Want to hit the highest peak in each state?

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

Updated list of highest peaks, history of the places, etc. A really good read.

http://www. backpacker.com/destinations/highpoints

(remove space after www.)

 

[BlackPanther]

Interesting. Thank you i'll check this out!

 

[Lutherrunner]

I've managed to hit the highest ones in Colorado and New Mexico.....

 

[StormeTorque]

Mt McKinley would be something else - but I guess you'd have to be a skilled mountaineer even to attempt it.

They have a similar kind of thing in the UK - where people set off to "bag" the county tops. http://bubl.ac.uk/org/tacit/marilyns/chapter6.htm They also have various classifications of hills such as munros (hills over 3000ft generally with a 500ft drop between them and the next 3000ft peak) which are found only in Scotland, and there are 284 of them. There are also Corbetts (2500-3000 ft), same drop, Grahams (2000-2500ft), same drop, in Scotland only.

There are also various classifications of hills throughout the UK that are too complicated to list. A good system is the "relative hills of Britain", where a hill makes the grade if it has 150m (500ft) drop all round, no matter how high it is. There are over 1500 of these hills across the UK, but the good thing about this is that you don't need to live in a mountainous region to collect hills - many of these are found in the rolling hills of southern England.

 

[Lutherrunner]

Mt McKinley would be something else - but I guess you'd have to be a skilled mountaineer even to attempt it.

They have a similar kind of thing in the UK - where people set off to "bag" the county tops. http://bubl.ac.uk/org/tacit/marilyns/chapter6.htm They also have various classifications of hills such as munros (hills over 3000ft generally with a 500ft drop between them and the next 3000ft peak) which are found only in Scotland, and there are 284 of them. There are also Corbetts (2500-3000 ft), same drop, Grahams (2000-2500ft), same drop, in Scotland only.

There are also various classifications of hills throughout the UK that are too complicated to list. A good system is the "relative hills of Britain", where a hill makes the grade if it has 150m (500ft) drop all round, no matter how high it is. There are over 1500 of these hills across the UK, but the good thing about this is that you don't need to live in a mountainous region to collect hills - many of these are found in the rolling hills of southern England.

Hah!....that reminds me of that movie with Hugh Grant...something about climbing up a hill and coming down a mountain? that was a pretty funny movie.....

 

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

That's it-I'm ready to bag some peaks. Storme, you should make a list of the highest peaks in your country and we can race each other to see who bags them all first. It would probably be you, though!

 

[HiredGoon]

I've got one off the list. Harney Peak in South Dakota at 7,242 feet is the tallest peak east of the Rockies. There's an old stone fire tower at the top.

 

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

I've got one off the list. Harney Peak in South Dakota at 7,242 feet is the tallest peak east of the Rockies. There's an old stone fire tower at the top.

Sweet! That sounds like an awesome time.

Alright-my goal: peak one by this spring.

 

[Ainuhina]

I've got one off the list. Harney Peak in South Dakota at 7,242 feet is the tallest peak east of the Rockies. There's an old stone fire tower at the top.

How high would that be in meters??????

I've been hiking a lot - since most of my country is cover by the Alps (central europe) - but I've never been on the highest mountain here...it's kind of hard to get up there on feet...rock, glaicers....and there is a street running up till right under the top of it...when you as a hiker finally arrive at the top you see a big parking square and tourists in high heels ... but maybe one day I'll go up there....

 

[HiredGoon]

How high would that be in meters??????

Harney Peak is 2,207 meters tall. Not very tall as far as mountains go, but its still the tallest east of the Rocky Mountains in America. Once you get farther west into the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas, many of the peaks top off at over 4,000 meters.

 

[Ainuhina]

Thanks!!!!

So the highest mountain in my country is a little bit higher (as far as I can remember it's 3900 and somewhat meters)....

 

[ChrisWins]

Mt McKinley would be something else - but I guess you'd have to be a skilled mountaineer even to attempt it.

Each U.S. high point (except for one) can be achieved in one single day. Many people've even done 3 or 4 in a day -- very easy ones in small states with not too far to drive.

My climb of Denali (the mtn's proper name) in May last year took 19 days from the time we first dropped off gear at basecamp to summit and back to Talkeetna. The vertical climb is over 13,000 feet / 4000 meters - more than Everest!!

A non-skiller mountaineer can achieve the climb if in good physical shape but any outfit will require you to take a 3-5 day winter mountaineering course ahead of time to get some idea of what the climb will include.

My list of 50 now includes 16 summits:

NH, NJ, VT, ME, WA, OR, CA, AZ, NM, TX, CO, UT, WY, ID, MT, Alaska

I'm not really trying for all 50, just an avid climber. My next three goals are Mt. Elbrus in Russia, Aconcagua in Argentina, and Denali again.

 

[awortm]

I think all the U.S. state peaks is definitely more attainable than the 7s (highest peak in each continent - I was going to start with Australia in April start slow ya know!)

 

[Torah]

Yep. I hit that Peak every day. I drive over the Tamp Bridge here in Florida; it’s the highest point in Florida ya know.

 

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

I think all the U.S. state peaks is definitely more attainable than the 7s (highest peak in each continent - I was going to start with Australia in April start slow ya know!)

Agreed. Hitting the 50 has an entirely different philosophy than sport mountaineering. Hitting the 50 is more about the geography, enjoying the environment, history, and aesthetics whereas sport climbing is more about the individual accomplishment in regards to technical climbing. Well, everest may not be the most technical mountain but there are other challenges involved. But when we get new information about the highest peaks i the states (surveying companies do find from time to time that what they previously thought was the highest wasn't), then the finished peak baggers lose something off the list. (Oh well.)

 

[Matthan]

The Adirondacks have many high peaks, but Mt. Marcy is the highest, I believe. It is a tough climb, too.....

 

[Godjunkie]

I've climbed Granite Peak in montana and I can understand doing that one in a day, but most people do Gannett in Wyoming in about four days- you'd have to be an animal to tag that one in a day.

 

[mycatspice]

Coolness! Ooooh! Aaaaah!

 

[TarHollow]

The Adirondacks have many high peaks, but Mt. Marcy is the highest, I believe. It is a tough climb, too.....

Yes, Marcy is the highest in NY state. I climbed that one back in 1991. That WAS a tough climb; above treeline, everything was covered in ice, and it was sleeting sideways on the way up and back. We had spent the night at Indian Falls, about 2 or 3 miles from the summit. Certainly was a fun time.

I've also done Wheeler Peak, the highest peak in New Mexico, at roughly 13,100ft., besides a few others that aren't the tallest.

Then of course, ive done Clingman's Dome in the Smokies, Tennesseee's highest. Of course i shouldn't count that one; that's only a 1/4 mile hike up from the car!

 

[VictorianVelvet]

I have been at 11,000 or 12,000 feet up in Colorado, but a storm moved in, and they closed the road... so therefore we could not go up any higher. The air is very thin up that high.

I know...you're talking about hiking... We were in storm conditions, and hiking wasn't possible that day, but we did see a lot of elk there!