| Washington 2000-ft Prominence Peaks List |
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| Page Type: List Location: Washington, United States, North America | Page By: Klenke, MShetter, ericnoel Created/Edited: Dec 10, 2006 / Aug 24, 2011 Object ID: 250418 Hits: 15389 Loading... Page Score: 89.84% - 38 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
The ListWashington's 2,000-ft prominence peaksBackgroundIt is not my intent to go into a lengthy explanation of how "prominence" is calculated.
There are plenty of websites out there that do this and even some books (example).
Some important explanatory links:
Aaron Maizlish's essay on prominence theory (alternate)
Dr. John Roper's essay on prominence
Greg Slayden's explanation of prominence
Jeff Howbert's page
To begin, I will first pose this question: what defines a "mountain?" A mountain, by Webster's definition, is "a landmass that projects conspicuously above its surroundings and is higher than a hill" or "an elongated ridge." So one must then ask, just how conspicuous does a raised landmass have to be to be considered a mountain? Clearly, this is a subjective point as some mountains are only conspicuous from certain angles. But, if it were possible to objectify the determination of a mountain from non-mountains, how would one do it? That is, how could we be scientific about it to remove all subjectivity? The answer is prominence. Every mountain in the world (and out of this world) can have a prominence value assigned to it. One just needs to take the time to do the analysis.
Now let me switch terms slightly by introducing the not-so-original word "peak." To me, a peak is a landmass that stands out to enough degree (possesses enough prominence) that it can be seen as more than a mere bump (closed contour) on a larger landmass than itself. These mere bumps are what I call "points" if I call them anything at all. But what's the cut-off between closed contours that are merely points and those that are prominent enough to be called peaks? Well, different states use different values. For example, California uses 300 feet of prominence. In Washington the value is 400 feet (by Washington peakbagger consensus?). (Countries outside of the United States generally calculate prominence in meters.)
So what does all this have to do with this page? And why is this page only for peaks with 2000 feet or more of prominence? The answer (at least as I see it) has to do with statistics:
Obviously, the distribution of peaks across the prominence spectrum from the lower cut-off value (depends on state/country) all the way up to the maximum world prominence of 29035 ft/8850m (Mt. Everest) will be such that the greatest proportion of them will be at the lower end with progressively fewer peaks rising above higher and higher thresholds. So the number of peaks with at least 1000 ft of prominence might be 20 percent of the total. And peaks with at least 2000 ft might be 2 percent of the total. And peaks with at least 5000 feet of prominence might be 0.2 percent of the total. (I admit I have not determined the exact distribution.). And each bordered realm (state, country, continent, etc.) has a total number of peaks within it. For Washington, this total is approximately 3,600 and the number of peaks with at least 2000 feet of prominence is 144.
This page brings to light these 144 peaks. Lists of these peaks exist on other websites. This page's main intent is to provide links to those 2kP mountains already on summitpost, to provide Topozone links to these mountains and the key saddles by which their prominences are calculated, and to provide cursory information (where possible or available) for 2kP peaks without their own dedicated SP page. Currently (as of June 2011), 121 of the 144 have their own page on summitpost. For information on the other 23 peaks, Click Here.
Here is a map of where those 144 peaks are located in the state:
 Heroes and Would-be HeroesCurrently, there are only four persons who have climbed all of the peaks on this list: Dr. John Roper, finishing on Mt. Lawson on September 8, 2001, Paul Klenke on Mt. Rainier on July 27, 2008, Andy Boos on Mt. Misch on October 20, 2010, and Martin Shetter on Mt. Misch on August 6, 2011. A number of folks are actively pursuing the list. These are folks I know who have climbed more than 100 of the 144: Grant Myers, Fay Pullen, John Stolk and Ken Jones.
A good reference for this pursuit can be found here on www.peakbagger.com.
To see a partial list of other people interested in these peaks and maps of which ones they've climbed check out the Cohp.org WA Prominence page. On that page you also find Dr. Roper's difficulty rankings for these peaks.AcknowledgementsA number of persons deserve credit both in the creation of the list and the creation of this page. I apologize in advance if I forget "you" (send me an email and I'll add "you" in).
Andy Martin -- for checking the initial Washington 2kP list with John Roper, and for keeping the Prominence Front Runners List.
John Roper -- for various, but most importantly for being the initiating force behind the idea that completing the list is within the realm of the possible
Jeff Howbert -- for sussing out 99 percent of the 2kP peaks and other peaks in the state, and for providing your findings and other data online
Eric Noel -- for your work in the prominence field including checking the veracity of this list and for providing Topozone links to key saddles and for the special notes given in the list
Others -- Steve Fry, Aaron Maizlish, Edward Earl, Adam Helman, and other important prominence pioneers I have neither met nor corresponded with.Explanation of SymbolsElevation Symbols
+ indicates summit is not precisely triangulated where the highest point is a single closed contour at the elevation specified
(2) indicates summit is not precisely triangulated AND there are two separate closed contours at the elevation specified
T(2) indicates two separate highest closed contours inside one of which is the specified triangulated elevation; this is the highest point
T+(2) indicates two separate highest closed contours; inside one is the specified triangulated elevation but the highest point is known to be in the other one
T?(2) indicates two separate highest closed contours; inside one is the specified triangulated elevation but the highest point may be inside the other
T?(3) indicates three separate highest closed contours; inside one is the specified triangulated elevation but the highest point may be inside one of the others
2T indicates two separate summits, both with the same triangulated value; the only peak like this is The Cradle (two 7467 summit points)
T(2T) indicates two separate highest closed contours, one of which with its own triangulated elevation within it; elevation specified is the higher of the two
T(2T+) indicates two highest closed contours each with its own triangulated elevation within it plus one more closed contour without spot inside it
T(3T+) indicates three highest closed contours each with its own triangulated spot elevation within it plus one more closed contour without spot inside it
T(2S+) indicates two highest closed contours each with its own triangulated spot elevation within it plus one more closed contour without spot inside it
T(3S+) indicates three highest closed contours each with its own triangulated spot elevation within it plus one more closed contour without spot inside it
S indicates separate named and/or prominence summits involved
Notes (these are from Eric Noel)
E1 New summit summit survey at 14411
E2 Summit 10541 on old 500K map
E3 Summit 9220 on old 500K map
E4 Summit 6250
E5 Spot elevation matches 7680 contour
E6 Summit 1420-meter spot elevation does not match 10-meter contour interval. Last contour is 1400
E7 Summit elevation from old maps
E8 Summit 3517 on Green Trails
E9 Summit 5460
E10 Summit 4500
E11 Small summit contour
E12 Summit spot 2660 but 2640+40 to N of 2659 spot on Capitol Peak. The 2659 area is higher than 2640+40.
E13 Summit south of lookout
E13 2676 spot 1 mile to SSE of 2677 top
E14 Summit 3949
E15 Summit 7442 is greater than last contour of 7400+40
E16 Summit 4762
P1a Summit 6854; If elev. is < Whitehorse then saddles switch and 3 Fingers = ~2200 P; Barlow Pass 2361 spot elevation
P1b Summit 6852; If elev. is > 3 Fingers then saddles switch and Whitehorse = ~4500 P
P2 NHN (Next-Higher Neighbor/peak) possibly in Canada
P3 4327 spot or 4320+40; 4327 thought to be higher
P4 NHN is Gypsy Peak's parent
S1 Pass in Canada
S2 Road at pass
S3a 40-ft saddle with 20-ft intermediate contour
S3b Saddle 1260-20 but must be > 1250 for Lightning Lake
S3c Saddle intermediate contour
S3d 20 ft contour map but both drainages have intermediate 2370+10 ft contours
S3e One 3364 spot and second 3360+40 contour; saddle 40 ft with 20-ft intermediate contour
S3f Artificial saddle at North Dam but probably was 1500 before dam. Likely natural saddle at Banks Lake Dam at 1550 or 1540
S3g Saddle spot 2179
S3h 1654 spot at roaded saddle
S3i Three saddle spots
S3j BM 4465 not at pass
S3k Road + lake at saddle; Lake 3422 so >3422 saddle likely
S4F Massive flat saddle
S4L Very long saddle
S4Ld Long saddles with depressions
S5 Uncertain saddle. Need Canada verification
S6 Pass either Skagway Pass or between Twin Lakes
S7 Saddle intermediate contour below key saddle
S8 Basin saddlesRevisions Add Annie, Tunk,... Images
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