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Quiz about First to the Top Seven
Quiz about First to the Top Seven

First to the Top Seven Trivia Quiz


Most quiz-takers can name the first person to have climbed Mount Everest, but can you name these other firsts on the top of some of the world's other famous summits?

A multiple-choice quiz by WesleyCrusher. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
346,041
Updated
Jan 11 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
5719
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: JAM6430 (10/10), patrickk (10/10), Guest 115 (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Beginning in Europe (in its traditional boundaries), which duo managed the first documented ascent of Mont Blanc? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. On to South America. In 1897, the first documented ascent of Aconcagua was completed by the expedition of Edward FitzGerald, but one of the expedition's members arrived on the summit several days earlier than the others. What was his name? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Many people would call Kilimanjaro the highest peak of Africa, but this is slightly incorrect as the Kilimanjaro is actually a three-peaked volcano of which Kibo is the highest. Who managed the first ascent in 1889? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The first successful climb of Mt McKinley (or Denali as it is also called) happened in 1913 by an expedition led by which mountaineers? (Note that neither of these two was the first on the summit!) Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. While many sources cite Mont Blanc as the highest peak in Europe, by current cartography, this honor actually falls to Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus range. The first expedition to reach its summit was led by Florence Crauford Grove. In which year did this expedition reach the summit? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. We all know about Edmund Hillary and his 1953 conquest of Mount Everest, but what are the names of the two mountaineers who first managed this ascent using only ambient air, without any supplemental oxygen? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The highest peak of the fifth continent is also not agreed upon by all sources and depends on whether the continent is defined as Australia or Oceania. Going with the stricter "continental Australia" definition first, we have to look at Mount Kosciuszko. Who is credited with the first successful climb of this easiest of the "Seven Summits"? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. If we use the more expansive definition of the fifth continent, we have to look at Indonesia's Puncak Jaya (also known as Carstensz Pyramid). There is some controversy about which expedition (one of which dates to 1936, the other to 1962) reached the highest of its three peaks first. What is the reason for this? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The last continent to look at is Antarctica. Its highest peak is the Vinson Massif (or Mount Vinson), less difficult by height and climbing technique than by the constantly adverse conditions. Who led the expedition that conquered it in 1966? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Lastly, how about someone who has conquered the highest points on all seven continents? I am not looking for the first person to have climbed them, but for the teenager who completed this series of expeditions at less than fifteen and a half years of age by reaching the Vinson summit on December 24, 2011. What is this young man's name? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 24 2024 : JAM6430: 10/10
Mar 23 2024 : patrickk: 10/10
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Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Beginning in Europe (in its traditional boundaries), which duo managed the first documented ascent of Mont Blanc?

Answer: Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard

Based on a challenge by Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, a Swiss physicist and alpine traveller, the first successful Mont Blanc climb also marks the beginning of modern mountain climbing. In fact, one year before the first successful climb, de Saussure made a promising attempt of his own but had to abandon the expedition. Balmat and Paccard made it to the summit in 1786.

Although the highest mountain that is undisputedly in Europe, Mont Blanc is not counted as part of the Seven Summits in any version of the list. However, due to its moderate difficulty and relative fame among mountaineers, it is almost inevitably a part of any Seven Summit conqueror's climbing career.
2. On to South America. In 1897, the first documented ascent of Aconcagua was completed by the expedition of Edward FitzGerald, but one of the expedition's members arrived on the summit several days earlier than the others. What was his name?

Answer: Matthias Zurbriggen

Edward FitzGerald actually never reached the summit on the expedition he led. This honor fell first to his Swiss guide, Matthias Zurbriggen, on January 14, 1897, followed by Stuart Vines and Nicolas Lanti a few days later. Aconcagua is a relatively easy climb from a mountaineering perspective, but still tricky due to the high altitude and low oxygen supply.

A long acclimatization period is necessary for anyone wishing to attempt it.
3. Many people would call Kilimanjaro the highest peak of Africa, but this is slightly incorrect as the Kilimanjaro is actually a three-peaked volcano of which Kibo is the highest. Who managed the first ascent in 1889?

Answer: Hans Mayer and Ludwig Purtscheller

The German geologist Hans Mayer was rather persistent in his attempts to make the Kibo ascent, already having planned expeditions in 1887 (when he turned around due to inadequate equipment) and in 1888 (aborted due to civil war). On his third attempt in 1889, he joined forces with Ludwig Purtscheller, a famous Austrian climber and succeeded on October 6 of that year.

Their expedition would remain the only one to reach the summit for the next twenty years.
4. The first successful climb of Mt McKinley (or Denali as it is also called) happened in 1913 by an expedition led by which mountaineers? (Note that neither of these two was the first on the summit!)

Answer: Hudson Stuck and Harry Karstens

Mount McKinley, Alaska, is the highest peak of North America. The first European to see it was likely George Vancouver in 1794 although he did not recognize the mountain to be as high as it actually is. The first person to identify it as North America's highest elevation was William Dickey in 1897, almost correctly estimating its 6196 meters.

The first attempt to climb this mountain was undertaken in 1903 by James Wickersham. He chose a seemingly easy but treacherous route and had to turn back. After a false 1906 claim by Frederick Cook, the first team to actually make the ascent was led by Stuck and Karstens, but the honor of being the first man on top fell to Alaska native Walter Harper.
5. While many sources cite Mont Blanc as the highest peak in Europe, by current cartography, this honor actually falls to Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus range. The first expedition to reach its summit was led by Florence Crauford Grove. In which year did this expedition reach the summit?

Answer: 1874

The reason I did not ask for the names of the first climbers in this question is simple - the expedition which managed this climb involved five mountaineers who share in the title of first to the summit without any of them claiming sole ownership. The formal expedition leader was Briton Florence Crauford Grove. Today, Elbrus climbs are, while not particularly easy, possible to make for trained hobbyists who can take a cable car to the 3800 meter level and undertake a one-day expedition to the 5642 meter summit.
6. We all know about Edmund Hillary and his 1953 conquest of Mount Everest, but what are the names of the two mountaineers who first managed this ascent using only ambient air, without any supplemental oxygen?

Answer: Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler

Reinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer who holds numerous records, including becoming the first person to scale all fourteen of the world's highest peaks and did so without supplemental oxygen. Together with his partner Peter Habeler, he reached the summit on 8 May 1978. He repeated the climb two years later, in August 1980 as a solo climber, becoming the first person to achieve this particular feat as well.

All other options in this questions are mountaineers who perished during an attempt on Mount Everest, still one of the most dangerous places on Earth to reach.
7. The highest peak of the fifth continent is also not agreed upon by all sources and depends on whether the continent is defined as Australia or Oceania. Going with the stricter "continental Australia" definition first, we have to look at Mount Kosciuszko. Who is credited with the first successful climb of this easiest of the "Seven Summits"?

Answer: Pawel Edmund Strzelecki

If you ever want to feel like completing one seventh of a feat normal people can only dream of doing, here is your chance. Mount Kosciuszko is a mere 2,228 meters high and you can get rather close to the summit by driving up Charlotte Pass. From the pass, the hike (not even climb) to the top is a mere 5 miles (8 kilometers) of no particular difficulty that anyone with a reasonable level of fitness can easily manage. Strezelecki's first documented ascent of this peak in 1840 is just a footnote on his pioneering exploration of the Australian Alps and many other areas of the fifth continent.
8. If we use the more expansive definition of the fifth continent, we have to look at Indonesia's Puncak Jaya (also known as Carstensz Pyramid). There is some controversy about which expedition (one of which dates to 1936, the other to 1962) reached the highest of its three peaks first. What is the reason for this?

Answer: The peak scaled by the 1936 expedition was the highest then but no longer is.

Anton Colijn, Jean Jacques Dozy and Frits Wissel were the three men who scaled the Ngga Pulu summit on Puncak Jaya in 1936. At this time, this summit was covered in heavy, hard snow and standing on it meant that one was actually at a higher altitude than the Carstensz Pyramid, the highest point of the actual rock formation which their expedition failed to reach.

In the following decades, much of the glacier melted and Carstensz became the highest point, which was then first scaled in 1962 by an expedition led by Heinrich Harrer.
9. The last continent to look at is Antarctica. Its highest peak is the Vinson Massif (or Mount Vinson), less difficult by height and climbing technique than by the constantly adverse conditions. Who led the expedition that conquered it in 1966?

Answer: Nicholas Clinch

Due to the remote location of this peak in Western Antarctica at 78° South, the difficulties faced by Mr. Clinch's expedition were much less in the climb itself but rather in getting there in the first place. The expedition was a merger of two initially separate plans and received funding and support from several sources including the U.S. Navy. All ten expedition members were Americans, representing multiple fields of study. The original initiators of the two plans, Charles Hollister and Peter Schoening, also formed part of the team. All ten members actually reached the summit, a rarity in modern mountaineering expeditions.

All three wrong answers were notable climbers of K2, the second highest mountain in the world.
10. Lastly, how about someone who has conquered the highest points on all seven continents? I am not looking for the first person to have climbed them, but for the teenager who completed this series of expeditions at less than fifteen and a half years of age by reaching the Vinson summit on December 24, 2011. What is this young man's name?

Answer: Jordan Romero

Born July 12, 1996, Jordan Romero is a teenage environmental activist who had derived the inspiration to try and scale the Seven Summits from a painting at his school. He was already an accomplished climber, often accompanying his father Paul on tours.

His Seven Summits tour began in April 2006, at not even 10 years, with a successful conquest of the Kibo. He completed the Everest climb in May 2010 and will likely remain the youngest person ever to manage this feat as none of the adjacent countries still allows mountaineers under 16 to attempt this feat. Romero completed his goal on December 24, 2011 by scaling the Vinson Massif.
Source: Author WesleyCrusher

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Exit10 before going online.
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