$even $ummits

“I’m a pretty adventurous guy—you know, I ‘d like to get out there, make my mark on the world. Sailing around the world doesn’t appeal, because I don’t like boats. Hot-air balloons aren’t so great either, because I’m not a fan of heights, and look what happened to that Fossett guy. No doubt about it—I think I’m going to attempt the Seven Summits. Sure, it’s been done, but I’ll sound great at cocktail parties, and mountaineering is just pain management, anyway. I think I got this one.”

Sound like you? If you’re a serious aspiring Seven Summiteer, you’re going to need more than willpower and skill—you’ll need some serious scratch. $170,250, to be exact.

That’s the figure About.com climbing author Stewart Green came up with after tallying all the costs associated with tackling the Seven summits, and while it’s not much more than pocket change to the Bransons of the world, it’s quite a princely sum for your average dirtbag climber or daydream believer.

The most expensive single item will be your guiding costs on Everest, which will total around $65,000. Least expensive is your mountaineering training, at $5,000. That seems kind of lopsided, but hey, it’s your life—what do I care if you know how to use an ascender?

Green notes that several items aren’t covered in the budge:

Of course, that figure doesn’t include all the other money you’ll be spending on celebratory dinners, trinkets for the kids and wife back home, satellite calls when you’re homesick, taxi rides, hotel rooms, and those oh-so-important tips for your guides. Good luck. Let us know how it all works out for you and where we can cut the budget!

Can you come up with ways to trim Green’s estimate? Is climbing the Seven Summits even worth that much money to you, if you had it? Let us know in the comments section below.

And if anyone wants to loan me $170,250, I’m totally good for it.

—Ted Alvarez

Climbing the Seven Summits—Can you afford it? (About.com)

Image Credit: jemsweb