The Second Seven Summits Project

Welcome to Doug Brown's site about the second
highest peak on each of the seven continents.

My Second Seven Summits Project is simply a project to
learn more about and to possibly climb these lesser known
mountains around the world. I'd like to share what I learn
about these peaks and to learn what others know. I am
hopeful that I can find some other folks who'd be interested
in actually climbing some of these peaks. And I'd like to use
any expeditions as vehicles to raise money for charity.

Many people are familiar with the Seven Summits, the
highest peaks on each continent. There's a nice summary of
the history of the Seven Summits idea in the Wikipedia
article.

I climbed my first seven summits peak, Aconcagua (at
22,841 feet, the highest mountain in South America), in
January of 2007 and I have thought about pursuing the rest
of the seven. But, frankly, my interest has waned. Maybe
it's because some of them are pretty easy or perhaps it's
just that they are all very well traveled; you can climb any
of the seven, even Everest, as part of a really
well-organized, commercially guided trip. Don't get me
wrong; to climb, say, Denali is a really significant
achievement requiring physical and mental toughness. But
you will have lots of company and, if you use a guiding
company, the trip will be spoon fed to you.

I'm not sure where I came across the idea of the Second
Seven but many have written about how the second
summit is almost always more technically difficult than the
highest summit. They are more technically difficult, more
remote, much less frequently climbed and much less well
known. In my mind this means, simply, more adventure. And
this is why the second seven have really caught my
imagination. Already, before setting foot on any of them,
I've had a blast as an armchair internet adventurer. I've
spoken via email to climbers around the world and have a
growing library of pictures, maps and internet resources.
How remote are these peaks? Well, consider that for at
least two of the continents there is serious disagreement
about what peak really is the second highest. And consider
further that while the first seven summits require the ability
to simply climb high, the second seven require rock climbing,
ski mountaineering and serious technical rock and ice work.

Check out a summary of the Second Seven Summits peaks
on the Summary page. And then find more details on the
pages for each individual peak.

Do I want to be the first person to climb the Second
Seven? Sure, I'd love to. I'm a guy in his 50's whose
experience is limited to lots of Colorado 14ers, Aconcagua
and some beginner rock climbing. To climb several of the
tougher second seven would be a real stretch for me but
I'm up for a try. But then there's Asia's second highest
peak, K2. And I am not climbing K2. No way. So, no, I will
not be the first to climb the second seven.

How about you? As I said, this project is not about me but
rather about exploring the second seven summits. If you're
a world class climber who could climb K2 then I'd like to help
you. But even if you're an armchair climber I'd like your help.

You can be part of the Project

- Drop me an email telling me what you think of the idea.
- Tell me what you know about any of the peaks.
- Help me brainstorm different approaches to organizing the
trips.

Regards, Doug Brown