10 highest peaks in Antarctica

Review of the best according to the editorial board. On the selection criteria. This material is subjective, does not constitute advertising and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.

Antarctica is known as the driest, coldest and windiest region on the planet. Almost 98 percent of its area, which is 14 million square kilometers, is covered with a strong layer of ice more than one and a half kilometers thick. For this huge icy desert, the temperature is 40-50 degrees below zero, and an absolute minimum of cold was recorded here – minus 89 degrees Celsius. And it is also rightfully considered the highest continent of the Earth, since the average height of its surface above sea level reaches 2000 meters. The relief of Antarctica is rather uneven, its surface is crossed by several large mountain ranges. We invite you to learn about the ten highest Antarctic peaks.

Highest peaks in Antarctica

10th place – Bentley Summit

Rating: 4.1

Mount Bentley is located in the western part of the Sentinel Ridge; the height of this peak, covered with ice and snow all year round, is 4245 meters. It got its name in honor of the American glaciologist, geophysicist and seismologist Dr. Charles Raymond Bentley. The scientist is known primarily for leading the Antarctic expedition on all-terrain vehicles in 1958-1959, during which part of Antarctica to the south of Byrd station was explored, and the thickness of the ice sheet in this region was determined.

9th place – Mount Sidley

Rating: 4.2

Mount Sidley is an extinct shield volcano that formed during the early Pleocene. Its peak is located at an altitude of 4285 meters above sea level. The mountain was first seen in 1934 by Rear Admiral Richard Byrd, the leader of the Antarctic expedition. He decided to name her after Mary Sidley, the daughter of one of his sponsors. The first person to climb the summit of Sidley was in 1990 Bill Atkinson, a resident of New Zealand. Although this mountain bears the honorary title of the highest volcano on the Antarctic continent, it is not popular even among extreme climbers, as it is located too far from research stations.

8th place – Mount Markem

Rating: 4.3

Markham is an elongated mountain range within the Queen Elizabeth Ridge, which is part of the Transantarctic Mountains that cross almost the entire Antarctic continent and divide it into eastern and western parts. It is located 150 kilometers northwest of Mount Elizabeth. The highest of the three peaks rises 4350 meters above sea level. The summit was discovered during the “Discovery” expedition at the beginning of the 20th century. The head of the expedition, British captain Robert Falcon Scott named the mountain after the outstanding scientist Clements Markham, who was then president of the Royal Geographical Society. It was he who initiated this extremely difficult and dangerous journey, which became an important milestone in the exploration of the icy continent.

7th place – Mount Rutford

Rating: 4.4

Mount Rutford is a member of the Craddock Massif located in the south of the Sentinel Ridge, near Vinson Peak. Its height is 4477 meters. The summit remained unnamed until 2006, when the Antarctic Names Committee decided to name it in honor of Robert Rutford, a member of two research expeditions in Antarctica conducted by the University of Minnesota in the 1960s. The exact height of Mount Rutford in the same 2006 was established by two climbers from Australia during their ascent.

6th place – Mount Elizabeth

Rating: 4.5

The mountain is located in the Ross territory, in the eastern part of Antarctica, it is part of the Queen Alexandra Ridge, which belongs to the Transantarctic Mountains. Elizabeth rises at 4480 meters above sea level, it is the second highest peak of the ridge after Mount Kerkpatrick, and also one of the few mountains on the southern continent that are not covered by permafrost. The summit was discovered during the British Antarctic Expedition of the early 20th century, also known as the Nimrod Expedition, led by explorer Ernest Henry Shackleton. It got its name in honor of Elizabeth Dawson-Lambton, who acted as one of the sponsors of this trip. The mountain gained notoriety in 2013, when a plane of the Canadian airline Kenn Borek Air with three passengers on board, flying between research stations, crashed on its steep slopes.

5th place – Mount Kerkpatrick

Rating: 4.6

Mount Kerkpatrick is the highest point in the Transantarctic Mountains, with a domed peak reaching a height of 4528 meters. It stands in the middle of the Queen Alexandra Ridge, west of Birdmore Glacier. The merit of the discovery of this mountain, which occurred in 1908, belongs to members of the British Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. It owes its name to one of the expedition sponsors, entrepreneur Kerkpatrick from the English city of Glasgow. The mountain is attractive for climbers due to its relative accessibility, especially during the spring months. In 2004, nearby, researchers found early Jurassic fossils of dinosaurs from the genus Cryolophosaurus, pterosaurs and ancient reptiles.

4th place – Mount Gardner

Rating: 4.7

Mount Gardner, whose height is 4587 meters, belongs to the Sentinel ridge. It is located in Ellsworth Land, about three kilometers from the summit of Tyri. It is named after the American pilot Lieutenant Harvey Gardner, who crashed in a plane crash in 1959. Among fans of Antarctic mountaineering, the mountain is considered one of the most difficult to access, since the ascent is complicated by the huge Patton Glacier covering most of the slopes.

3rd place – Mount Shinn

Rating: 4.8

Mount Shinn, part of the Sentinel Ridge, is located in West Antarctica, less than 10 kilometers from the Tyri and Vinson summits. It is a mountain range 4 kilometers wide and over 12 kilometers long. The mountain was discovered as a result of a research flight in 1958. Named after US Navy pilot Lieutenant Konrad Shinn, one of the first to make a successful landing at the South Pole. Mount Shinn was first conquered in 1966 by a group led by experienced climber Nicholas Clinch. And in 2001, Australian climbers carried out a large-scale study of the Ellsworth mountain system, during which they determined the exact height of Mount Shinn – 4661 meters, thereby correcting the erroneous data received from the previous expedition.

2nd place – Mount Tiree

Rating: 4.9

The second highest mountain on the mainland has been known since 1958, when it was discovered by aircraft of the 6th Squadron of the US Air Force during reconnaissance flights. They decided to name the new peak in honor of Rear Admiral David Tyree, who commanded the US Navy warships stationed near Antarctica in the 1960s. Mount Tyri is 4852 meters high and belongs to the Antarctic Ellsworth mountain range. At different times, the ascent to this peak was carried out by six groups of climbers, climbing on three different routes. Three people from the groups died while climbing Tiri. The most difficult and dangerous southern slope of the mountain with its 2000-meter steep wall is still unconquered.

1st place – Peak Vinson

Rating: 5.0

The Vinson mountain range is impressive in its size – its length is 21 kilometers, width is 13 kilometers, and the highest point called Vinson Peak rises 4892 meters above sea level. Located 1200 kilometers from the South Pole, the mountains were discovered in 1958 by American explorers during an airplane flight. The massif got its name from the famous American Congressman Carl Vinson, who advocates funding scientific expeditions to Antarctica. Vinson Peak is included in the list of “Seven Peaks”, compiled by the informal association of climbers. Although technically it is not the most difficult to climb (the difficulty is estimated at four and a half points), the ascent is complicated by factors such as continuous snow cover, cold, constant wind and very thin air.

Attention! This rating is subjective and does not constitute an advertisement and does not serve as a purchase guide. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.