Seven Summits? Why Not Ten? Trivia Quiz

With an elevation of 8,848 m (29,031 ft), the world's highest mountain above sea level lies on the border between Nepal and China, in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. Previously known as Peak XV, it was named after British surveyor Sir George Everest; it is, however, called "Chomolungma" ("holy mother") in Tibetan, and "Sagarmatha" ("head in the sky") in Nepali.

Mount Everest was first successfully summited by New Zealand explorer Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who reached the top of the mountain on 29 May 1953. The 1924 expedition by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine may have also reached the summit, but neither man returned from the attempt: Mallory's body was eventually found in 1999, while Irvine's has not been recovered so far. Mount Everest is one of the world's most popular climbing destinations, but also one of the most dangerous because of its unpredictable weather, altitude sickness, and the constant threat of avalanches. Since the first recorded deaths in 1922, the mountain has claimed over 310 lives. Everest's attractiveness to climbers and tourists has also caused serious waste management problems, shared by many other iconic peaks.

The concept of the Seven Summits was created by American businessman and mountaineer Richard Bass, who in 1985 completed the successful climb of all the highest peaks in the seven continents by ascending Everest after two unsuccessful attempts. The so-called "Bass list" is one of the two most commonly accepted definitions of the Seven Summits - the other being the Messner list, compiled by Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner.

Located in Argentina's Mendoza Province, about 15 km (9 mi) from the border with Chile, Aconcagua is part of the Cordillera Principal of the Andes mountain range. With its elevation of 6,961 m (22,838 ft), it is the highest peak in South America, and the highest mountain outside Asia. The origin of its name is uncertain, and has been variously interpreted as "sentinel of stone" or "white sentinel" in Quechua, or "white ravine" in Aymara. Aconcagua was sacred to the Incas, who built shrines and performed human sacrifices there. The frozen mummy of a seven-year-old child, surrounded by grave goods, was found at the altitude of 5,300 m (17,400 ft) in 1985.

Unlike Everest or the notoriously deadly K2, Aconcagua is considered a relatively easy climb in a technical sense - which has led many climbers to underestimate the hazards of altitude sickness and cold weather, and caused many deaths. Aconcagua was first summited on 14 January 1897 by Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen, who was a member of a European expedition led by British-American mountaineer Edward FitzGerald.

Formerly known as Mount McKinley, Denali ("high mountain" in Koyukon Athabascan) is the highest peak in North America, located in the interior of the US state of Alaska, in the Alaska Range. It stands at an elevation of 6,190 m (20,310 ft); it is taller than Everest if measured from base to peak. The mountain, which lies within Denali National Park and Preserve (established in 1917), was named in 1896 by a gold prospector in support of William McKinley - at the time a presidential candidate. The name "Mount McKinley" was used officially from 1917 to 2015, when the current name was adopted.

After a number of unsuccessful attempts in the early 1900s, Denali was first summited on 7 June 1913 by climbers Walter Harper, Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, and Robert Tatum. The first ascent claimed in 1903 by American explorer Frederick Cook has been discredited due to lack of evidence. As the third-highest of the Seven Summits, Denali attracts many climbers, though the ascent is slow and potentially very dangerous: accidents occur regularly, and a number of them prove fatal.

Africa's highest peak at 5,895 m (19,341 ft), Kilimanjaro (a name of uncertain origin, though believed to mean "white mountain" in Swahili) is located in the eponymous region of northeastern Tanzania, near the border with Kenya. It is a dormant stratovolcano with three distinct cones - Kibo (the highest, and the only potentially active one), Mawenzi, and Shira. Kilimanjaro's ice cap is unfortunately diminishing at a rapid rate, but still remarkable because of the mountain's location just south of the Equator. The glacier covering the mountain is referenced in Ernest Hemingway's short story, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" (1936) - hence the hint.

In the second half of the 19th century there were multiple attempts by Europeans to climb Kilimanjaro, foiled by the weather and the ice. The first successful ascent of the mountain occurred on 6 October 1889, when German geologist Hans Meyer and Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller reached the highest summit of Kibo (now named Uhuru Peak), realizing that it had a crater. Kilimanjaro and the surrounding National Park draw thousands of visitors every year. There are six routes that allow hikers to reach the mountain's summit; the ascent is considered relatively easy, though altitude sickness and low temperatures are a constant danger.

Located in the western Caucasus, in the Russian Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Mount Elbrus is now generally considered Europe's highest peak, with an elevation of 5,642 m (18,510 ft). Like Kilimanjaro, Elbrus is a dormant volcano, with two summits - the western one being the highest of the two - and the highest stratovolcano in Eurasia. The meaning of the mountain's name is still debated, though it is believed to derive from the name of a legendary mountain of ancient Iranian mythology. In the Turkic languages spoken in the north Caucasus, it is called "Mingi Taw", meaning "eternal mountain".

The lower of Elbrus's two summits was first ascended in 1829 by a Circassian guide named Khillar Khachirov, and the higher in 1874 by an English expedition led by mountaineer F. Crauford Grove. In recent times, the mountain has become an important tourist destination for Russians, though visitors from other countries (especially the US) are discouraged from climbing the mountain due to the political instability of the region. The climb, though considered relatively easy from a technical point of view, can be risky because of the altitude and frequent strong winds.

While both the Bass and the Messner lists agree with naming Elbrus the highest peak in Europe, other lists place the mountain in Asia rather than Europe, because it lies south of the Kuma-Manych Depression, the traditional geological border between the two continents. If, on the other hand, the Greater Caucasus watershed is used as a reference, then Elbrus lies wholly within Europe.

Located in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, in western Antarctica, Vinson Massif lies about 1,200 km (750 mi) from the South Pole. With an elevation of 4,892 m (16,050 ft), Vinson is 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8 mi) wide, and completely covered by snow and ice. The territory within which the massif is located is claimed by Chile. Vinson Massif was named after US statesman Carl Vinson, who was a keen supporter of Antarctic research.

Due to its remote location, it is not surprising that Vinson Massif was the last of the Seven Summits to be climbed. An expedition led by American climber and environmentalist Nicholas B. Clinch ascended the mountain in December 1966. Mount Vinson, however, is not a particularly difficult mountain to climb, though guided expeditions tend to be very expensive. The main hazards are the cold (the average summer temperature being -30 ºC/-20 ºF) and the high winds that often blow in Antarctica.

Located on the island of New Guinea, in the Surdiman Range of Central Papua (a province of Indonesia), Puncak Jaya stands at an elevation of 4,884 m (16,024 ft) - the highest mountain peak located on an island. The mountain was originally named Carstensz Pyramid, after Dutch explorer Jan Carstenszoon, who first sighted it in 1623; renamed "Sukarno Peak" in 1963, the mountain was subsequently given the Indonesian name of Puncak Jaya ("glorious peak"). Because of its height, and in spite of its proximity to the Equator, there are glaciers on the slopes of Puncak Jaya, though they are swiftly retreating.

Shrouded by dense jungle, the towering granite pyramid with its steep walls is one of the world's hardest mountains to climb. The constantly rainy weather, paired with lack of infrastructure and political instability, compound the mountain's difficult reputation. In 1936, a Dutch expedition reached the top of Ngga Pulu, at the time the mountain's highest summit. The first successful ascent of Puncak Jaya's currently highest summit, by an expedition led by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer (the author of the autobiographical book "Seven Years in Tibet"), dates from 1962.

Unlike the Bass list, the Messner list has Puncak Jaya as the highest peak in Australia, as the Sahul Shelf where New Guinea lies is part of the Australian continental shelf.

For a long time, Mont Blanc ("Monte Bianco" in Italian - both names meaning "white mountain") was considered Europe's highest peak, with its elevation of 4,807.81 m (15,773.7 ft). In more recent times, however, the beautiful Alpine massif has lost its status to Mount Elbrus - though there are mountaineers that disagree with the latter's location in Europe rather than Asia. Interestingly, the definition of the Seven Summits that uses tectonic plates as a reference includes neither Elbrus nor Mont Blanc, as Everest is the highest mountain on the Eurasian Plate.

The highest peak in the Alps and Western Europe, Mont Blanc lies on the border between France and Italy, and ownership of the summit has been long disputed between the two countries. The mountain's summit is covered by a thick dome of snow and ice: one of its glaciers, the third-largest in the Alps, bears the descriptive name of "Mer de Glace" ("sea of ice"). Nicknamed "the roof of Europe", Mont Blanc has long been a cultural icon, as well as a highly desirable climbing destination. It was first summited in 1786 by Michel Paccard and Jacques Balmat, both from the historical region of Savoy, at the time part of the Kingdom of Sardinia: their successful ascent is traditionally viewed as the start of modern mountaineering. Now an average 20,000 climbers ascend the summit every year, and fatal incidents occur regularly.

Mont Blanc is also the name of a rather decadent Italian-French dessert of sweetened chestnut purée, meringue, and whipped cream.

Although the inclusion of Mauna Kea ("white mountain" in Hawaiian), an active shield volcano located on the island of Hawai'i, may come as a surprise, it is not as odd as it looks. Mauna Kea's elevation above sea level is 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft); however, the mountain extends for about 6,000 m (19,700 ft) below the surface of the sea, for a total height of 10,210 m (33,500 ft) - considerably higher than Everest. In addition, in the tectonic version of the Seven Summits list, Mauna Kea appears as the highest mountain on the Pacific Plate. Though it last erupted about 4,600 years ago, Mauna Kea is expected to erupt again at some time in the future. Like the other four volcanoes located on Hawai'i, the mountain is revered as holy in the Hawaiian religion.

Because of its shape, Mauna Kea is considerably easier to climb than most of the mountains mentioned in this quiz. Since the summit was sacred, and thus placed under strict "kapu" (a concept very similar to "taboo"), the native population (except the highest ranks of the nobility) rarely reached it; however, there were trails that led to shrines and burial sites on the mountain's slopes. The first recorded ascent by a non-Hawaiian - an American missionary named Joseph F. Woodrich - dates from 26 August 1823. Now the summit can be reached by multiple trails.

Located in the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains, in New South Wales (southeastern Australia), Mount Kosciuszko is considerably smaller than all the other mountains listed in this quiz. Named after Polish-Lithuanian general and freedom fighter Tadeusz Kósciuszko (who also fought in the American Revolutionary War), mainland Australia's highest peak stands at an elevation of 2,228 m (7,310 ft). The name, given to the mountain by Polish explorer Paul Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, stems from its resemblance with the artificial mound erected in Kraków (Poland) in honour of the general.

Unlike most of the other Summits, Mount Kosciuszko is a very easy ascent. There are two walking paths leading to the summit of the mountain; the third, and most challenging route, is called Hannel's Spur Track, and was known to Aboriginal tribes thousands of years before it was used by Strzelecki when he climbed the mountain in 1840. Mount Kosciuszko is one of the few places in Australia that is covered in snow in winter and spring. Kosciuszko National Park (established in 1967) contains a number of ski resorts.

Mount Kosciuszko is included in the Bass list as Australia's highest peak, while other versions include Puncak Jaya or Mount Wilhelm, both on the island of New Guinea.