Seven Summits Trivia Quiz

Answer: Into Thin Air

"Into Thin Air" by John Krakauer is a true story about a deadly day in 1996 when eight climbers were killed while climbing Mount Everest. Krakauer is a climber and journalist and was documenting an Everest expedition when an influx of people, many inexperienced, combined with a rogue storm and various other factors to unfortunately lead to many deaths and injuries.

The book was a bestseller in 1997.

Answer: It is the world's highest freestanding mountain

Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa is the world's highest freestanding mountain at 19,341 feet above sea-level. There are seven main routes to the top, with varying difficulty levels, and it takes most climbers six or seven days to summit and return.

Answer: Aconcagua

The Polish Glacier Traverse is one of the main trails on Aconcagua, which is located in Argentina, near the border with Chile. It is the highest mountain in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres at 22,837 feet. Aconcagua was first summited in 1897 by Matthias Zurbriggen.

Answer: It sits on the border of Europe and Asia

Mount Elbrus is in the Caucasus Mountains, which form part of the border of Europe and Asia. Therefore, some people consider Mont Blanc, which is wholly in France, as the highest mountain in Europe since everyone can agree it is entirely within Europe.

Answer: The High One

Denali means "The High One" in the language of the Athabaskan people who originally lived near its base. When Alaska was part of Russia, the mountain's name was Bolshaya Gora, which is the Russian translation of Denali. A prospector in the late 1890s renamed the mountain for a presidential candidate, William McKinley. Today, the official name of the mountain by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names is Mount McKinley, but according to the Alaska Board of Geographic Names it is Denali.

Answer: Vinson Massif

Vinson Massif was first identified in 1958 and was first climbed in 1966 by a combined team from the American Alpine Club and the National Science Foundation. In 2001, a team climbed the east side of the mountain for the first time, and Jon Krakauer, author of "Into Thin Air" was amongst its members.

Answer: The Snowy Mountains

Mount Kosciuszko is in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, Australia. The Snowy Mountains contain the five tallest mountains on the Australian mainland and are currently home to hiking trails and ski resorts.

Answer: It is the highest mountain in the Oceania region

Carstensz Pyramid, or Puncak Jaya, is the tallest mountain in Oceania at 16,024 ft above sea level. It lies on the island of New Guinea and is part of Indonesia. Although it was identified by explorers in the 1600s, its existence wasn't verified until two centuries later. The Messner list of Seven Summits includes the Carstensz Pyramid instead of Mount Kosciuszko.

Answer: Olympus Mons

Olympus Mons on Mars has been measured at approximately 14 miles high, which is about 3 times taller than Mount Everest. It was identified by astronomers over two hundred years ago and was further studied by the spacecraft Mariner 9 in 1971. Mariner 9 also confirmed that Olympus Mons is actually a volcano.

Rheasilvia, on the protoplanet Vesta, is a crater with a 22km (14 mile) high mound in the centre, just shading Olympus Mons in height.

Answer: Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea, a volcano in Hawaii, stands 13,796 feet above sea level. However, its base really lies on the ocean floor, and when measured base to peak it stands 33,500 feet, more than twice the base to peak height of Mount Everest (~12,000-15,000 feet). Since more than 20,000 feet of Mauna Kea lies underwater, its vast height is not generally known. Mauna Kea last erupted almost 5,000 years ago.