Mountaineering
In 1897 Mount Saint Elias () on the Alaska-Yukon border was summitted by the Duke of the Abruzzi and party. But it was not until 1913 that Denali (), the tallest peak in North America, was successfully climbed by Hudson Stuck. Mount Logan (), the tallest peak in Canada was first summitted by a half dozen climbers in 1925 in an expedition that took more than two months.
In 1879-1880 the exploration of the highest Andes in South America began when English mountaineer Edward Whymper climbed Chimborazo () and explored the mountains of Ecuador. The Cordillera between Chile and Argentina was visited by Paul Güssfeldt in 1883, who ascended the volcano Maipo () and attempted to climb the tallest mountain in the Americas, Aconcagua () that same year but was unsuccessful. The summit of Aconcagua was finally reached on January 14, 1897 by Swiss mountaineer Matthias Zurbriggen during an expedition led by Edward FitzGerald that began in December 1896. The Andes of Bolivia were first explored by Sir William Martin Conway in 1898, who later visited the mountains of Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America.
Mountain Madness
While leading Mountain Madness, Fischer became renowned for his ascents of the world's highest mountains made without the use of supplemental oxygen. Fischer and Wally Berg were the first Americans to summit Lhotse, the world's fourth highest mountain (27,940 feet / 8516 m), located next to Mount Everest. He and Ed Viesturs were the first Americans to summit K2, (28,251 feet / 8611m) in the Karakoram of Pakistan without supplemental oxygen. During his stewardship of Mountain Madness, Fischer led social and environmental initiatives to help people in the countries in which Mountain Madness traveled. As the leaders of the 1994 Sagarmatha Environmental Expedition, Fischer and Rob Hess both summited Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. Later that year, the American Alpine Club awarded the David Brower Conservation Award, "an annual award recognizing leadership and commitment to preserving mountain regions worldwide," to all members of the expedition. Fischer also led the 1996 Climb for CARE expedition on Mount Kilimanjaro (19,341 feet / 5,895 m) in Africa. This endeavor raised nearly a million dollars for the relief organization.