Fourteener

From Free net encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)

Revision as of 17:38, 20 April 2006
Mwanner (Talk | contribs)
rv spam
Next diff →

Current revision

This article is about mountains. For the concept in poetry, see Fourteener (poetry).

In mountaineering, a fourteener is a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet (4,267.2 m) above mean sea level.

The importance of fourteeners is greatest in Colorado, which has the majority of such peaks in North America. Climbing all of Colorado's fourteeners is a popular pastime among peak baggers. Many people also try to climb all of the fourteeners in the United States.

Not all summits over 14,000 feet qualify as fourteeners: only those summits qualify which are considered by mountaineers to be independent. Objective standards for independence include topographic prominence and isolation (distance from a higher summit), or a combination. However fourteener lists do not always consistently use such objective rules. Also, there is some debate as to whether or not peaks in excess of 14,999 feet should be referred to as "fourteeners"; this article will refer to them as such.

A rule commonly used by mountaineers in the contiguous United States is that a peak must have at least 300 feet (91.4 m) of prominence to qualify. By this rule, Colorado has 53 (plus or minus 1) fourteeners, California has 12, and Washington has 2. However, the subsidiary summit of Liberty Cap in Washington, at 14,112 feet and 492 feet of prominence, is often not counted as a fourteener despite meeting the prominence criteria.

It is standard in Alaska to use a 200 m prominence rule rather than a 300 foot rule. By this rule, Alaska has 18 peaks over 14,000 feet and its ten highest peaks exceed 15,000 feet (4,572 m).

Canada has 15 fourteeners, and Mexico has 8; however the importance of the arbitrary 14,000 foot mark is minimal in those countries.

In Europe, it is very common to attempt to climb all of the independent 4,000 meter peaks.

[edit]

List of United States fourteeners

The following list ranks the fourteeners which satisfy the 300 foot prominence rule (for Colorado, California, and Washington) or the 200 meter rule (for Alaska). Note that even with a specified rule, there are a few ambiguous borderline cases, due to the unavoidable imprecision of surveys; the prominence range for these peaks is noted.

Mount McKinley, Alaska, 20320
Mount McKinley North Peak, Alaska, 19470
Mount Saint Elias, Alaska, 18008
Mount Foraker, Alaska, 17400
Mount Bona, Alaska, 16500
Mount Blackburn, Alaska, 16390
Mount Sanford, Alaska, 16237
Mount Vancouver, Alaska, 15700
Mount Churchill, Alaska, 15638
Mount Fairweather, Alaska, 15300
Mount Hubbard, Alaska, 14950
Mount Bear, Alaska, 14831
Mount Hunter, Alaska, 14573
Mount Whitney, California, 14494
Mount Alverstone, Alaska, 14500
University Peak, Alaska, 14470
Aello Peak, Alaska, 14445
Mount Elbert, Colorado, 14433
Mount Massive, Colorado, 14421
Mount Harvard, Colorado, 14420
Mount Rainier, Washington, 14410
Mount Williamson, California, 14375
La Plata Peak, Colorado, 14361
Blanca Peak, Colorado, 14345
Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado, 14309
Crestone Peak, Colorado, 14294
Mount Lincoln, Colorado, 14286
Grays Peak, Colorado, 14270
Mount Antero, Colorado, 14269
Torreys Peak, Colorado, 14267
Castle Peak, Colorado, 14265
Quandary Peak, Colorado, 14265
Mount Evans, Colorado, 14264
Longs Peak, Colorado, 14255
Mount Wilson, Colorado, 14246
White Mountain Peak, California, 14246
North Palisade, California, 14242
Mount Shavano, Colorado, 14229
Crestone Needle, Colorado, 14197
Mount Belford, Colorado, 14197
Mount Princeton, Colorado, 14197
Mount Yale, Colorado, 14196
Mount Bross, Colorado, 14172 (Prominence = 292-332 feet)
Kit Carson Mountain, Colorado, 14165
Mount Wrangell, Alaska, 14163
Mount Shasta, California, 14162
Mount Sill, California, 14162
Maroon Peak, Colorado, 14156
Tabeguache Peak, Colorado, 14155
Mount Oxford, Colorado, 14153
Mount Sneffels, Colorado, 14150
Mount Democrat, Colorado, 14148
Capitol Peak, Colorado, 14130
Liberty Cap, Washington, 14112.
Pikes Peak, Colorado, 14110
Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 14092
Mount Russell, California, 14086
Mount Eolus, Colorado, 14083
Windom Peak, Colorado, 14082
Challenger Point, Colorado, 14080 (Prominence = 280-320 feet)
Mount Columbia, Colorado, 14073
Mount Augusta, Alaska, 14070
Missouri Mountain, Colorado, 14067
Humboldt Peak, Colorado, 14064
Mount Bierstadt, Colorado, 14060
Sunlight Peak, Colorado, 14059
Split Mountain, California, 14058
Handies Peak, Colorado, 14048
Culebra Peak, Colorado, 14047
Ellingwood Point, Colorado, 14042
Mount Lindsey, Colorado, 14042
Middle Palisade, California, 14040
Little Bear Peak, Colorado, 14037
Mount Sherman, Colorado, 14036
Redcloud Peak, Colorado, 14034
Mount Langley, California, 14028
Pyramid Peak, Colorado, 14018
Mount Tyndall, California, 14018
Wilson Peak, Colorado, 14017
Wetterhorn Peak, Colorado, 14015
Mount Muir, California, 14015
San Luis Peak, Colorado, 14014
Huron Peak, Colorado, 14005
Mount of the Holy Cross, Colorado, 14005
Sunshine Peak, Colorado, 14001

The following are peaks that are sometimes considered fourteeners but do not meet the criteria for the above list:

Mount Cameron, Colorado, 14238. Prominence = 118 feet.
El Diente Peak, Colorado, 14159. Prominence = 239 feet. On many fourteener lists.
Point Success, Washington, 14158. Prominence = 118 feet.
Polemonium Peak, California, 14080+. Prominence = 160-240 feet.
Starlight Peak, California, 14080. Prominence = 80-160 feet.
North Conundrum Peak, Colorado, 14040+. Prominence = 200-280 feet.
North Eolus, Colorado, 14039. Prominence = 159-199 feet.
North Maroon Peak, Colorado, 14014. Prominence = 234 feet. On many fourteener lists.
Thunderbolt Peak, California, 14003. Prominence = 223 feet.

(Also see Mount McKinley for subpeaks of that peak which sometimes appear on fourteener lists, but are not considered climbing objectives in their own right.)

[edit]