Mountaineering

A big programme of high-altitude expeditions this year. After Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado and now Makalu... This summer we'll be heading to Pakistan on Broad Peak (8047m) and K2 (8611m), and to Kyrgyzstan on Peak Lenin (7134m). In autumn, we'll be in Nepal, climbing Manaslu (8163m), Ama Dablam (6812m), Baruntse (7129m) and perhaps Dhaulagiri (8167m).

Aconcagua is the highest peak in the Americas and part of the Seven Summits challenge, while Ojos del Salado is the highest active volcano in the Americas and part of the Seven Volcanic Summits challenge. Both are in the Andes mountain range, the first in Argentina, the second in Chile.

The Seven Volcanic Summits Challenge aims to climb the highest volcano on each of the seven continents. More accessible than the Seven Summits challenge, in that it does not include either Everest or Denali in terms of altitude and physical commitment, it is still a little-known challenge that only a few dozen people have managed to date.

You have successfully climbed Mont Blanc. You have extensive mountaineering experience in the Alps... And the call of high altitude is winning you over. Now you're dreaming of the highest peak on the planet: Mount Everest at 8849 metres. Find out how to prepare yourself.

In summer, for our high-altitude climbs, we have to leave Nepal or the Andes to head northwest of the Himalayas, sheltered from the monsoon, towards Pakistan, Xinjiang, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. An update on our very-high mountaineering expeditions for summer 2024.

On 30 October, Valentin, Dawa and Nurpu reached the summit of Baruntse at 7,129 metres. Alone at base camp, with an uncertain weather window, much of the ridge unequipped and many teams turning back, our team was rewarded for its patience and tenacity.

We've climbed them all... thanks to you! In our interview with Eric Bonnem, founder of Secret Planet, we take a look back at the legendary Seven Summits challenge: the characteristics of the expeditions that made it up, those that are no longer accessible and its extension to the poles.

Conceived by Dick Bass and Franck Wells in 1985, the Seven Summits challenge involves climbing the highest peak on each of the seven continents: Everest (8848 m), Aconcagua (6962 m), Mount Denali (6190 m), Kilimanjaro (5895 m), Elbrus (5646 m), Mount Vinson (4892 m) and Carstensz Pyramid (4884 m).

Having climbed Peak Lenin three times, this year we tackled the second Snow Leopard Challenge peak in (theoretical) order of difficulty: Peak Korjenevskaya. Read the diary of our expedition to Peak Korjenevskaya in Tajikistan in August 2023.