Table of Contents
The following topics are covered on the first peakbagging page:
- The Adirondacks.
- The AMC Four Thousand Footer
Committee Lists.
- The Official Lists
- The Unofficial Lists (3000 footers)
- The Northeast 111 List
The following related topics are covered on other pages:
- 4000 Footer Club FAQ
- Numbers of Hikers Completing Each List
- Winter Record for NH 4,000 Footers
- The lists themselves, go straight there if that is what you are looking for!
The Catskill 3500 Club
The Catskill 3500 Club is an organization dedicated to climbing and protecting those Catskill peaks over 3500 feet. To become a member of the club, you must climb all 35 peaks over 3500 feet as well 4 designated peaks a second time in the winter. About half of the peaks are trailless and require bushwhacking and map and compass skills. The trailless peaks have canisters to register the climbs. As far as I know very few New England hikers have much interest in this list.
Trailwrights List
For all of the above lists there are no restrictions on how many peaks may be done on a single trip. The Trailwrights (a trail maintaining organization) have a different set of rules for the NH 4,000 footers: only one peak may be claimed on one hike. In addition, they recognize a peak if the col between it and its higher neighbors is over 100 feet, which leads to a much longer, with 72 peaks. They also require a total of 72 hours of trail maintenance work with an accepted group.
Gene Daniel, in a posting, explains the genesis of the Trailwright's approach:
In any case, so far as the Trailwrights 72 Summits list is concerned, it was invented by Hal Graham because he wanted to have an excuse to make more hikes to summits above 4000 feet in New Hampshire - some old ones (e.g. the Carters, 6 peaks in all) and some new ones (Southwest Twin, West Osceola, etc.). He invented a game that fulfilled his particular interests and there are others who found it intriguing. Remember, you don't have to play my game or Hal's game or any other someone's game - you can always invent you own, and make your own game - just like Hal did.
In addition to the list you may want to look short notes on the extra peaks they require.
Beyond the Northeast
Though this site is dedicated to the Northeast some may be interested in a few pointers to peakbagging elsewhere.
- The highest mountains in the States are the Fourteeners, of which there are 54 in Colorado, 21 in Alaska, 15 in California and one (Rainier) in Washington State. The most popular objective is the Colorado Fourteeners, see also 14ers.com and the rather similarity named colorado14er.com. As there are only 15 Fourteeners in California the Sierra Peaks Section of the Sierra Club awards a variety of Emblems for those who climb longer lists of peaks. A list of California Thirteeners has been compiled.
- Closer to the Northeast we have the South Beyond 6,000 peaks in the Southern Appalachians (North Carolina and Tennessee).
- A different approach is taken by the Highpointers Club, whose members have reached (by any means!) the highest point of each state.
- An obvious extension of the Highpointers idea is to reach the high point of every county in one or more states, and there is a County Highpointers site for those so inclined.
In Continental Europe the big list, of course, is the 4,000 meter peaks in the Alps. The official UIAA list, based on a complex set of criteria (topographic, morphological and mountaineering), has 82 peaks. There is also an "enlarged list of lesser summits", which are above 4,000 meters but do not meet the listed criteria. A club, the 4000's Club, gathers those who have climbed at least 30 of the official peaks.
The primary UIAA criterion is a surprising low prominence of 30 meters, roughly half the prominence criterion used in the much lower Appalachians! For lists of 4,000 meter peaks based on a prominence of 100 meters see either Mountains above 4000 meter in The Alps (which lists 51 peaks) or The Alpine 4000 meter peaks (which lists 50 peaks).
Several lists can be generated by suitable selection on 4000 m peaks of the Alps. Blodig's original list can also be found on 4000m-summits in the Alps. There is a very short biographical note on Kark Blodig in Wikipedia.