I almost recommend resubmitting your prelude as an article-- could spur some very interesting feedback. Anyway, as an Easterner myself, I understand what you mean, although I don't completely agree.
It is true that the Western trails and climbs tend to start just as high relative to the summit as many Eastern ones do, and some of my most thigh-burning ascents have been in the East. What differs about the West, at least until one has been there a couple days, is the altitude and the effect it can have on a person. That is a nonexistent problem in the East. But that's taken care of, as I said, by a couple days of exposure. Also, though weather's no joke in New Hampshire's mountains, you're far more at the mercy of mercurial weather high in the West than you are in the East; in the East, decent shelter is usually not too far away.
I, for my part, love the "wasteland" above treeline. Up there, I find the miracle and tenacity of life-- the tiny, fragile flowers; the spiders whose webs withstand powerful winds, etc. I also see in that desolation absolute beauty and raw nature.
But you have some very good points. Eastern mountains get little respect because, frankly, they don't grace calendar pages as well as Western ones do. But they have a beauty and complexity all their own, plus their own challenges. Anyone who's ever bushwhacked and scrambled an Appalachian route on a humid day can attest to that.
Good choice of Kelso Ridge for your first 14er. Fun route, and, you would appreciate this-- very overrated in difficulty ratings. I was a little disappointed that I never felt scared on it.
I was thinking about doing that but I'm afraid alot of people might miss the point. Im being ridiculed for this post and although you get where I'm coming from, some people do not. Seems like we appreciate some of the same things-Maybe 'the struggle' is just more obvious in the alpine zones around the Presidentials. Ill keep my eye's open when I'm there next month for Four Pass Loop-Thanks for your feedback!
I wouldn't worry about whatever badclimber said. I checked "his" profile, and there's nothing there-- no photos, no personal info, no climber's logs, nothing. More likely than not, the person is a troll or an avatar for someone who doesn't have the guts to stand behind what he says. I got a similar comment once on a TR of mine. I just shrugged.
I still find the Western mountains far more spectacular and inspiring than I do the Eastern ones, which is why I keep going back, but I also still agree with your basic point. And if people want to dismiss the challenges and rewards of Eastern mountains just because their tops aren't bare and their elevation figures aren't so impressive, so be it.
I know you had read the prelude before but thanks for your kind words. Hopefully you will come out and check some out-especially if we don't meet up in August.
I agree with Bob Sihler: you should post the preface to the articles section.
In strange contrast to your perception, I find the western mountains more impressive than the eastern mountains by a fairly wide margin. With the exception of the Presidentials, Khatadin and the East's several big walls (e.g., Cannon Cliff), the Eastern mountains remind me of many 11,000 ft. peaks in Colorado. What I love about the western high peaks is that summit views are unobstructed by trees. But if you want dense forests, you only have to descend a few thousand feet.
Let me contrast your experience traveling to Colorado's mountains with my experience traveling away from Colorado's mountains. While flying from Denver to Anchorage several years ago, we flew over Mount St. Elias, America's second highest peak. It rises 18,000+ feet from the beach to the summit. It is the single most impressive mountain scene I have ever witnessed, and during my travels in Alaska, I saw many similar (albeit less impressive) mountains. Traveling through the Cordilleras Blanca and Huayuash produced simlar feelings of awe.
The point is, there are many mountains taller, larger, more impressive and more interesting (from a mountaineer's perspective) than the Colorado Rockies. Yet, I always find myself drawn to the Colorado Rockies more than any other place...
Says Im a liar and an idiot. I think Ill go choke myself to death with my state board exams but I'll probably die first from poisoning from the ink that said I got the 3rd highest grade in the state!!!!
Here is the thing I had a perception built up in my head from a very young age that the mountains west of New England were these magnificent things that rose out of the desert floor and made New England Mountains look like hills. After being up in the Cascades, Rainier, The Sierra's on my trip that ended at Yosemite and to Colorado, the image that was built up inside of ME was shattered because the difference really isn't what it was made out to be by the people I know.
I am from the east and I too have found myself doing the "comparison". The western mountains are more magnificent, simply. The views are greater and the air is crisper, especially in Colorado. I fell in love with the Colorado Rockies when I lived out there in 2000. I love them more than any other range. But since then, I have climbed alot in the east and found that same love in different ways, the mountain smells and experiences differ but, for me the effects are the same. The great north woods of New England do have magic, maybe it is a more subtle expression but it has reached me with the same power. There are many remote areas in the east, and solitude is not that difficult to find.
It is up to ones self to see what is out there to make a personal determination to find a great experience.
I think the concensus would be that the West is the best and I can see why. There are many more people out there who are outdoor oriented and the mountains are very inspiring. As mentioned above, the above treeline splendor offering constant views is awesome and I myself love the feeling of the altitude, the thin air, it just sparks me up! The Rockies have what I call just the best mountain spirits, I feel it every time I go there. The Whites come in as a close second for me as they have some powerful magic as well!
I just got back from a week in the Tetons and it was amazing, but I still longed for the Rockies.
As far as the Eastern mountains go, they are great and should not be belittled but I always feel that strong spiritual pull from the west. The mountains are more revered there by people and I believe it just cumulates to a mountain spirituality that is quite powerful. Back east, there are all types and it is harder to strike up a conversation about the mountains with any old joe.
I could go on forever but for now I will sit here in Connecticut and dream about being in the White's or the Rockies!
I wish I could have put that in my trip report because you expressed what I trying to get at, better than I did. You did a great job tying in the ENTIRE experience. The enchantment I was referring to, adds to the hiking or climbing in ways one can't see so much as feel. I haven't had the occaison to interact with enough people to experience the reverence you talked about. I know a little bit about that from what I've heard about the locals attitude toward the mountains of say Tibet or Nepal but never around here or even out west. I'm sure people such as ourselves feel similarly about the mountains but often times on hikes or climbs I go to escape contact with others and it seems like its something that would only add to the experience. It was nice to hear from someone who didn't think the point of the prelude was to say the mountains of the west aren't much bigger than the east. Thanks for your perspective.
Bob Sihler - Jun 26, 2007 9:19 pm - Voted 10/10
InterestingI almost recommend resubmitting your prelude as an article-- could spur some very interesting feedback. Anyway, as an Easterner myself, I understand what you mean, although I don't completely agree.
It is true that the Western trails and climbs tend to start just as high relative to the summit as many Eastern ones do, and some of my most thigh-burning ascents have been in the East. What differs about the West, at least until one has been there a couple days, is the altitude and the effect it can have on a person. That is a nonexistent problem in the East. But that's taken care of, as I said, by a couple days of exposure. Also, though weather's no joke in New Hampshire's mountains, you're far more at the mercy of mercurial weather high in the West than you are in the East; in the East, decent shelter is usually not too far away.
I, for my part, love the "wasteland" above treeline. Up there, I find the miracle and tenacity of life-- the tiny, fragile flowers; the spiders whose webs withstand powerful winds, etc. I also see in that desolation absolute beauty and raw nature.
But you have some very good points. Eastern mountains get little respect because, frankly, they don't grace calendar pages as well as Western ones do. But they have a beauty and complexity all their own, plus their own challenges. Anyone who's ever bushwhacked and scrambled an Appalachian route on a humid day can attest to that.
Good choice of Kelso Ridge for your first 14er. Fun route, and, you would appreciate this-- very overrated in difficulty ratings. I was a little disappointed that I never felt scared on it.
eric b - Jun 27, 2007 1:52 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: InterestingI was thinking about doing that but I'm afraid alot of people might miss the point. Im being ridiculed for this post and although you get where I'm coming from, some people do not. Seems like we appreciate some of the same things-Maybe 'the struggle' is just more obvious in the alpine zones around the Presidentials. Ill keep my eye's open when I'm there next month for Four Pass Loop-Thanks for your feedback!
Bob Sihler - Jun 27, 2007 7:42 pm - Voted 10/10
Re: InterestingI wouldn't worry about whatever badclimber said. I checked "his" profile, and there's nothing there-- no photos, no personal info, no climber's logs, nothing. More likely than not, the person is a troll or an avatar for someone who doesn't have the guts to stand behind what he says. I got a similar comment once on a TR of mine. I just shrugged.
I still find the Western mountains far more spectacular and inspiring than I do the Eastern ones, which is why I keep going back, but I also still agree with your basic point. And if people want to dismiss the challenges and rewards of Eastern mountains just because their tops aren't bare and their elevation figures aren't so impressive, so be it.
eric b - Jun 27, 2007 2:13 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Beautifully written Eric!I know you had read the prelude before but thanks for your kind words. Hopefully you will come out and check some out-especially if we don't meet up in August.
tdogge - Jun 27, 2007 12:40 pm - Voted 10/10
ThanksI agree with Bob Sihler: you should post the preface to the articles section.
In strange contrast to your perception, I find the western mountains more impressive than the eastern mountains by a fairly wide margin. With the exception of the Presidentials, Khatadin and the East's several big walls (e.g., Cannon Cliff), the Eastern mountains remind me of many 11,000 ft. peaks in Colorado. What I love about the western high peaks is that summit views are unobstructed by trees. But if you want dense forests, you only have to descend a few thousand feet.
Let me contrast your experience traveling to Colorado's mountains with my experience traveling away from Colorado's mountains. While flying from Denver to Anchorage several years ago, we flew over Mount St. Elias, America's second highest peak. It rises 18,000+ feet from the beach to the summit. It is the single most impressive mountain scene I have ever witnessed, and during my travels in Alaska, I saw many similar (albeit less impressive) mountains. Traveling through the Cordilleras Blanca and Huayuash produced simlar feelings of awe.
The point is, there are many mountains taller, larger, more impressive and more interesting (from a mountaineer's perspective) than the Colorado Rockies. Yet, I always find myself drawn to the Colorado Rockies more than any other place...
eric b - Jun 27, 2007 2:08 pm - Hasn't voted
badclimberSays Im a liar and an idiot. I think Ill go choke myself to death with my state board exams but I'll probably die first from poisoning from the ink that said I got the 3rd highest grade in the state!!!!
Here is the thing I had a perception built up in my head from a very young age that the mountains west of New England were these magnificent things that rose out of the desert floor and made New England Mountains look like hills. After being up in the Cascades, Rainier, The Sierra's on my trip that ended at Yosemite and to Colorado, the image that was built up inside of ME was shattered because the difference really isn't what it was made out to be by the people I know.
rasgoat - Jul 10, 2007 9:25 pm - Voted 10/10
I find myself asking the same question.I am from the east and I too have found myself doing the "comparison". The western mountains are more magnificent, simply. The views are greater and the air is crisper, especially in Colorado. I fell in love with the Colorado Rockies when I lived out there in 2000. I love them more than any other range. But since then, I have climbed alot in the east and found that same love in different ways, the mountain smells and experiences differ but, for me the effects are the same. The great north woods of New England do have magic, maybe it is a more subtle expression but it has reached me with the same power. There are many remote areas in the east, and solitude is not that difficult to find.
It is up to ones self to see what is out there to make a personal determination to find a great experience.
I think the concensus would be that the West is the best and I can see why. There are many more people out there who are outdoor oriented and the mountains are very inspiring. As mentioned above, the above treeline splendor offering constant views is awesome and I myself love the feeling of the altitude, the thin air, it just sparks me up! The Rockies have what I call just the best mountain spirits, I feel it every time I go there. The Whites come in as a close second for me as they have some powerful magic as well!
I just got back from a week in the Tetons and it was amazing, but I still longed for the Rockies.
As far as the Eastern mountains go, they are great and should not be belittled but I always feel that strong spiritual pull from the west. The mountains are more revered there by people and I believe it just cumulates to a mountain spirituality that is quite powerful. Back east, there are all types and it is harder to strike up a conversation about the mountains with any old joe.
I could go on forever but for now I will sit here in Connecticut and dream about being in the White's or the Rockies!
Good TR!
eric b - Jul 11, 2007 10:18 am - Hasn't voted
WowI wish I could have put that in my trip report because you expressed what I trying to get at, better than I did. You did a great job tying in the ENTIRE experience. The enchantment I was referring to, adds to the hiking or climbing in ways one can't see so much as feel. I haven't had the occaison to interact with enough people to experience the reverence you talked about. I know a little bit about that from what I've heard about the locals attitude toward the mountains of say Tibet or Nepal but never around here or even out west. I'm sure people such as ourselves feel similarly about the mountains but often times on hikes or climbs I go to escape contact with others and it seems like its something that would only add to the experience. It was nice to hear from someone who didn't think the point of the prelude was to say the mountains of the west aren't much bigger than the east. Thanks for your perspective.