SummitPost.org

I'm sure Bill Burke would be happy to help you, you can contact him through his website.

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:-0O1zTqXDsMJ:eightsummits.com/pt/blog/+bill+burke+seven+summits&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

There is a forum on -- http://7summits.com

Read die trying by bo parfet


I hope to achieve the explorers grand slam one day

1. Please give me a little history about how you became interested in climbing. Your first climb, any inspirations to climb, ect.

I haven't climbed any of the 7 summits, but I can give you a climber's perspective on some of your questions. I did a lot of long-distance backpacking as a teenager and I always loved the outdoors. I tried some indoor climbing and thought that mountaineering would be something that I'd enjoy, since it's kind of a natural transition from backpacking. I also read 7 Summits by Dick Bass and thought that it was really awesome. So I did a course on Rainier and started going to the gym all the time. I met experienced climbers and went on any trips that they'd invite me on. As time went by, I became proficient in many disciplines of climbing...rock, alpine, ice. And I also realized that the 7 Summits is not what it had seemed in the beginning. The peaks are high (or in some cases, not so high), but the list takes no account of the technical interest of the climb or the aesthetics of the route. In many cases, it's not even anything that I would call "climbing." I realized that there are so many other beautiful mountains in amazing places, with stunning ridges and faces to climb. The 7 Summits was no longer a list that interested me. I diverted my attention to other lists...like "50 Classic Climbs of North America" or "Mont Blanc: The 100 Finest Routes" because these are lists that are based on quality rather than quantity (height).

2. During your years as a climber, have you noticed any major gear/ equipment changes? If so, what were they?

Single ropes have gotten skinnier. Carabiners have gotten lighter. A lot of ice climbers don't use leashes anymore (I still do, because I'm a pansy).

3. Do you think that the Seven Summits have had an impact on society? How so?

It draws tourism to places that might otherwise have little or none. Who would go to Elbrus or Aconcagua if they weren't on the 7 Summits list? I'm sure you can find statistics for climbers on Aconcagua each season before and after the 7 Summits craze which should be very nice for your paper. Also, it has drawn very inexperienced climbers to places where they don't yet belong. The usual progression for many 7 Summits climbers is Rainier-Denali-Everest.

4. Do you think that the Seven Summits have had an impact on the sport of mountaineering? How so?

The 7 Summits are largely responsible for the commercialization of mountaineering. You can go online and book a trip to Everest or Vinson for $25,000+. Don't need any friends, experience, or awareness of what's involved, just a Platinum Visa. This commercialization is largely to blame for the accidents on Everest and elsewhere. Too many people with too little experience, who are completely dependent on guides or others to come to their aid when the situation becomes anything else than ideal. Mountaineering and climbing were previously sports practiced primarily by outsiders in society. They've now become more mainstream. The 7 Summits, and also the growth of indoor climbing facilities, have played a big role in this.

5. Any other comments about the Seven Summits, or mountaineering?

Maybe this isn't what you were looking for, but I was once wide-eyed and and thought that the 7 Summits was the coolest thing I'd heard of. Now, though? I have absolutely no interest. There are a thousand places/mountains that I'd rather spend my time on.

P.S. PM me when you finish. I'd love to read your paper.

Tom Fralich wrote:

Maybe this isn't what you were looking for, but I was once wide-eyed and and thought that the 7 Summits was the coolest thing I'd heard of. Now, though? I have absolutely no interest. There are a thousand places/mountains that I'd rather spend my time on.

Same for me. I don't considermyself to be a particularly good climber, nor do I have a great deal of mountaineering experience yet, but a few years ago I thought the seven summits idea was incredible. Now its just meh, its just something cool to say you've done.

Who's the better mountaineer? The one who was guided up the seven summits, or the one who's completed loads of hard routes in the Alps but has never been above the height of Mont Blanc? To the public, the seven summitter, to climbers the other one.

JackCarr wrote:

Tom Fralich wrote:

Maybe this isn't what you were looking for, but I was once wide-eyed and and thought that the 7 Summits was the coolest thing I'd heard of. Now, though? I have absolutely no interest. There are a thousand places/mountains that I'd rather spend my time on.

Same for me. I don't considermyself to be a particularly good climber, nor do I have a great deal of mountaineering experience yet, but a few years ago I thought the seven summits idea was incredible. Now its just meh, its just something cool to say you've done.

Who's the better mountaineer? The one who was guided up the seven summits, or the one who's completed loads of hard routes in the Alps but has never been above the height of Mont Blanc? To the public, the seven summitter, to climbers the other one.

I think climbing the Second tallest mountain on each continent is way more of a climbers challenge. I mean you must do K2 …. that will keep the numbers down and weed out the posers.

Consider the media attention that 7-summitters create and receive, especially nowadays that certain "records" are being attempted or set, e.g. youngest, oldest, first from country x, etc. When such a record is set, we hear about it in the mainstream media (even then, buried on page E-12 in the newspaper). For people who do not climb, this is often the only time they'll hear of mountaineering. Mountaineering receives very little press on a day to day basis, and when it does is usually the result of some feat involving the 7 summits, or Everest, or some tragedy.

Often, money is the crux to completion of the 7-summits. Easily in the hundreds of thousands of dollars alone just to get permits for places like Everest and Vinson, not to mention the costs just to get there, etc. Thus, it becomes less a mountaineering skills issue, and more of a money issue.

When a younger person completes the set of 7 summits, the first thought I get is: how did he/she pay for all this?

For the record, I have 0 of the 7 summits done, and I have no interest in most of them because I know my skills are not up to minimum requirements for some of them, money nonwithstanding. Yet I love the sport and having compared this feat to the many other common mountaineering feats (e.g. Colorado 14ers, State Highpoints, Adirondak 46, etc etc etc), the 7-summits just seems to be not terribly special, although not un-special...

I feel kinda bad for anyone who's done the 7 reading this and somewhat for the person writing this article too. Probably not the response they were expecting.

You might want to contact Gerry Roach in Boulder -- the 2nd person to climb the 7 summits (just a few months after Dick Bass completed them).

http://www.climb.mountains.com/About_GJ ... erry.shtml

It is isn't always about doing the hardest thing you can do. The Seven Summits can be about using it as an excuse to see amazing parts of the world and meeting incredible people and having experiences that last a lifetime.

The 7 Summits are largely responsible for the commercialization of mountaineering. You can go online and book a trip to Everest or Vinson for $25,000+. Don't need any friends, experience, or awareness of what's involved, just a Platinum Visa. This commercialization is largely to blame for the accidents on Everest and elsewhere. Too many people with too little experience, who are completely dependent on guides or others to come to their aid when the situation becomes anything else than ideal.

Just to clarify, the commercial expeditions are probably now the most safest people on the mountain. The non-guided climbers seem to be the ones getting into the most trouble.

WingLady wrote:You might want to contact Gerry Roach in Boulder -- the 2nd person to climb the 7 summits (just a few months after Dick Bass completed them).

http://www.climb.mountains.com/About_GJ ... erry.shtml

I noticed that Gerry Roach signed the summit register of Charles Mound (the Highpoint of Illinois) the day before I was there in 2006. How many people have climbed the 7 summits and Charles Mound? I got a kick out of that.

Holsti97 wrote:

WingLady wrote:You might want to contact Gerry Roach in Boulder -- the 2nd person to climb the 7 summits (just a few months after Dick Bass completed them).

http://www.climb.mountains.com/About_GJ ... erry.shtml

I noticed that Gerry Roach signed the summit register of Charles Mound (the Highpoint of Illinois) the day before I was there in 2006. How many people have climbed the 7 summits and Charles Mound? I got a kick out of that.

Gerry has finished ALL the 50 state highpoints....even Mount Sunflower in Kansas!!! What a guy!

Hasn't the small list of climbers who have ascended all of the 8,000 meter peaks surpassed the signifance of the Seven Summits to mountaineers ?