My Seven Summits

There are seven summits that have captured man's imagination since they were first climbed in 1985 by Dick Bass. They are the seven highest summits on each continent of the globe. It seems easy enough to figure out which mountain would be the highest, but nothing could be further from the truth. Just because Dick Bass wrote a book about it called Seven Summits in which he proclaimed Mt. Kosciuszko in Australia and Mt. Elbrus in Russia were two of the seven summits, doesn't mean he was right, as this book is happy to explain.

This is great news because it opens up a world of opportunity. It gives you an itinerary you can work with. For example, rather than climbing Kosciuszko because of its low altitude, you can trade it with New Zealand's Mt. Cook at 12,218 feet, on the outer shelf of the Australasia Continent. Or instead of climbing Elbrus in Russia, you can have the true European climber's experience in Mt. Blanc and the Matterhorn. They're only 40 miles apart.

I offer you MY SEVEN SUMMITS. It's a chronological tale beginning with my first climb which was Mt. Everest in 1983; the same year Dick Bass first tried to summit Everest. What I learned from that experience is that no normal human being can pay for do-overs of the seven summits. All it takes beyond grit is time and money. It was a different story for me since my quest stretched over seventeen years before I ran out of time. After Everest there was Denali, then Aconcagua, Mt. Blanc and the Matterhorn, Mt. Cook, Kilimanjaro, and last, but not least, ...Vinson Massif? No! "A stroke is upon me." Yes, I had a massive stroke I had to survive first.

There are so many stories to tell in MY SEVEN SUMMITS. Each mountain has its own theme, set to a different beat, in a different culture, about relationships forged while climbing the highest, most dangerous, and most iconic mountains in the world. What you will learn from this story is how falling in love with the Seven Summits can be the salvation of your life. Sharing in the romance feels good. Finding the right partner is sublime.