Vulgarian Ramblers
13,800-Footers of the Contiguous USA

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Overview

This is a peakbagger's list of all the peaks of 13,800-foot and higher elevation in the contiguous (Lower 48 States) USA, including the Hundred Highest Peaks. It encompasses several popular climbing lists, including the Colorado Fourteeners, Colorado Centennial Peaks, and California Fourteeners. It may be used as a guide by people intent on climbing either the Hundred Highest Peaks of the Contiguous USA, or all the 13,800-Footers of the Contiguous USA. (See below for criteria on a peak's inclusion in this list.)

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Exact or Interpolated

Most of the summits on this list have spot elevations printed on the USGS quadrangle map. These are usually taken as the exact summit elevation unless a prior peak lister (or Schneider's DEM calculation) has determined that another value is more accurate. For a few of the peaks and most of the saddles, the elevation is not given explicitly on the map. In these cases, the elevation is interpolated as the average of the two contours that bound it (for a saddle), or 1/2 the contour interval above the highest contour shown (for a summit), with a symmetrical tolerance equal to ± half the contour interval. (Example: a summit with the highest contour at 14040' on a map with a 40' contour interval is listed at 14060±20.)

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Saddle Criterion

To be considered a distinct peak for this list (and most other peakbagger lists of these peaks), a peak must rise a minimum of 300 feet above the low point of each saddle connecting it with a higher neighbor.

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Uncertainty

Peakbagger lists qualify a peak with strict elevation criteria for rise and summit elevation. In case of uncertainty in an elevation value, most assign a crisp value by interpolation or truncation, and then continue to apply the strict criteria to the interpolated or truncated value to decide whether to include or omit a particular peak from the list. Believing that with an interpolation uncertainty of ±20 feet it's ludicrous to require climbing a peak with an interpolated rise of 301', but not another one with an interpolated rise of 299', I have expanded this list's format to allow for a gray area of peak qualification.

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Peak Status

1. Most of the peaks on this list (designated "Valid") can be easily shown to meet the saddle criterion by subtraction of the elevation for the surrounding saddles from the elevation of the summit, yielding a minimum drop of 300 feet or more.
2. For a very few peaks on this list (designated "Marginal" and highlighted in yellow), this calculation is inconclusive due to elevation uncertainty; the peak may or may not meet the saddle criterion, but it cannot be decided with certainty from the available information.
3. Peaks designated "Fails" (highlighted in red) definitely fail the saddle criterion but are common climbing destinations; all are peaks bearing official names that have appeared before on other peakbagger lists.
4. No attempt has been made to include any officially-unnamed failing peaks, as the number is considerable (is every large summit boulder a separate summit?) and they have generally shown little attraction to peakbaggers.

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Rank

Peaks are listed in descending order of elevation. Where the summit elevation of two peaks is identical, the order of them in the list is inconsequential and usually follows prior lists. Numbering depends on the peak's status: a valid peak has a numerical rank, a marginal peak has an intermediate rank beginning with M, and a failing peak has no rank.

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Col Elevation

The list shows saddle elevation and rise only for marginal and failing peaks, plus a few barely-valid peaks that appear close to the saddle criterion. Many other peakbagger lists have verified the validity of the majority of the valid peaks, and including this information for all peaks would only obscure the few interesting cases. If you really need to check this information for valid peaks, go look it up yourself.

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Rise

For marginal, failing, and barely-valid peaks, this column shows the range of possible rises above the saddle consistent with the available elevation data. If the range is entirely above 300', the peak is valid; if it's entirely below, the peak fails. For a marginal peak, the range includes values above and below 300'.

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The Bottom Line

To be absolutely sure of climbing the 100 Highest Peaks in the Contiguous USA (according to best available current data), it is necessary to climb the numbered valid peaks from 1 through 100 plus the seven marginal peaks in that elevation range.

For a more complete climbing experience, also visit the nine named failers in that range; climbers working on the Colorado Fourteeners list may already have visited some.

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Revision History

22 September 2007: Robert Packard noticed that Norman Clyde's rise from the saddle (with Split Mountain) is marginal (at least based exclusively on the Split Mountain USGS 7.5' topographic map).

30 December 2006: Added three missing peaks (Mt. Mallory & CalTech Peak in California and Liberty Cap in Washington) noticed by alert reader and peakbagger extraordinaire Robert Packard of Flagstaff, AZ.

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And Finally... The Official VRMC 13,800-Footers of the USA!

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Last updated 15 February, 2009