Seven Summits

Frank Wells and Dick Bass had a dream. It was as straightforward as it was difficult: climb the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents. From Aconcagua in South America to Mount Everest in Asia, from Kilimanjaro in Africa to Vinson Massif in Antarctica, from Mount McKinley in North America to Elbrus in Europe and Mount Kosciusko in Australia: no one had ever scaled all seven summits -- it would be a first, a feat that had eluded the world's best mountaineers.

What made it all the more extraordinary was that Frank and Dick were businessmen, not mountaineers. Both had had so little climbing experience that they could hardly be ranked as amateurs, let alone world-class climbers. If that weren't enough, Frank was fifty-one and Dick was already fifty-three.

What made them think they could do it? Why should two successful, middle-aged businessmen risk their lives on some of the world's most remote and treacherous slopes?

Now, with veteran climber and writer Rick Ridgeway, Frank Wells and Dick Bass tell their story. It's all here: the frustrations and triumphs, the setbacks and the amazing successes. With a breathtaking determination and a love of adventure as large as Everest itself, they take you from the weeks of preparation to the anguish of their first ascents, from grueling days when it seemed easier to quit to the thrilling moments when a summit had been conquered.

This riveting saga brings you into the heart of courage and ambition, into an indomitable will to succeed that led two men from their comfortable lives at home in America to the harsh but beckoning wilds of Seven Summits.

Rick Ridgeway is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, author, photographer, and environmentalist based in Ojai, California. He was included in National Geographic Adventure's Hall of Fame in 2008-2009. His writings and photographs have appeared in many publications.
Rick Ridgeway is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, author, photographer, and environmentalist based in Ojai, California. He was included in National Geographic Adventure's Hall of Fame in 2008-2009. His writings and photographs have appeared in many publications.