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Peak bagging or hill bagging is an activity in which hikers, climbers, and
mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...
attempt to reach a collection of
summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...
s, published in the form of a list. This activity has been popularized around the world, with lists such as
100 Peaks of Taiwan The ''Baiyue'' () is a list of one hundred mountain peaks in Taiwan. They were chosen by a group of prominent Taiwanese hikers from mountain peaks known at the time to be over 3,000 meters in height. The selection criteria included uniqueness, dan ...
,
four-thousand footers The Four-thousand footers (sometimes abbreviated 4ks) are a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least above sea level. To qualify for inclusion a peak must also meet the more technical criterion of topographic prominence important ...
, ''
100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by Mountaineering, mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan ...
'', the
Sacred Mountains of China The Sacred Mountains of China are divided into several groups. The ''Five Great Mountains'' () refers to five of the most renowned mountains in Chinese history, which have been the subjects of imperial pilgrimage by emperors throughout ages. The ...
, the
Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...
, the
Fourteener In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener (also spelled 14er) is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado Co ...
s of
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, and the
eight-thousander The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise defin ...
s becoming the subject of mass public interest. There are numerous lists that a peakbagger may choose to follow. A list usually contains a set of peaks confined to a geographical area, with the peaks having some sort of subjective popularity or objective significance, such as being among the highest or most prominent of the area. Some maps and lists may be inaccurate, however, which has implications for climbers and peak-baggers who rely on publicly reported data. Although peak bagging is a fundamental part of the sport of mountaineering, the term is strongly associated with hiking and other non-technical activities like snowshoeing. A handful of lists, such as the eight-thousanders and the
Alpine four-thousanders This list tabulates all of the 82 official mountain summits of or more in height in the Alps, as defined by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). All are located within France, Italy or Switzerland, and are often refer ...
, have an extremely high reputation among mountaineers, but in general the term "peak bagging" is a
pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...
to many climbers. Peak bagging is distinguished from
highpointing Highpointing is the activity of ascending to the point with the highest natural elevation within a given area, known as the highpoint. Those who pursue the activity are known as highpointers. Highpointing has been considered a subset of peak bagg ...
, where the goal is to reach the highest point in some geographic area (e.g. county, state, or country), whether or not it is a peak.


History

During the Silver Age of Alpinism in the late 19th century, most of the unclimbed major mountaineering objectives were reached. With the "closing" of the age of discovery of mountain peaks, interest shifted towards finding enjoyable ways to climb already-ascended mountains. In the 1890s, Sir Hugh Munro created the
Munro A Munro (; ) is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevi ...
list, containing the highest peaks of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
; summiting the peaks on such lists soon became known as ''peak bagging''. The list of the
Adirondack High Peaks The Adirondack High Peaks are a set of 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York (state), New York state. They have been popular hiking destinations since the late 1920s, when the list of peaks was published in Russell Carson's bo ...
, compiled by
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
and
George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...
, was first published in 1922. Almost at the same time, the
list of Colorado fourteeners This is a list of mountain peaks in the U.S. State of Colorado that exceed of elevation. In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a ''fourteener'' is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet. This is a co ...
became a peak bagging challenge. Backpacking increased in popularity in the United States between the 1950s and 1980s, causing additional clubs to organize peak-bagging lists, including the New Hampshire and New England
Four-thousand footers The Four-thousand footers (sometimes abbreviated 4ks) are a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least above sea level. To qualify for inclusion a peak must also meet the more technical criterion of topographic prominence important ...
, the
Northeast 111 The Northeast 111 is a peak-bagging list of mountains in the northeastern states of the United States. It includes the sixty-seven 4000-footers of New England (48 in New Hampshire, 14 in Maine and 5 in Vermont), the 46 Adirondack High Peaks, ...
, and the
Catskill Mountain 3500 Club The Catskill Mountain 3500 Club, incorporated as the Catskill 3500 Club and often just referred to as the 3500 Club, is a peakbagging organization for hikers in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Those wishing to become members must climb the ...
.


Aspects

A central part of peak bagging is the ''list'', which details all the summits one must obtain to ''complete'' or ''finish'' the list. In some cases, a climber who finishes a list may receive some form of award, such as an emblem or badge. In the case of the
eight-thousander The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise defin ...
s list, some mountaineers may become famous within the mountaineering community.


Clubs

Clubs are often formed to gather people who share an interest in bagging peaks on a list. Some clubs are specialized, such as the
Sierra Peaks Section The Sierra Peaks Section (SPS) is a mountaineering society within the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club that serves to provide mountaineering activities for Sierra Club members in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, and to honor mountaineers ...
or the
Adirondack Forty-Sixers The Adirondack Forty-Sixers are an organization of hikers who have Peak bagging, climbed all forty-six of the traditionally recognized Adirondack High Peaks, High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. They are often referred to just as 46ers. As of ...
.
Alpine club Alpine clubs are typically large social clubs that revolve around climbing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. Many alpine clubs also take on aspects typically reserved for local sport associations, providing education and training courses, se ...
s may include peak bagging as one of the activities for members; notable alpine clubs that maintain peak bagging lists include the
Scottish Mountaineering Club Established in 1889, the Scottish Mountaineering Club is a club for climbing and mountaineering in Scotland. History The Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) was formed in Glasgow, Scotland, in March 1889, as one of Scotland's first mountaineering ...
, the
Mazamas The Mazamas () is a mountaineering organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1894. Promotion of mountaineering The Mazamas has been an important part of the climbing community in the Pacific Northwest of the United State ...
of Oregon and the
Mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...
of Washington. Other clubs may promote the climbing of peaks on a list they do not maintain or may create an authoritative version of a list that is already popular; a reflection of this is the relationship between the 4000m peaks of Alps and the
UIAA The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, commonly known by its French name Union internationale des associations d'alpinisme (UIAA; ), was founded in August 1932 in Chamonix, France when 20 mountaineering associations met for ...
.


Books

Another source of lists are mountaineering guidebooks that detail information about how to climb peaks in a certain region. ''
100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by Mountaineering, mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan ...
'', ''
Fifty Classic Climbs of North America ''Fifty Classic Climbs of North America'' is a 1979 climbing guidebook Climbing guidebooks are used by mountaineers, alpinists, ice climbers, and rock climbers to locate, grade, and navigate climbing routes on mountains, climbing crags, or ...
'', and the '' Alpine Club Guides'' are notable examples of such books.


Reaching a summit

Generally, the summit block has to be reached and the climber must touch or be within a few horizontal meters of the highest point. However this convention is not universal, due to the varying objectives of individual peak baggers. Many clubs have special rules that attempt to address various considerations. Some peak baggers increase the challenge of summiting a list of peaks in various ways, such as by requiring a minimum vertical climb per peak, climbing within a time limit, climbing in different seasons (such as winter), or climbing the same peak multiple times by different routes. Traditional mountaineers and climbers may elect to only go up routes with certain
climbing grade Many climbing routes have grades for the technical difficulty, and in some cases for the risks, of the route. The first ascensionist can suggest a grade but it will be amended for the ''consensus view'' of subsequent ascents. While many cou ...
s Various organizations have adopted rules for what to do when a peak is on private land or otherwise inaccessible, whether off-road vehicles may be used, etc.


Summit logs

In some parts of the world, a
summit register A summit book or summit register is a record of visitors to the summit of a mountain. It is usually enclosed in a weatherproof, animal-proof metal casing. Some books are maintained in an informal manner by an individual or small group, while oth ...
or summit log may be located in a watertight container such as a jar or can, stashed in a protected spot. Peak baggers often will write a note or log entry and leave it in the "summit log" as a record of their accomplishment. Increasingly, peak baggers are also logging their summits online by signing virtual summit logs. One popular website i
peakbagger.com
founded by Greg Slayden, which lists mountains and regional highpoints. It allows peak baggers to record their summits.


Arguments for and against

The term "peak bagging" can have a negative connotation among traditional mountaineers. Traditional climbers or adventurers may argue that peak bagging devalues the experience of climbing in favour of the achievement of reaching an arbitrary point on a map; that bagging reduces climbing to the status of
stamp collecting Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...
or
train spotting A railfan, train fan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff, anorak (British English), gunzel (Australian English), trainspotter (British English) or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally in ...
; or that is seen as obsessive and beside the point. For example, in explaining why he chose to remove some minor peaks from his guidebook, climber
Steve Roper Steve Roper is a noted climber and historian of the Sierra Nevada in the United States. He along with Allen Steck are the founding editors of the Sierra Club journal ''Ascent''. Roper is the winner of the Sierra Club's Francis P. Farquhar M ...
wrote:
Most of the peaks had as their first ascenders those who in a former day would have been called explorers but now could only be thought of as peakbaggers, interested primarily in trudging endlessly over heaps of stones, building cairns, and inserting their business cards into specifically designed canisters especially carried for this purpose. But perhaps I am being too harsh. They're having their fun.Steve Roper, ''The Climber's Guide to the High Sierra'', copyright ©1976 by Sierra Club Books
Some peak baggers say peak bagging is a motivation to keep reaching new summits. For mountain range peak lists, attaining the goal provides the peak bagger with a deeper appreciation for the topography of the range. For example, each peak is typically enjoyed from multiple aspects as the peak bagger also climbs the major neighboring summits. There is also concern that encouraging the climbing of certain mountains has caused trail damage from
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
through heavy use and, where mountains have no trails, created trails. Proponents note that many peak baggers become active in maintaining trails and more aware about mitigating damage than casual hikers.


See also

*
Eight-thousanders The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise defi ...
, summits above 8,000 metres (26,247 feet) *
Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...
, the highest mountain on each continent *
Seven Second Summits The Seven Second Summits are the second-highest mountains of each of the seven continents. All of these mountains are separate peaks rather than a sub-peak of the continents' high point. The Seven Second Summits are considered a harder challenge t ...
, the second highest mountain on each continent *
Volcanic Seven Summits The Volcanic Seven Summits are the highest volcanoes on each of the seven continents, just as the Seven Summits are the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Two of the Volcanic Seven Summits are also on the Seven Summits list. Kiliman ...
, the highest volcanos on each continent * List of mountain lists, list of all peak bagging classifications *
Highpointing Highpointing is the activity of ascending to the point with the highest natural elevation within a given area, known as the highpoint. Those who pursue the activity are known as highpointers. Highpointing has been considered a subset of peak bagg ...
, activity of ascending to the highest point in a given area *
Geocaching Geocaching (, ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ''geocaches'' or ''caches'', at sp ...
, location-based game


References

{{reflist Outdoor locating games