Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains and one North America’s most visited parks. Banff’s mountains exhibit several different shapes that have been influenced by the composition of rock deposits, layers, and their structure. The 3,618 meter (11,870 ft) high Mount Assiniboine has been shaped by glacial erosion that has left a sharp peak. It has been unofficially named the “Matterhorn” of North America. The mountains of the Valley of the Ten Peaks near the crystal clear Moraine Lake are also known for providing scenic vistas.

With a peak elevation of 8,611 meters (28,251 ft), K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest. The mountain is part of the Karakoram range, located on the border between China and Pakistan. K2 is also known as the Savage Mountain due to the difficulty of ascent and one of the highest fatality rate for those who climb it. K2 is notable for its local relief as well as its total height. It stands over 3,000 meters (9,843 ft) above much of the glacial valley bottoms at its base. More extraordinary is the fact that it is a consistently steep pyramid, dropping quickly in almost all directions. An Italian expedition succeeded in ascending to the summit of K2 on July 31, 1954.

Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It’s main feature is a level plateau approximately 3 kilometers (2 mi) from side to side, surrounded by steep cliffs. The highest point on Table Mountain is 1,086 meters (3,563 ft) above sea level. There is a cableway that takes passengers to the top of the mountain with views overlooking Cape Town, Table Bay and Robben Island to the north, and the Atlantic seaboard to the west and south. António de Saldanha was the first European to land in Table Bay. He climbed the mighty mountain in 1503 and named it ‘Table Mountain’.

The Matterhorn is a famous mountain and an iconic emblem of the Swiss Alps. The mountain derives its name from the German words Matte, meaning meadow, and Horn, which means peak. With its 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) high summit, lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps. It is also one of the deadliest peaks in the Alps. From the first time it was climbed in 1865 to 1995, 500 alpinists have died on it. The Matterhorn’s faces are steep, and only small patches of snow and ice cling to them while regular avalanches send the snow down to accumulate on the glaciers at the base of each face.

At 8,848 meters (29,029 ft), Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. It is located on the border between Nepal and Tibet. The highest mountain in the world attracts climbers of all levels, from well experienced mountaineers to novice climbers willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb. Although other eight-thousanders such as K2 are much more difficult to climb, Mount Everest still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. People who die during the climb are typically left behind and it is not uncommon to find corpses near the standard climbing routes. On May 29, 1953, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and New Zealander Edmund Percival Hillary were the first to climb to the summit of Everest.