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World Peaks Appear on Stamps

In honor of the United Nations declaration of 2002 as the International Year of Mountains - and to start off Stamp Collecting Month in style - Canada Post on Oct. 1 released an innovative circular self-adhesive commemorative pane of eight 48¢ stamps.

The unique presentation of the stamps - each die cut to the jagged shape of the peak it represents - is sure to entice stamp collectors and mountain enthusiasts.

Canada Post first-day covers will be canceled in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, (population 850), on the edge of Canada's Kluane National Park, home to Mount Logan, the Canadian peak pictured on the pane. Mount Logan is the highest mountain in Canada and the second highest in North America.

The other seven die-cut adhesives in the $3.84 pane represent the highest peaks of the seven continents: Mount Elbrus in Europe, Puncak Jaya in Oceania, Mount Everest in Asia, Kilimanjaro in Africa, the Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Aconcagua in South America and Alaska's Mount McKinley in North America.

Indirectly, the stamps pay tribute to Canada Post-sponsored explorer Bernard Voyer, who on Dec. 10, 2001, stood atop the world's coldest peak, Massif Vinson, in Antarctica, crowning his exceptional world tour of the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. His journey also saw him trek across the two poles and ski across Greenland and Ellesmere Island.

The stamps also pay homage to photographer Pat Morrow, who in 1986 became the first person to climb the seven summits, a feat that was recognized in the Guiness Book of World Records. Both Canadian adventurers made history with their mountain-climbing exploits.

The year 2002 was declared International Year of Mountains in the hope that countries all over the world would promote the conservation and sustainable development of mountain regions.

October has been recognized as Stamp Collecting Month in countries around the world for more than 20 years. Postal administrations, including Canada Post, use the month to further educate philatelists and entice new collectors into the exciting pastime often described as the world's most popular hobby.