How much does it cost to climb the seven summits? (Updated for 2025)

Our resident mountaineer and would-be seven summiteer crunches the numbers on how much it will cost to climb the seven summits

How much does it cost to climb the seven summits? About $210,000 give or take $10k.

Climbers could significantly reduce costs by foregoing luxuries, cutting corners and taking (even more) risks to get that figure below $100,000, but I do not recommend this and certainly won’t be taking such unnecessary risks.

How much does it cost to climb the seven summits?

I arrived at the above figure by looking at seven established international mountain guiding companies based in Nepal, the USA, the UK and New Zealand. I compiled their prices for climbing all seven summits (using the same routes where possible) and calculated the average: $178,365.

This is just over $4,000 more expensive than in 2024 when I last completed the calculation.

There are then the costs of airfares, insurance and equipment to factor in. Flights, of course, depend on where individuals are based but it’s fair to assume that seven return international flights – often during peak season – will cost between $10,000-$20,000.

In terms of equipment, much of it is specialist and therefore expensive. I’ve drawn on the trusted expertise of Alan Arnette who regularly crunches the numbers on the cost of climbing Everest, combed the equipment lists of guiding companies and settled on somewhere between $5,000 and $30,000. If we take the median value, we get $17,500 for gear.

The cost of insurance changes from mountain to mountain. On a lower, more trafficked peak such as Kilimanjaro, it may just be a matter of adding a high-altitude or adventure bolt-on to your existing travel insurance policy. For Everest, you’ll need to budget in the region of $3,000 to cover medical support, rescue assistance and helicopter evacuation.

Additionally, the ballpark figure of $200,000 doesn’t include any supplementary courses or training a climber may require. It also doesn’t include intermediary mountains such as a preliminary eight-thousander – like Cho Oyu or Manaslu – that most climbers should really attempt before venturing onto Everest.

Only individuals can decide what training they will require. Years ago, I completed rock climbing and winter mountaineering courses but before I climbed Denali last year, I took an advanced winter mountaineering course, a crevasse rescue course and a rock climbing refresher. I’ll worry about further training for eight-thousanders once I win the lottery.

So far I’ve climbed the relatively affordable seven summits so to speak: Kilimanjaro in 2010, Elbrus in 2017, Aconcagua in 2020 and Denali in 2024. The first three were reasonably straightforward to access and did not require advanced mountaineering skills or specialist training, which also helped keep costs comparatively low.

Denali was by far the most challenging and the most expensive mountain I’ve ever climbed. However, the next cheapest of the three remaining seven, Puncak Jaya, is roughly double the cost of Denali.

Key findings

• The average cost to climb all seven summits is $178,365.
• Nepali outfit Elite Exped appears to be the cheapest option. However, they don’t offer a climbing-only option on Vinson (only a combo climb with a Last Degree Ski Expedition) or Denali expeditions.
• The most expensive operator I assessed was $192,450 with the American Alpine Institute, who I climbed Denali with last year.
• By mixing and matching guiding companies I got the figure down to $139,870.
• The absolute cheapest way I found was $96,500. This is using local guides and companies, basic support packages and foregoing many of the luxuries and safety systems put in place by more established companies and support packages.
• In addition to the above, climbers must budget for airfares ($10,000-20), equipment (~$17,500) and any additional training required.

Seven summits cost using Guides

Aside from professional mountaineers, it’s safe to assume that the majority of climbers will hire guides to help them get to the top of most – if not all – of the seven summits.

It’s reasonably plausible for many climbers to summit the easier peaks of Kilimanjaro, Elbrus and Aconcagua without the full logistical support of a guiding company (although all climbers on Kili must climb with a licensed guide).

However, the harder summits of Denali, Puncak Jaya, Vinson and Everest will almost certainly require the support of a mountain guiding company.

There are, of course, scores of professional guiding companies around the world that I have omitted and it may well be possible to arrive at a lower price.

Notes

The cheapest way to climb the Seven Summits

The prices below are calculated by assuming climbers will use local suppliers and guides where possible, pay for only basic support packages and are willing to climb unassisted on many sections of all routes.

The figures are based on the cheapest – usually the quickest – routes up the mountain. As above, the figures exclude airfares, equipment and any additional training programs.

Note: We do NOT recommend this option and include it only for the sake of completeness.

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