jhodlof wrote:After seeing the 14ers post from Chicago Transplant and the other list prominent posts, I've got ask: what is so great about finishing a list, any list, be it all the ranked peaks of earth, all the CO 14ers or 13ers, or any other? They are all just arbitrary lists based on arbitrary criteria. State high points? Why is a hill in Indiana or Florida great just because it falls within a political boundary? What makes 14ers so great, and why is a 14,001' walk up so important and not a 13,999' 5.7 climb? The rest of the world uses metric anyway and 14,000 feet means next to nothing to them. 4000 meters makes more sense to me, and there are far more of them in the western states, many of them are challenging scrambles and climbs and far more satisfying to summit than some walk up that happens to be 14000'.
I digress, it's not about finishing a list, its about the journey and the experience, the thrill of the summit and the pleasure of being out there. Trying to finish a list makes it about the goal, the end product, and getting done. I know I don't want to be done, I want to be out there. Lists set you up for failure, and it can make the the climb a chore. Why would you want that?
I like lists but usually don't finish them... but they do "open my eyes" to other peaks I might have otherwise ignored.
A good list has a variety of peaks (and maybe hills and etc). It's too easy to stay close to home and climb 80 peaks that all look alike. Being "compelled", so to speak, to travel outside my comfort area and tackle peaks of differing terrain than I am used to is very satisfying.
I agree that strict adherence to a list can have its own drawbacks. It's stupid to ignore a very interesting mountain because it fails some sort of list criteria. One has to keep the big picture in mind. I have been guilty of this often and I consciously try not to be so "list-driven". It's probably ingrained in my mitochondria, though.
An earlier post recommended working in chunks, perhaps off a list (or not). I like that and agree with it. I used to fancy myself finishing all 50 state highpoints. I have 45 done but accept that one or two will likely never be done. I've been working this list for 15 years and frankly, really do not care whether I get the 48th, 49th or 50th anymore. It has been fun in its own right, and that took me a long time to see that aspect.