Global Mountain Explorer
Search the mountain dataset and filter by continent, activity and common climbing months.
Open the explorerGlobal mountain exploration
Explore the world’s great mountains
Compare peaks, understand elevation and prominence, explore route context, plan for altitude and discover mountains by season, region and activity.
Mountain coverage151 mountain profiles
Each profile brings together geographic context, route character, season and access information in one place.
Start with a mountain, not a keyword
The explorer lets you move from a familiar summit to related mountains by continent, route type, altitude and season. The comparison engine keeps elevation separate from prominence and avoids false precision such as generic success rates.
Peak Comparison
Compare two or more mountains across elevation, prominence, route character, glacier travel and permit context.
Compare mountainsAltitude Planner
Check how quickly a proposed sleeping-elevation plan rises and identify itineraries that deserve more acclimatization time.
Plan acclimatizationFeatured mountain profiles
Each profile explains what the key numbers mean and how route-specific context changes the way a mountain should be understood.
Asia
Mount Everest
8,849 mHigh-altitude expedition climbing
Mount Everest is the highest point above mean sea level on Earth and the best-known summit of the Himalaya. It rises on the Nepal-China border in the Mahalangur Himal and sits among a dense group of exceptionally high peaks, including Lhotse, Nuptse and Changtse. Its extraordinary elevation shapes every part of an ascent: atmospheric pressure is low, acclimatization occupies weeks rather than days, and prolonged exposure above 8,000 metres adds severe physiological stress.
Asia
K2
8,611 mHighly technical expedition climbing
K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth and the highest summit of the Karakoram. It rises above the Baltoro glacier system near the Pakistan-China border and has a sharply pyramidal form that reflects the steepness of its major ridges. Unlike mountains with long high plateaus or comparatively low-angled upper slopes, K2 remains technically and objectively demanding high on the route.
Asia
Kangchenjunga
8,586 mHigh-altitude expedition climbing
Kangchenjunga is the world’s third-highest mountain and the dominant summit of a vast massif on the Nepal-India border. The mountain has several major summits and sits above heavily glaciated valleys that drain toward both countries. Its remoteness is central to its character: approaches are long, the massif is complex, and expedition logistics remain substantial even before climbers reach the upper mountain.
Asia
Lhotse
8,516 mHigh-altitude expedition climbing
Lhotse is the fourth-highest mountain in the world and forms part of the same immense high-altitude complex as Everest. The South Col links the two mountains, which explains Lhotse’s relatively modest topographic prominence despite its 8,516-metre elevation. This distinction makes Lhotse a useful example of why elevation and prominence describe different aspects of a mountain.
Asia
Makalu
8,485 mHighly technical expedition climbing
Makalu is the fifth-highest mountain in the world and rises southeast of Everest on the Nepal-China border. Its steep four-sided pyramid stands apart visually from broader neighbouring massifs, and its upper mountain offers far less gentle terrain than the summit domes found on some other 8,000-metre peaks.
Asia
Cho Oyu
8,188 mHigh-altitude expedition climbing
Cho Oyu is the sixth-highest mountain on Earth and stands west of Everest near the Nangpa La, a historic Himalayan pass. Its broad upper slopes give it a less sharply pyramidal appearance than Makalu or K2, but its 8,188-metre summit remains deep in the physiological zone where prolonged exposure becomes dangerous.
Learn what the numbers actually mean
Elevation
Elevation states how high a summit lies above a reference sea-level datum. It does not tell you how independently the mountain rises or how difficult a route will be.
Learn about elevationTopographic prominence
Prominence measures a summit’s vertical independence from higher terrain. A lower peak can be more prominent than a higher neighbour.
Learn about prominenceRoute difficulty
Altitude, glacier travel, technical climbing, weather, remoteness and route finding describe different forms of difficulty. Giant Mountains keeps those dimensions visible instead of hiding them behind one score.
Understand mountain difficulty