There is a very good post over at Stewart’s Climbing Blog that lays out the costs of climbing the Seven Summits. The article is a bit of an eye opener for those who would love to pursue this goal, but aren’t sure what it all entails nor how much it would hit them in the pocket book.
Stewart breaks down the costs in a very logical manner and into several categories. He takes a look at the guide fees, gear costs, training fees, airfare, and more. And when he tabulates the final bill what does it come to? A whopping $170,250.
As you might imagine, Everest makes up the bulk of that cost, although both Vinson, in Antarctica, and Carstensz Pyramid, in Indonesia, are not cheap either. Stewart estimates roughly $65,000 for Everest alone, and while that is a safe estimate, it is also a bit on the high end of the scale. You can find expeditions to the highest mountain on Earth at cheaper rates with some very good companies. The same can be said for Vinson and Carstensz, although the options are not as plentiful.
And the cheapest of the mountains to climb? Kilimanjaro clocks in at $3150 (My climb was considerably cheaper than that) and Aconcagua is second at $3700.
All in all though, it’s a decent estimate and does put some things in perspective. Certainly an interesting read for armchair mountaineers and climbing enthusiasts alike.
Thanks to Jason over at The Adventurist, who is back off his hiatus and updating regularly again as well.
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It’s difficult to decide on what the cost of guiding fees should be because there is a lot of variability so I looked at a bunch of different companies and basically averaged them. Certainly if you have the skills and want to do it on the cheap, you can do that. Like Everest, you could cut that guide fee in half. Same with Kili and Aconcagua. Jake Norton wrote me that he thought the prices I quoted seemed on the cheap end of things. Same with airfares. But hey, like I write, if you’re a rich bloke then why are you gonna skimp on the extras?
I agree Stewart, things vary greatly in prices and you do get what you pay for. I’m not sure I’d want to go “cut rate” on a mountain like Everest, although I do think some very good guide services can be had for “only” $50,000 there, and to be fair, I got a discount on my Kili climb for going in the low season when it was suppose to be rainier, although it really wasn’t bad at all.
All in all though, great work on the article. Well done, and I appreciate you stopping by to leave a comment. 🙂
Paul: Sorry! I accidentally deleted your comment while cleaning out someone else's spam posts, but fortunately I had the quote saved elsewhere. You Said:
"Hi your costs for Kilimanjaro are way over the top. We arrange private tailor made climbs for groups as small as 1 and it costs less than $2000."
And I agree with you. I did Kili a few years back, and it was far cheaper than listed in that story.