NE 111/115 List Criteria
With any club administered list, it is necessary to follow their list criteria. For
The Northeast 111 Club this is:
"The Northeast 111 Club recognizes those who have climbed all of the 4000-footers in the northeastern U.S. (when the list was first compiled there were 111; there are now 115). To be eligible, you must be a member of the New England Four Thousand Footer Club, the Adirondack 46ers and have climbed Slide and Hunter Mountains in the Catskills."
It is a composite list of lists, each having a different criteria. You need to become members of two other clubs. It is not sufficient to merely climb the 115 peaks currently on the list.
It is interesting to understand the criteria of each list. The New England list uses a 200' col rise criteria. The list has been dynamic; changing with map updates, observations, and much debate. The 46ers used a 300' col rise
or .75 mile distance on the maps used by the Marshall brothers. They arguably overlooked some peaks that met the distance criteria on their maps, and they were politicked into including Gray Peak even though they correctly believed it did not qualify. However, it is all moot as the 46ers have chosen to maintain a static list. Although opinions differ there is something appealing to the point that all 46ers climb the same peak list.
If one wanted to apply the standard (used elsewhere in the northeast) 200' col rise criteria to Adirondacks: How many of the Adirondack peaks would qualify? 39 by my count.
- There are 9 peaks among the Adirondack 46 that lack the 4000' elevation, 200' col rise, or both (Gray, Iroquois, Armstrong, Donaldson, Emmons, Blake, Cliff, Nye, Couchsachraga). That reduces 46 to 37.
- Two others (Dial, Carson/South Dix) are borderline with a 60m (196.9') col rise on the current maps, but perhaps 60m should be the considered the equivalent of 200'.
- MacNaughton (not in the 46) was 3976' on the Marshall's 1905 Santanoni quad, 4000' on the 1953 quad, but only 1214m (3982.9') on the 1978 Ampersand Lake quad.
- East Table Top and Yard meet the 200' col rise criteria on current maps, and further even meet the original 46er criteria if it were applied on the 1953 and current maps, but neither qualified on the 1895 Mount Marcy quad used by the Marshalls. That brings the total to 39.
bikehikeskifish said:
Can't one carry up a few rocks and push it over 4000'? Only need 2' more of them...
More seriously, how do cartographers / surveyors measure mountains with piles of rocks on top? I mean the northern presis' cones are all rock piles anyway, right?
List makers and high point organizations attempt to disregard man made increases to a summit elevation, but they are forced to accept any man made removals or excavations.
As I mentioned above, it would be just over 17' of rock for MacNaughton based on the current topo map. A similar large cairn construction was attempted on Sandwich Dome when it was measured as 3993' in the Whites, but it was ignored by the keepers of the list. Sandwich Dome is also lower on later maps, 3925' on the current 1987 quad.
