Quick post – my top 5 mountains I want to climb in my lifetime, in no particular order. There are many other places I’d love to visit and hike, these are the ones that come to the top of my mind.
1) Aconcagua
The tallest mountain in the Americas, Aconcagua is located in the beautiful Andes mountains in Argentina. Despite being almost 7000m in height (6961m to be precise), Aconcagua is known for being relatively easy to climb from a technical perspective – the main hazards are exposure to cold temperatures as well as altitude sickness. I’ll definitely give this one a shot whenever I get around to visiting that part of the world!
2) Rainier
One of the most notable mountaineering locations in the USA, Rainier is located in the Cascades mountain range, an area I fell in love with after my visit to Oregon in 2019. I’m definitely planning to visit this area again for hiking and backcountry trips, but Rainier presents a good challenge. It is an active volcano, so hopefully it doesn’t erupt like Mount St Helens any time soon!
3) Logan
Logan (5956m) is on another of my lists as the highest point in Yukon as well as in Canada. Not much more needs to be said here, the mountains and scenery up north near the Yukon/Alaska border is beautiful!
4) Cho Oyu
Probably the tallest mountain I will ever consider climbing, Cho Oyu (8188m) is known as being the easiest 8000m peak to climb. Located in the Himalayas, not far from Mount Everest, this peak (6th highest in the world) is relatively popular for mountaineering owing to the lower degree of technical climbing, but still presents immense challenges due to its height and the lack of oxygen (above 8000m is known as the “death zone” where human life is unsustainable). The Himalayas are absolutely gorgeous, and while I do plan to do a long trek there at some point (either Everest Base Camp or Annapurna Circuit), I would like to eventually climb a peak or two.
5) Kilimanjaro
What really draws me to Kilimanjaro (highest peak in Africa at 5895m) is the unique nature of the climate (rather, climates) that one experiences as one climbs. Kilimanjaro rises from the African bushland to a rainforest climate at roughly 1800m, followed by moorland at 2800m. The climate quickly becomes more representative of a high altitude peak as it transitions to an alpine desert at around 4000m followed by a glaciated arctic zone from about 5000m up to the summit. I’ve watched a few YouTube videos of expeditions, and the porters seem like a great crowd to be around – lots of joy, singing and dancing. The wildlife in Africa is incredible as well.
I missed out on a lot of great spots here, any other suggestions? Let me know!
Veg 'n' Alpine 