Palisades79 wrote:The 8350 feet from the Middle Fork Of the Kings River to the summit of Spanish Moutain in the Sierra Nevada is often cited as the deepest canyon in the United States . Has anyone ascended that ? It sure looks like a wasteland from the summit of Tehepite Dome.

Is that a challenge?

Something like Tahoma Glacier on Rainier requires 11-11.5k ft gain via the more practical approaches I think.

As far as greatest gain anywhere, what about the Rupal face of Nanga Parbat? At what elevation does one start climbing it? If I recall correctly, its rise (with a fairly liberal interpretation) is around 20,000 ft and it's often considered to be the highest face in the world.

RomaK wrote:Something like Tahoma Glacier on Rainier requires 11-11.5k ft gain via the more practical approaches I think.

As far as greatest gain anywhere, what about the Rupal face of Nanga Parbat? At what elevation does one start climbing it? If I recall correctly, its rise (with a fairly liberal interpretation) is around 20,000 ft and it's often considered to be the highest face in the world.

Go back a couple of pages in these posts for the answer. . .

The Rakhiot Flank rises 7000 meters (23000 ft) from the Indus River Valley in 27 kms (Wikipedia)
The Rupal Face (15000 feet) is steeper but starts higher up.