884 meters)

Located in the Sudirman Range of the west-central highlands on the island of New Guinea. It was first summitted in 1962 by an expedition led by Austrian Heinrich Harrer (author of Seven Years in Tibet, 1953), New Zealander Philip Temple, Australian Russell Kippax, and Dutch Albertus Huizenga

Location: France – Europe
Height: 15,766 feet (4,805 meters)

It has been included as an alternative on certain Seven Summits of the World lists when geopolitics have prevented or made travel to Russia difficult.

Location: Australia
Height: 7,310 feet (2,228 meters)

Sited in southeastern New South Wales, Kosciuszko is acknowledged to be the least challenging of the Seven Summits. It was first summitted in 1840 by Polish explorer and geologist Paul Strzelecki, who in turn named the mountain after Polish patriot and hero of the American Revolution Tadeusz Kościuszko.

“Our friend and leader Robert Alt is on the mend after his attempt to summit Mount Elbrus in Southern Russia took a turn for the worse.”

“While attempting an ascent of Mount Elbrus in southern Russia, …[Alt was] stricken with high-altitude pulmonary edema, a potentially fatal illness. It took an international effort to secure his health and journey home,” writes The Columbus Dispatch.

Robert Alt returned home after a serious health issue he encountered while climbing in remote and rugged rural Russia, a dramatic event that was covered extensively in a report by Columbus, Ohio’s NBC4.