Mountaineer Dr Rick Agnew has become the oldest Australian and first Canberran to climb the Seven Summits – the tallest mountain on each of the seven continents. 

A specialist risk manager, 65-year-old Rick has a lifetime of experience behind him in undertaking risks in extreme environments. 

Recently returning from his successful March 5 climb of the Carstensz Pyramid (at 4884 metres, the tallest mountain in West Papua), Rick has now completed the seven summits (plus one) that have taken him around the globe. 

“Each of the mountains and their countries are just so different and diverse that each experience is a huge story in their own right,” he says. 

Rick finished what he considers the “true” seven summits in 2013. 

The original Seven Summits include Mount Vison, Antarctica at 4892 metres; Mount Kosciusko, Australia, 2228 metres; Mount Everest, Asia, 8850 metres; Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa, 5895 metres; Mount Aconcagua, South America, 6961 metres, Mount Denali, North America, 6194 metres and Mount Elbrus, Europe, 5642 metres. 

However, he decided to add the Carstensz Pyramid summit climb to his list, making it the unofficial eighth climb, due to recent debate.

Carstensz Pyramid is considered to be one of the most technically demanding of the summits involved in the challenge, requiring the use of fixed ropes and the navigation of a suspension bridge at high altitude. 

Access to Carstensz Pyramid requires the alignment of many permits as well as ideal weather conditions and, according to Rick, loads of luck. 

“It probably takes more luck to access the Pyramid than any other mountain in the world,” he says. 

For more than 12 years, Rick battled geopolitical restrictions and pandemic restrictions before receiving the call in late 2024 that permits for climbing would again be allowed under armed guards at base camp.

Another restriction meant that the traditional base-camp trek would be replaced by a 30-minute helicopter ride, weather permitting.  

Waiting two weeks to get a helicopter ride into base camp, Rick needed to obtain four different permits from Indonesian and local tribal authorities before beginning the trek. 

“The weather window only allows one or two flights early in the morning before the humid tropical air clouds removes the possibility of flights to base camp,” he says. 

“Due to the performance limitations of helicopters who fly from sea level to 14,500 feet, their carrying capacity is low.

“Together with normal helicopter maintenance, pilot availability and getting the weather gods to play ball, climber frustrations were high!”

One of the more demanding of the summit climbs, Rick argues it is the highest technical rating out of the summits, requiring climbers to ascend near vertical hard rock in cold, wet and slippery conditions. 

“Climbers have unfortunately succumbed to exhaustion, hyperthermia, serious injuries and falls, resulting in fatalities,” he says. 

“Sadly, there were two the day before my climb.”

Holding a doctorate in risk management as well as other post-graduate studies in high-altitude medicine, Rick says his journey into mountain climbing was almost entirely coincidental. 

“I sort of fell into mountain climbing,” he says. 

“My oldest brother was a real mountain climber who, while in the army, helped start the Australian Army Alpine Association and has climbed several of the 8000-metre peaks in the Himalayas.”

Rick has now climbed hundreds of mountains, including Canberra’s own Mount Taylor, Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain alongside both sides of Mount Everest, the Himalayas and K2.