Eight-thousander

But most readers will guffaw at the commentary from Messner's waifish young companion, Sabine Stehle ("to basecamp on three eight thousander expeditions").

The challenge we had set ourselves was to climb this eight-thousander as a twosome, without a large expedition, without high-altitude porters or oxygen gear...

From then on I have been waiting for a new opportunity to enjoy them more intensively than through a view from the summit of an eight-thousander.

If you judge countries purely by their mountainous terrain, Finland is a bit of a loser. Halti, Finland's tallest, is around 1,324 meters, or about 4,340 feet, making it a "one-thousander" as it is over a thousand meters above sea level. That may sound impressive, but bear in mind that the tallest peak in the United States is a six-thousander and Mount Everest is a eight-thousander.