Seven Summits

The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven.
In January 2023, Climbing said "Today, the Seven Summits are a relatively common—almost cliché—tour of each continent's highest peak", and while reaching the peak of the "Seven Summits" is no longer considered a significant achievement amongst mountaineers, it remains a popular challenge for "adventure mountaineers" using expedition climbing techniques.

Definitions

The Seven Summits consist of the highest mountain peak on each of the continents. Different lists include slight variations, but generally, the same core is maintained. The seven summits depend on the definition used for a continent – in particular the location of the border of that continent. This results in two major points of variation. The first one is Mont Blanc versus Mount Elbrus for Europe, which depends on whether the crest of the Greater Caucasus Mountains is taken to define the Greater Caucasus watershed which marks the continental boundary between Asia and Europe for the region between the Black and Caspian seas; this classification would place Mount Elbrus in Europe. The second one is Puncak Jaya versus Mount Kosciuszko for the continent of Australia, which depends on whether one includes the Sahul Shelf or only mainland Australia as the continent. This also gives rise to another list called the "Eight Summits", which includes both Puncak Jaya and Mount Kosciuszko along with the six summits on the other continents.
This creates several possible versions of the seven summits:

Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Elbrus, Mount Wilhelm
Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Elbrus, Kosciuszko
Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Elbrus, Puncak Jaya
Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Mont Blanc, Mount Wilhelm
Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Mont Blanc, Kosciuszko
Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Mont Blanc, Puncak Jaya
Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Mauna Kea, Puncak Jaya / Kosciuszko

The concept Richard Bass and his climbing partner Frank Wells were pursuing was to be the first to stand atop the highest mountain on each continent. They pursued this goal as they defined it, climbing Aconcagua for South America, Denali for North America, Kilimanjaro for Africa, Elbrus for Europe, Vinson for Antarctica, Kosciuszko for Australia, and finally Everest for Asia.

Safety and climbing preference

In terms of safety and preference for climbers, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected Western climbers' ability to travel to Russia, making Elbrus less attractive. Similarly, Puncak Jaya on New Guinea has been closed due to security concerns and the risks posed by ongoing tribal conflicts and mining operations. These challenges have prevented climbers from accessing the area, further complicated by a security lockdown since August 2019. The situation escalated in February 2023 when Papuan rebels of Free Papua Movement took New Zealand pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens hostage, an event known as Nduga hostage crisis, signaling a new level of risk for foreigners in the highlands of Western New Guinea. The rebels' declaration of "all foreigners are now target" marked an intensification of the conflict, making travel to Western New Guinea highly advised against. Consequently, many climbers postponed their expedition to climb Carstensz Pyramid until the regional conflict subsides.
In summary, the Mount Wilhelm version of the Seven Summits currently presents the safest option for climbers, avoiding travel to Russia and Western New Guinea. Papua New Guinea remains a relatively safer option for mountaineers, and Mount Wilhelm offers an excellent high mountain expedition experience as the highest peak in Oceania.

Definition using tectonic plates

Using the largest [|tectonic] plates, Asia and Europe could be grouped as Eurasia, and the very large Pacific Plate would have Mauna Kea as its highest mountain. Puncak Jaya is actually on the Maoke Plate, while Mount Wilhelm is, depending upon evolving plate tectonic understanding, on either the Trobriand Plate, Solomon Sea Plate, or Woodlark Plate, all of whom were historically grouped with the larger Australian Plate. If not, then Mount Kosciuszko would revert to being the highest of that plate.

African Plate – Kilimanjaro
Antarctic Plate – Vinson
Australian Plate – Puncak Jaya / Kosciuszko
Eurasian Plate – Mount Everest
North American Plate – Denali
Pacific Plate – Mauna Kea
South American Plate – Aconcagua
Oceania

The highest mountain in mainland Australia is Mount Kosciuszko, above sea level. However, the highest mountain on the Australian continent, which also includes New Guinea, is Puncak Jaya, above sea level, in the Indonesian province of Central Papua on the island of New Guinea, which shares the Sahul continental shelf with Australia. Mount Kosciuszko is considerably easier to climb, requiring only a four-hour, grade 3 return walk from the nearest car park, while Puncak Jaya requires a mountaineering expedition with technical climbing, an approach through dense jungle and the need to charter an aircraft.
Some sources claim Mount Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea's Bismarck Range as the highest mountain on the Australian continent, on account of Indonesia being a part of Asia. However, such a definition is political, not geophysical, and would mean that the western part of New Guinea changed continents in 1969.
In terms of Australia as a country, Mawson Peak is higher than Kosciuszko. However, it is not located in Oceania, but in the Australian external territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Mt McClintock is located within the claimed Australian Antarctic Territory and is the highest peak within territory claimed by Australia, but it is again not in Oceania. If the island of New Guinea is excluded, then Mount Cook on the South Island of New Zealand is the highest mountain in Australasia at.
Entities listing Mount Wilhelm as the highest point in Oceania or showing boundaries putting Puncak Jaya in Asia include the United Nations, the website 7 Continent Summits, World Atlas, the CIA World Factbook, Canada Atlas, and Papua New Guinea PNG Trekking.

Europe

The generally accepted highest summit in Europe is Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus, appearing on both the Bass and Messner lists. However, because the location of the boundary between Asia and Europe is not universally agreed upon, its inclusion in Europe is disputed: if the Kuma–Manych Depression is used as the geological border between Asia and Europe, the Caucasus and Elbrus lie wholly in Asia. If the Greater Caucasus watershed is used instead, Elbrus' peaks are wholly in Europe, albeit close to the border with Asia. Mont Blanc, lying on the border between France and Italy in the Graian Alps, is seen by some to be the highest mountain in Europe.

North America

is the highest mountain peak in North America. The Caribbean Plate and the Panama Plate, both of which share geological processes with the North American continent, have their own highest mountain peaks:

North America – Denali
Caribbean Plate – Acatenango Volcano
Panama Plate – Mount Chirripó
South America

is the highest mountain peak in South America. The Altiplano Plate and the North Andes Plate, both of which share geological processes with the South American continent, have their own highest mountain peaks:

South America – Aconcagua
Altiplano Plate – presumably Nevado Sajama
North Andes Plate – Chimborazo
Bass and Messner lists

The first Seven Summits list as postulated by Bass chose the highest mountain of mainland Australia, Mount Kosciuszko, to represent the Australian continent's highest summit. Reinhold Messner postulated another list, replacing Mount Kosciuszko with Indonesia's Puncak Jaya, or Carstensz Pyramid. Neither the Bass nor the Messner list includes Mont Blanc. From a mountaineering point of view, the Messner list is the more challenging one. Climbing Carstensz Pyramid has the character of an expedition, whereas the ascent of Kosciuszko is an easy hike. Indeed, Patrick Morrow used this argument to defend his choice to adhere to the Messner list, "Being a climber first and a collector second, I felt strongly that Carstensz Pyramid, the highest mountain in Australasia... was a true mountaineer's objective."

Photograph	Peak	Bass list	Messner list	Hackett list	Elevation	Prominence	Continent	Mountain Range	Country	First ascent	Coordinates
	Mount Everest	✔	✔	✔			Asia	Himalayas	China Nepal	1953
	Aconcagua	✔	✔	✔			South America	Andes	Argentina	1897
	Denali	✔	✔	✔			North America	Alaska Range	United States	1913
	Kilimanjaro	✔	✔	✔			Africa	–	Tanzania	1889
	Mount Elbrus	✔	✔				Europe	Caucasus Mountains	Russia	1874
	Mount Vinson	✔	✔	✔			Antarctica	Sentinel Range	–	1966
	Puncak Jaya		✔				Australia	Sudirman Range	Indonesia	1962
	Mont Blanc			✔	4,810 m	4,696 m	Europe	Alps	France Italy	1786
	Mount Kosciuszko	✔		✔			Australia	Great Dividing Range	Australia	1840