Did/Is anyone saving one 4000'er for last?

[Mike P.]

Alpinista,

if they gave a patch for going solo it might be construe as approving of a practice that some/many view as not being safe. (I'm not one of them)

 

[Jim lombard]

Mount Isolation

 

[RGF1]

I finshed my NH 48 it was 46 ( i went over m the 48 just getting to the then 46 ) at the time On South Kinsman with My father we did them together along with my sisters for most of them but they bailed on Adams and went ot the hut as it started to rain Ha It passed quickly and my dad and i got a great view with out any one else on top my sister griped all they way down Valley way that they diod not make it one has sinece donei t with me so she could get her patch. That was before she had kids .
I finshed the winter 48 on North Kinsman of all places South Kinsman also . I was alone that time but fondly rembered being there with My Father when we did it together . Ironcally it was not planed that way .
If I was asked by some one now I would saya In NH I would save either
Adams or the Bonds for last .
IN Colorado I have climed maybe 20 14,000 ft peaks I am not sure, I think I am saving the Crestones Or Blanca peak for last . Probably Blanca. Had I known what I do now I would have saved Sunlight or Elous in the San Juans for last . But I can still go climb them again . Chicago Basin is amazing and would repeat the trip any time . And I am not in any hurry to finsh the 14,000 ft list . Any one want
to go let me know .

 

[Double Bow]

I think it should definately be planned. Finishing on a viewless peak is kind of anticlimatic. I plan on finishing the 48 this summer on Carrigain for the views. I also think that not rushing through the list makes the goal that much sweeter. The persuit becomes a part of you. Even though I will finish, I like that persons idea of have one left hanging out there. I find that the places I have not been to have a certain mystique to me and after I go there, it's gone. It's replaced by a memory but that sense of wonder of the unknown is gone and can never be replaced. Perhaps I'll save one on another list...

 

[sapblatt]

I I find that the places I have not been to have a certain mystique to me and after I go there, it's gone. It's replaced by a memory but that sense of wonder of the unknown is gone and can never be replaced. Perhaps I'll save one on another list...

This idea is what will keep me going after I finish. I hope to hike the mountains in the future by using different routes than I have already used and hiking in different seasons. I am already excited about this and I have not even finished my 48 yet.

 

[Blue]

I think it should definately be planned. Finishing on a viewless peak is kind of anticlimatic.

I don't know if I agree. I think if you hike each of the 48 once and never again, you might want to finish on something like a Bond or Carrigain. I've hiked some of the 48 a number of times (Cannon maybe 8 times?) and I don't feel like I need a view to complete the 48, because I'll continue to hike them whether they "count" or not for a different season or list.

 

[dr_wu002]

I think it should definately be planned. Finishing on a viewless peak is kind of anticlimatic. I plan on finishing the 48 this summer on Carrigain for the views.

I think that this will be person-to-person dependant. Some people aren't necessarily moved by views or would want to do the fun ones first and save the "boring" ones for later. Or perhaps the view on Carrigan would distract too much from the celebration.

Some people don't plan at all -- I met a guy on Carrigan, hiking all alone, who was just kind of like, "Yeah, I think this is #48 for me..." I know people that have been hiking in the Whites for 50 years & have more knowledge of the mountains than most people on this list yet haven't finished the NH48 and in fact, have no idea where they are on the "list."

Besides the Wu-666 and the Wu-1729 lists I created there is also the Wu-1 list if anyone is interested: it's only one peak but you and I don't know what this one is, unfortunately. You do get a patch if you finish it though. Talk about planning...

-Dr. Wu

 

[Double Bow]

I'm not saying that everyone should plan to finish the 48 and I'm not saying that everyone should finish ona peak like Carigain. I'm just saying that if you are planning on completing any kind of list, you should think about it and choose one that fits with what you like best in a hike. It should be enjoyable! I've heard from too many peope who finished on Isolation or Owl's Head and wished that they had planned better instead of finishing on the one they had put off the longest.

 

[alpinista]

Although I didn't in a million years think I would wind up on Isolation as my last, and although it wasn't exactly my first choice, in the end, it ended up being the perfect peak. It underscored what I personally have come to know in the mountains as well as in the valley: sometimes you can try your darndest to plan things out, but sometimes we end up doing something completely different -- and usually, it ends up being even better than we could ever possibly envision.

For me, I ended up being glad that I wrapped up the list on Isolation. I got a nice walk in the woods that gave me some incredible views that stirred up memories of all the other hikes I'd been on.

 

[griffin]

I'm not saying that everyone should plan to finish the 48 and I'm not saying that everyone should finish ona peak like Carigain. I'm just saying that if you are planning on completing any kind of list, you should think about it and choose one that fits with what you like best in a hike. It should be enjoyable! I've heard from too many peope who finished on Isolation or Owl's Head and wished that they had planned better instead of finishing on the one they had put off the longest.

What Double Bow said (although I did Isolation with a friend for whom it was #48 - long day, but beautiful views, I don't think she was disappointed one bit).

I'm aiming for Adams as my last - it's a challenge, it's got views, and I've had to go past it/near it 3 or 4 times without summitting, and I'm taking that as a sign It all depends on what you want that last-on-the list experience to be - if you want something non-hiking friends can join in, if you want views, if you want quick and easy so you can go celebrate...but by all means, put some thought into it.

 

[Mike P.]

On one Trip to Zealand with a couple I'm friends with we had two sweating hairy Italians & his wife, it was their first Zealand trip & I forget why he is not in the picture but I recall commenting when we gotthe pictures back that no other possible picture of Zealand that day would have been as nice.

Cabot has the summit cabin so it could be combined with an overnight sleeping above 4,000 feet. (okay, partial view from near the cabin). East O. & S. Hancock are pretty small for celebrating on, If my last name was Hancock, that might be a reason to do those last.

Personally I love views too but as everyone hikes their own hike how you do the list or not doing is list is yours too.

 

[RGF1]

To be honest I would love to finish a so-called list on peak with spectacular views. In NH I think t Bonds or Mt Adams have some of the best views in NH. Garfield and Lafayette and among others are also right up there. Part of climbing the “48” has led me back to peaks such as Adams, the Bonds, Lafayette etc just for the views one of my favorite in NH is Lafayette .
It is the same in Colorado but I just cannot seem to stay on a list . I keep going back to peaks that I love th Maroon Bells and Pyramid peak along with Mt Sneffles or Uncomparghre (sp )
SLI (Seema ? ) If you are interested in a CO 14 k trip me know I can possibly go before September. Would love to do Chicago Basin again or some other San Juan 14 K peaks I have done Some but will happily go again.
Once again finish with the Bonds!

 

[sapblatt]

On one Trip to Zealand with a couple I'm friends with we had two sweating hairy Italians & his wife, it was their first Zealand trip & I forget why he is not in the picture but I recall commenting when we gotthe pictures back that no other possible picture of Zealand that day would have been as nice.

Not all Italians are sweaty and hairy...alright, I am, but I am sure some are not.
I am confused...did the two Italians share the same wife?

 

[Raymond]

It seems to me that I read somewhere that Isolation was finished upon more frequently than any of the other White Mountain peaks. What is the peak least frequently claimed as Number 48? How about the most-commonly and least-commonly peaks climbed first?

For that matter, I'd like to see a complete list of First Peaks Climbed and Last Peaks Climbed. Does anyone here have such a thing? (And if so, would he or she be willing to share it?) I could compile such a thing for the Adirondack High Peaks, because the complete list of Forty–Sixers——and their first and last peaks climbed——are published on the Forty–Sixers' Web site. I don't think that the AMC has such a thing for New England.

 

[Tramper Al]

What is the peak least frequently claimed as Number 48?

I will again have to guess North Kinsman, as least claimed as #48. I cite all of the reasons previously discussed in the Double Credit thread, which would result in North being #47 even in the unlikely event that the Kinsmans are saved for last. Also a factor is that the Kinsmans are reasonably accessible, with a hut half way up and thus typically climbed early, and there is not a ski lift that might tempt someone to hold them for last so non-hikers could get there.

However, I think if you got ahold of even hundreds of NH 4K hike lists, I think you'd find several peaks tied for least claimed #48, at zero.

 

[Double Bow]

It's a fact! There are peaks no one has reported finishing on!! I'm friends with the secretary of the 4,000 footer committee and he has told me so. Isolation and Owl's Head are just as frequently last as Washington and Adams. Bondcliff and Carrigain both also rank pretty high. They don't publicize the numbers on which peaks that people have finished in part because that shouldn't influence what people choose to finish on and also because the coolness of peaks not finished on would disappear quickly as people tried to be the first to finish on a certain peak. By the way, I am half Italian but not half hairy.

 

[Bob Kittredge]

I had worked my way through the "interesting" peaks as of a couple of summers ago. Now all I have left are 8 dull ones that I don't really care about. I may get around to some of them one day, but I'll be damned if I'll make a special trip for Zealand or Waumbek when I can go play in King Ravine or climb Caps Ridge again.

 

[Tramper Al]

I had worked my way through the "interesting" peaks as of a couple of summers ago. Now all I have left are 8 dull ones that I don't really care about.

Looking back I really can't say my impression of any of my 4K hikes/peaks is "dull". At the same time none stand out far above the the rest as the best hike/peak in existence. The particular features of each hike/peak are what kept it interesting and what stays in my memory, whether it be sun, rain, snow, cold, hot, clear sky, fog, moose, bear, fischer, solo, companions, dayhike, overnight, tent, hut, and so on and so on. I am just not one of those folks for whom the "View", and I mean the high elevation, open vista, clear sky view, is the thing. If I had to guess, I'd say the features of the hike that change day to day and season to season, as opposed to those inherent and permanent to that mountain, more determined my experience and memory of it. Never dull, just different. I care about them equally, really.

 

[sapblatt]

They are all special

Al -

I agree...BUT if I could only hike one more mountain of my choice in my life it probably would not be Tecumseh!
By the way...I did Pierce first...Jackson will be last. Pierce was because it seemed doable to someone who has not done this before and Jackson because I want my family to come up with me and it is the last one I have left that I think they could do too!

 

[Tramper Al]

I agree...BUT if I could only hike one more mountain of my choice in my life it probably would not be Tecumseh!

Yes, but it's nice not to have to be left with such a choice too often.

Good luck on Jackson - it will be fun finishing within sight of where you began too, yes? Stop by Mizpah, and maybe your new-found fame will prompt someone to buy you a nice bowl of soup. You can't eat a patch.