Climbing Mount Denali Mountaineer Johann Peries sets out to conquer final summit in Seven Summits Challenge

Very often, I hear people say that since I climbed Mount Everest, Mount Denali will be nothing—and that’s where I think people make a mistake in facing life’s challenges. You don’t take these things lightly. Every mountain has its own challenges, however great you are”. 

- Johann Peries

 

• Johann’s previous summits include Mount Everest (Nepal, Asia), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia), Mount Elbrus (Russia, Europe), Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, Africa) and Mount Vinson in Antarctica, which he did this year

Sri Lankan mountaineer Johann Peries is set to leave the island on June 8, heading to Alaska to take on Mount Denali (also known as Mount McKinley), the final summit remaining to complete the Seven Summits Challenge. Considered the most coveted mountaineering achievement, the challenge involves scaling the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Upon summiting Mount Denali, Peries will become the first Sri Lankan to complete the Seven Summits Challenge—a feat accomplished by only around 360 individuals worldwide.

Speaking to Daily Mirror on June 4, Peries noted that it would take approximately 18 days to reach the summit of Mount Denali. In total, it is expected to take nearly 21 days to complete the climb of Alaska’s highest peak.

Peries remains hopeful that he will have better luck this time, after his first attempt to summit Mount Denali in 2023 was unsuccessful. He was forced to turn back on Day 18—the final day of the summit—due to stormy weather. “This time, I’m going with a very positive mind, but of course, there are certain things that are beyond our control. Last time, it was the weather that held me back, but I’m hoping that this time I will have better luck, that the weather will hold, and I will be able to complete it. The nerves are there, but I think it’s good to have that too, because then you won’t get ahead of yourself. You’ll take every precaution. I think I’m ready for it this time,” he remarked.

Describing the journey ahead, Peries noted that he will be joining an expedition team comprising five climbers and two guides. He added that Mount Denali is especially challenging as there are no porters, requiring mountaineers to carry an average of 50 kilograms up the mountain. “At Denali, we have to carry everything ourselves, and that’s a real challenge. We have to set up our own camps, we have to do everything ourselves, and there’s nobody to help,” he said.

“Very often, I hear people say that since I climbed Mount Everest, Mount Denali will be nothing—and that’s where I think people make a mistake in facing life’s challenges. You don’t take these things lightly. Every mountain has its own challenges, however great you are. And we’ve got to give our 100% to overcome them. I think the resilience and the determination I’ve had have pushed me through and brought me to this point today, where I’m ready to take on the final of the Seven Summits,” Peries remarked during a press conference held on June 3.

He explained that there were many challenges, heartaches and disappointments on his journey towards achieving the Seven Summits Challenge. The first and most difficult test came in 2016, when Peries had to turn back just 400 metres from the summit of Mount Everest. “As any human would, I didn’t care and wanted to go through with it. And then, of course, as my Prophetess taught me: ‘Life is the most important thing. What use is there if we have no life with us?’ So, I decided to turn back. In 2018, I was able to go back and summit Mount Everest,” he said.

“In 2019, when I took on Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, I had to turn back on the last day due to bad weather. This was after 21 days. In 2023, I went up Mount Denali and, once again, on the final day, I had to turn back due to bad weather. So it is not without challenges and heartaches that I have come through this journey. But through it all, I have had the support and the backing of so many. And every time I’m at a summit, I realise that it is not me standing there alone, I am taking a nation with me. That is truly how I feel,” he further said.

Peries also stated that the Seven Summits Challenge is not something he does for himself, but to show the world that Sri Lankans are resilient. “Even though we are from this little island, given the opportunity, we will stand, we will be great, we will overcome, and we will conquer every mountain. As I go, I take the Sri Lankan flag with me. I hope you will all be with me on this journey, and maybe on the 28th or 29th of June, you will see the good news of the Sri Lankan flag being hoisted on the final mountain of the Seven Summits,” he said.

Peries had already summited four peaks previously: Mount Everest (Nepal, Asia), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia), Mount Elbrus (Russia, Europe), and Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, Africa). He was the second Sri Lankan to summit Mount Everest in 2018. Peries returned to Sri Lanka on February 24 this year after successfully summiting Mount Vinson in Antarctica, becoming the first Sri Lankan to do so, followed by Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, leaving Mount Denali in Alaska as the final summit to complete the challenge.  

Photo by Waruna Wanniarachchi