Johann Peries nears mountaineering glory with final Seven Summits climb

JOHANN Peries last week stood before a room full of friends, supporters, and press at Cinnamon Life, City of Dreams, and shared a dream he's spent years chasing.

- BY TANIA DE SILVA

With six of the world's highest peaks already behind him, he's now setting out to climb the final one, Mount Denali in North America. If he succeeds, he won't only complete the legendary Seven Summits Challenge as he'll make history as the first Sri Lankan to ever do it.

The Seven Summits Challenge involves climbing the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. So far, Johann has scaled Mount Everest (Asia), Mount Elbrus (Europe), Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia), Mount Vinson (Antarctica), and Mount Aconcagua (South America).

Johann attempted Denali in 2023 but was forced to turn back due to dangerous weather on summit day. With more focus and strength, he now returns to conquer the last summit in his journey, a journey that began with his historic Everest climb in 2018, when he became the second Sri Lankan ever to reach the top of the world.