Antarctica Ultra-Prominent Summits

ANTARCTICA ULTRA-PROMINENCES
Ultima Ultrae of the Antipodes

39 Summits in Antarctica and Antarctic Isles
with Prominence of 1500 meters and greater

PROVISIONAL LIST - see FOOTNOTES

Antarctica and Greenland are the two most difficult parts of the world for the measurement of ultra-prominent summits. SRTM gives us consistent 3-arc second digital elevation data for the world between 60ºN and 60ºS. For Antarctica we have to rely on a 200 meter spaced DEM, and 1:250,000 or smaller topographic maps, or nothing at all. There is a possibility that there are a few mountains missing from this list in areas for which digital data was not available. In particular there is a question about the topography of Alexander Island. Nonetheless, we are confident that the peaks on this list are all indeed ultras.

minor revision: May 10, 2007

Rank	Summit Name	Location	Latitude	Longitude	Elevation (m.)	Prominence (m.)	Saddle DEM (m.)	Elevation (ft.)	Prominence (ft.)	Footnotes

1	Vinson Massif	HP Antarctica	78º31'32" S	85º37'02" W	4892	4892	0	16050	16050	[1]
2	Mt. Erebus	HP Ross Island	77º32' S	167º10' E	3794	3794	0	12447	12447	[2]
3	Mt. Siple	HP Siple Island	73º15' S	126º06' W	3110	3110	0	10203	10203	[3]
4	Mt. Stephenson	HP Alexander Island	69º49' S	69º43' W	2987	2987	0	9800	9800
5	Mt. Francais	HP Anvers Island	64º38' S	63º27' W	2760	2760	0	9055	9055	[5]
6	Mt. Minto	Admiralty Mtns.	71º47' S	168º45' E	4165	2616	1549	13665	8583
7	Mt. Kirkpatrick	HP Queen Alexandra Range	84º20' S	166º25' E	4528	2601	1927	14855	8533
8	Mt. Parry	HP Brabant Island	64º16' S	62º25' W	2520	2520	0	8268	8268
9	Mt. Sidley	HP Executive Committee Range	77º02' S	126º06' W	4285	2517	1768	14058	8258
10	Mt. Miller	Holland Range	83º20' S	165º48' E	4160	2354	1806	13648	7723	[10]
11	Mt. Lister	HP Royal Society Range	78º04' S	162º41' E	4025	2325	1700	13205	7628
12	Mt. Gaudry	HP Adelaide Island	67º32' S	68º37' W	2315	2315	0	7595	7595
13	Mt. Irving	HP Clarence Island	61º17' S	054º08' W	2300	2300	0	7546	7546	[13]
14	Mt. Jackson		71º23' S	063º22' W	3184	2187	997	10446	7175	[14]
15	Mt. Takahe	Marie Byrd Land	76º17' S	112º05' W	3460	2144	1316	11352	7034
16	Mt. Foster	HP Smith Is. (S. Shetlands)	63º00' S	62º33' W	2105	2105	0	6906	6906
17	Mt. Markham	Queen Elizabeth Range	82º51' S	161º21' E	4350	2103	2247	14271	6900
18	Gora Georgia Pobedonosca		69º S	71º E	2896	2058	838	9501	6752	[18]
19	Mt. Murphy	Marie Byrd Land	75º20' S	110º44' W	2705	2055	650	8875	6742
20	Hawkes Heights	HP Coulman Island	73º32' S	169º42' E	2000	2000	0	6562	6562
21	Richmond Peak (Toney Mtn.)		75º48' S	115º49' W	3595	1946	1649	11794	6384
22	(unknown)	(Alexander Island)	70º35' S	70º10' W	2486	1939	547	8156	6361	[22]
23	Mt. Murchison	Mountaineer Range	73º25' S	166º18' E	3501	1927	1574	11486	6322
24	Mt. Supernal		73º04' S	165º42' E	3655	1804	1851	11991	5919
25	Mt. Kaplan	Hughes Range	84º33' S	175º19' E	4230	1783	2447	13878	5850	[25]
26	Mt. Frakes	Crary Mountains	76º48' S	117º42' W	3675	1780	1895	12057	5840
27	Mt. Friesland	HP Livingston Island	62º40'15" S	60º11'10" W	1700	1700	0	5578	5578	[27]
28	Mt. Melbourne	Victoria Land	74º21' S	164º42' E	2730	1699	1031	8957	5574
29	Mt. Terror	(Ross Island)	77º31' S	168º32' E	3230	1696	1534	10597	5564
30	Mt. Elizabeth		83º54' S	168º23' E	4480	1657	2823	14698	5436
31	Lars Christiansen Peak	HP Peter I Island			1640	1640	0	5381	5381	[31]
32	Dome Argus - "Dome A"	HP Antarctic Plateau	80º22' S	77º21' E	4091	1639	2452	13422	5377	[32]
33	Mt. Discovery		78º22' S	165º01' E	2680	1637	1043	8793	5371
34	Mt. Verne	HP Pourquoi Pas Island	67º40' S	67º30' W	1632	1632	0	5354	5354	[34]
35	Mt. Haddington	HP James Ross Island	64º13' S	57º38' W	1630	1630	0	5348	5348
36	Mt. McClintock	Britannia Range	80º13' S	157º26' E	3490	1621	1869	11450	5318
37	Mt. Brewster		72º57' S	169º23' E	2025	1598	427	6644	5243
38	Mt. Morning		78º31' S	163º35' E	2725	1515	1210	8940	4970
39	(unknown)		86º18' S	158º00' E	3938	1500	2438	12920	4921	[39]

FOOTNOTES:

Mountains were researched from a variety of sources:

Elevations of summits and saddles were checked against the 200m DEM data made available by NSIDC (National Snow and Ice Data Center) Boulder, Colorado. The OSU version (nil sea level) was used.

Locations and names have been checked against available printed topographic maps, published by the Americans, British, Australians, and Russians, as well as the GNIS data for Antarctica (see below). A variety of supplemental information, including trip reports, and articles appearing in mountaineering journals are referenced below.

We should not assume accuracy greater than ±100 meters for saddle (and thus prominence) values unless otherwise noted.

There are probably a handful of true ultras missing from this list. We believe there may be two more ultras lurking on Alexander Island. Topographic maps are not available for most of the island, and due to the rugged, exposed saddles, the 200m spacing of the DEM is inconclusive.

As always, we would appreciate help with regard to data sources, recent surveys, and name and location corrections.
--

[1] Vinson: Vinson Massif has a widely known elevation of 4897m/16066'. In December 2004 a team of mountaineers, led by Damien Gildea. conducted a 10 hour continuous Trimble GPS survey of the summit. The survey, which was processed by Geoscience Australia using the EGS96 geoid model, provides us with a new definitive elevation of 4892m/16050'. (This confirms Vinson Massif's position at number 8 in World prominence.)
[2] Erebus is an active volcano, ranking 34th in World Prominence. A 2004 Trimble differential GPS survey conducted by the Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory, confirms the elevation of 3,794 meters to one meter accuracy.
[3] Siple: Although Mt. Siple has probably been climbed, there is no known record. If it has not been climbed, Siple will certainly be the most prominent unclimbed mountain in the world.
[5] Francais: Alternate elevation of 2,758m also found on the internet.
[10] Miller: Most prominent unclimbed on list (with possible exception of Siple above.)
[13] Irving: Elevation is approximate, and taken from U.S. Navy publication. The DEM appears to be inaccurate for the area.
[14] Jackson: Elevation from American Alpine Journal (1999). GNIS offers elevation of 3050m.
[18] Georgia Pobedonosca: This name was taken from a Russian map and can not be corroborated. Mountains in the region do not appear in the GNIS, and we assume that this is not a widely recognized name. The 200m DEM confirmed the elevation of summit and saddle nicely.
[22] Unknown: No map information. Values taken entirely from DEM.
[25] Kaplan: Elevation from USGS 1:250,000.
[27] Friesland: 1700.2m is the result of a highly accurate GPS survey conducted by Damien Gildea (2003). Data conforms to EGS96 geoid. 1684m was an earlier value.
[31] Lars Christiansen: Article about planned first ascent for 2005.
[32] Dome Argus: The highpoint of the Antarctic plateau has a wide divergence of published elevation values (including 4300m, 4200m, 4100m, 4039m, 4030m, 4000m.) A claimed first ascent was made in January 2005 by a 12-man Chinese Team. The press report repeated the 4,039m elevation, which is from GTOPO30 data. However, they also report a preliminary GPS reading of 4091m that corresponds well with the 200m DEM reading of 4083m. We will look forward to the final report.
[34] Verne: Article about 1991 first ascent.
[39] Unknown: No map information. Values taken entirely from DEM.

REFERENCES:

Gildea, Damien: Antarctic Mountaineering Chronology, 1998. Copies available from the author at dageogil[at] tpgi.com.au
The American Alpine Journal
U.S. Board of Geographic Names Advisory Committee on Antarctica.

COMMERCIAL MESSAGES