Aconcagua
The highest mountain outside Asia — a walk-up in name only, at nearly 7,000 m.
Alpamayo
Once voted the most beautiful mountain in the world — a flawless ice pyramid demanding real ice-climbing skill.
Ama Dablam
The most beautiful mountain in the Khumbu — and a genuinely technical prize for experienced alpinists.
Aoraki / Mount Cook
New Zealand's fierce crown — low in altitude, world-class in seriousness.
Breithorn
A half-day 4,000er — the classic first taste of glacier climbing, with the Matterhorn filling your camera.
Chimborazo
The point on Earth farthest from its centre — a big, cold step up from Cotopaxi.
Cotopaxi
A perfect glacier cone on the equator — the classic high-altitude beginner expedition.
Denali
North America's summit — a three-week arctic expedition where you haul everything and the cold is the crux.
Eiger
Alpine history incarnate — most parties climb the spectacular Mittellegi ridge, not the notorious North Face.
Elbrus
Europe's highest point — technically simple snow slopes made serious by altitude, cold, and whiteouts.
Everest
The highest point on Earth — less a technical climb than a two-month siege of logistics, altitude, and risk.
Gran Paradiso
The classic first 4,000er — a friendly glacier climb inside Italy's oldest national park.
Grand Teton
America's alpine icon — genuine roped rock climbing to a summit that towers over Jackson Hole.
Grossglockner
Austria's highest peak — a sharp, elegant summit with an airy final ridge that means it.
Huayna Potosí
The world's most accessible 6,000er — an hour from La Paz and a genuine glacier summit.
Island Peak (Imja Tse)
The Khumbu's favourite first 6,000er — a trek through Everest country capped by a real summit morning.
Iztaccíhuatl
The 'Sleeping Woman' of the Aztecs — a 5,200 m ridge walk and Mexico's classic acclimatisation peak.
K2
The mountaineer's mountain — steeper, colder, and far more serious than Everest.
Kazbek
A 5,000 m Caucasus classic above a famous hilltop church — big-mountain feel on a budget.
Kilimanjaro
Africa's roof — the world's tallest freestanding mountain, reachable on foot with no technical climbing.
Matterhorn
The most recognisable mountain on Earth — a sustained, exposed rock scramble with zero flat ground.
Mera Peak
The highest of Nepal's trekking peaks — maximum altitude for minimum technicality, with a five-8,000er view.
Mont Blanc
Western Europe's highest summit and the birthplace of alpinism — a classic first big glacier climb.
Mount Fuji
Japan's sacred symmetry — a pilgrimage walk to a sunrise above the clouds.
Mount Hood
The Pacific Northwest's single-day classic — a pre-dawn snow climb with a real alpine finish.
Mount Kenya (Point Lenana)
Kilimanjaro's wilder, quieter sibling — jagged alpine scenery and a superb trekking summit.
Mount Rainier
America's glacier school — the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 and the classic Denali tune-up.
Mount Shasta
A solitary Cascade giant — 2,200 m of snow climbing that teaches the whole craft in a weekend.
Mount Whitney
The highest summit in the contiguous US — a bucket-list trail day of 22 miles and 1,900 m of gain.
Pico de Orizaba
North America's third summit — a winter-season glacier climb with unbeatable acclimatisation value per dollar.
Pik Lenin
The classic first 7,000er — technically moderate slopes where altitude and weather do all the fighting.
Puncak Jaya (Carstensz Pyramid)
The Seven Summits' wildcard — real rock climbing on a jungle island's improbable limestone crest.
Toubkal
North Africa's highest peak — a satisfying two-day climb from a Berber village an hour from Marrakech.
Triglav
Slovenia's national mountain — cabled limestone ridges every fit hiker can aspire to.
Vinson Massif
Antarctica's highest peak — a logistics marvel and a deep-cold test at the bottom of the world.