The
Seven Summits are the highest
mountains of each of the seven
continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a
mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such in the 1980s by
Richard Bass (Bass
et al 1986).
Due to different interpretations of continental borders (geographical, geological, geopolitical) several definitions for the highest summits per continent and the number of continents are possible. The Seven Summits number of seven continents is based on the continent model used in Western Europe and the United States.
The highest mountain of the Australian mainland is Mount Kosciuszko (2,228&_160;m), but it is actually smaller than the highest mountain in New Zealand, Mount Cook (3,754&_160;m). The highest mountain in Oceania is Puncak Jaya, 4,884&_160;m[1], in the Indonesian province of Papua on the island of New Guinea. It is also known as Carstensz Pyramid.
Some sources claim Mount Wilhelm, 4,509 metres, as the highest mountain peak in Oceania.[2] The peak belongs to the Bismarck Range of Papua New Guinea. But a Seven Summits list including Mount Wilhelm has never been widely supported or formally recognised; Indonesia is generally considered to span Asia and Oceania.
