CARSTENSZ pyramid

ACCOMPLISH YOUR

7 SUMMITS PROJECT

Carstensz Pyramid as one of world’s Seven Summit of the seven continents. The term Seven Summits was first introduced by an American businessman named Richard (Dick) Daniel Bass, a citizen of the United States, around 1980. Dick Bass Dick Bass, who was also a Yale University graduate majoring in geology, came up with the idea of Seven Summits climbing circuits, creating a list containing the 7 highest peaks on seven continents, which is known as the "Bass List" and he became the first person who successfully accomplished his seven summits by reaching the top of Everest on April 30, 1985. 

The Seven Summits circuit of Dick Bass version consist of: Everest (8848 meter asl) in Asia; Kilimanjaro (5895 meter asl) in Africa; Vinson Massif (4897 meter asl) at the South Pole (Antarctica);  Elbrus (5642 masl) in Europe. While the American continent was divided into two parts, those are North America with the peak of McKinley (6194 meter asl) and South America with Aconcagua (6962 meter asl). The last is Kosciuszko (2228 meter asl) in Australia.

Then "Bass List" was revised by the legendary Italian climber, Reinhold Messner by replacing Mount Kosciuszko as highest peak in Australia with Carstensz Pyramid that are both considered in the same continental plate Australasia. Messner’s revision then well known as "Messner List" and became more popular in the world. Messner’s  Seven Summits list was first accomplished by Patrick Alan Morrow (Canada) on August 5, 1986, shortly followed by Messner himself few months later, on December 3, 1986.

Accordingly, there were 2 options born, some acknowledging Bass's version of Seven Summits and some acknowledging Messner's version more. Some even tried both versions of the circuit. However, Carstensz Pyramid apparently to be more considered, very likely because it is more challenging then Kosciuszko summit that could be more easily to accomplished.

Why is the number seven listed while the commonly known so far there are only five continents in the world? According to the continents movement history in the span of hundreds of million years ago, Europe, Asia, Africa and the South Pole are four separated continents. Similarly, North America and South America were then also located on different continental plates. Thus, there were already six continental plates in those days.

The last debate was the Continent of Australia and Papua. Papua, which has now become part of the Southeast Asian region, initially a fraction of the Australian continent which later moved north to align themselves with the island of Sumatra, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Java and other small islands that made up Indonesia. Basically, the islands last mentioned are fragments of the Asian Continent.

Based on its geological history, the islands around Australia, namely New Zealand, Papua (New Guinea) and Oceania used to be on the same land as Australia. Thus the region is considered to be one geological continent of Australasia or commonly also called Australia-Oceania. So that Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica and Australasia considered to be the seven continental plates. The North Pole or Arctic is just an island.