NEng 3k Finishers

[Michelle]

Here we go again;

Raymond, that is the list I have. The 2 extra peaks seem to be Guyot which I've done and Tillotson which I haven't.
The last peak with a K by it is Bromley at 3281'
Jim

According to a certain someone who spoke with a very knowledgable person on the phone last night. The two lists were compared and they came up with the difference between the two being S. Hancock and Tillotson.
Now that this has been resolved a certain someone has nothing more to say at this time.

 

[RoySwkr]

Also, Guyot was on my NH list, but not S Hancock. I removed Guyot and added S Hancock. I did this to mirror the 4K list which has the same "col rule".

Unlike say the Adk100, the NE 3k list specifically does not mirror the 4k list but applies the 200' col rule consistently - list any peak which could have a 200' if the map is correct. It thus includes Guyot because it may have a 200' col and excludes S Hancock because if the map is correct it does not.

Not that this affects the number of completers as probably they have all been to both.

Mt Guyot was not on the original list because it didn't have a 200' col on the 15' map and unlike The Cliffs of Bond nobody added it when the 7.5' map came out. Looking at the map http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=44.16806&lon=-71.53444&datum=nad27&u=4&layer=DRG&size=m&s=50
the cols with both Twin and Bond could be 4380' and the summit could be 4581. Because there are 2 possible summit bumps I believe the probability is roughly 50% but I haven't run a mathematical model on it.

S Hancock is the opposite case where it had a 200' col on the 15' quad but no longer does. In round numbers, the col is from 4120' to 4159' so even if the map is wrong and the summit is 4320 not 4319 there is still 19:1 odds (roughly 5% chance) that the col is great enough. Basically S Hancock does not belong on either the 3k or 4k list although the point is moot as probably nearly everybody climbs it with Hancock anyway.
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=44.07925&lon=-71.48765&u=4&datum=nad27&layer=DRG

Tillotson Peak is a different sort of case. A metric elevation of 914 converts to 2998.7' so it is not on the 451 list. But this rounded elevation could be 913.5 to 914.4 (2996.7' to 3000.0') so there is some minor chance that it is 3000' (maybe the other bump is higher?) But you need it for the New England 500 Highest anyway.
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=44.80549&lon=-72.55313&u=4&datum=nad27&layer=DRG

Bottom line: The 451 list (with Guyot) is the more likely to be correct, but if you climb the other 2 you are more sure of having them all.

While up on Squaws Bosom this summer I was glad that I didn't have to traverse the ridge over from the East Peak! Man it looked crapy!

It is, but it will be tougher when you're 80

 

[dms]

Tillotson Peak is a different sort of case. A metric elevation of 914 converts to 2998.7' so it is not on the 451 list. But this rounded elevation could be 913.5 to 914.4 (2996.7' to 3000.0') so there is some minor chance that it is 3000' (maybe the other bump is higher?) But you need it for the New England 500 Highest anyway.
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=44.80549&lon=-72.55313&u=4&datum=nad27&layer=DRG

Roy, when I did Tillotson, the register was on the bump closest to the trail, so I never went over to the other one. Well, one more place I'll have to revisit!

 

[Gamehiker]

Thanks Roy for clearing that up for me.
I just missed Tillotson when I hiked by on the Long Trail but I doubt I would have thought to check out both humps. I do remember a side trail that comes out by Tillotson camp. I look forward to checking out that drafty old place again.

 

[Peakbagr]

I corresponded with Tom a few months back, and not sure he checks in here....Tom's chipping away at them in winter, but not there yet.

PB

 

[HikerDoc]

Tom Sawyer working on 770 in winter

Thanks peakbgr. Will someone let us know when he finishes? And when is one of the new young players going to try to repeat what Tom did in winter? Onestep? Postr'boy? Stinkyfeet?

 

[Mtnbuster]

Tillitson

I did Tillitson years ago as this pk was my last one in VT. It was a cold day with snow higher up on the trail to the lodge, then headed north on the LT. There was a herd path left to the jar and sign, also there were good views of Jay pks from the herd path/LT junction. A real easy hike.

 

[RoySwkr]

I think that would be an interesting list to work on, how many 3k list finishers you've hiked with.

Sounds like "dms" is in the lead here although "DC" is yet to be heard
from

Art J reports 17 and I have 18 (but only about 11 were on new 3k peaks)

On an unrelated note, is there a record of how many completers there's been of the Fifty Finest List?

prominence completers for lower 48 (slightly out of date) are online at http://cohp.org/prominence/records/usa.html#48 states

 

[Nate]

So, according to the County High Points website, Arthur Josephson, Roy, and Papa Bear have all completed the Fifty Finest List. I'm not sure how out of date this listing of completers is, but Oncoman has also claimed these peaks, and in addition to John Person and Dennis C., I imagine at least a few more people are darn close to completing. If the FF hasn't had a fifth finisher yet, there will be one by the end of June, if not much sooner. As this list continues to grow in popularity, the next challenge will be the first person to complete this list in winter.

Also, I noticed on the COHP website that Roy has hiked the hundred most prominent peaks in New England. I guess there's a hundred finest list afterall. Kudos to Roy.

 

[Dennis C.]

... very interesting thread!

RoySwkr: "DC cleverly picked a drive-up so many of the refreshments arrived by car... ". Very true! About 30 of us enjoyed a tail gate party on Greylock (1988), and at least 12 listed as NE 3000 finishers were there that day. I have hiked with 20 total (listed). I purposely finished each northeast state list on a trailed fire tower, former fire tower, or memorial peak (MA).

I have done all 22 of the original and "new" (22) NE 3000s which were replaced in the 1992 NE451 list updates. Probably the most remote of these new ones was No. Six, S Peak, which we did on the "way by" right after No. Six. This when it was originally listed as 2991' on the old quad map ... never had to go way back in there for that one!

Bruce Brown may also have been a completer of the New England 3000 footers, but I have no record of it, and have lost contact with him. I hiked a few times with Bruce in those early bushwhacking days ... quite a rugged outdoorsman who smoked a pipe as I recall.

I went with Bob Matzco the weekend of 10/21/90 when he finished the NE 3000s on Sisk, a Maine bushwhack peak ringed with thick spruce just before the summit area. Has anyone heard from Bob lately?

Granted there are some pretty scrappy peaks in New England, but some of the most difficult to access are in the Adirondacks .... without a doubt. Private property issues (Catskills too), and gated long backcountry approaches are standard fare in NY. X-C skis (winter) and bicycle (3-season) are "tools of the trade".

As for the Fifty Finest List, Moxie and Saddleback are only ones I don't have as yet. I always thought Saddleback (2998') would "grow a couple feet" when the new quad map came out so I'd have a "must get" excuse to go back in there.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Baxter is okay with off trail hiking if you are competant (do not endanger yourself); you sign in and out; and you do not stayout overnight. Also the Klondike is off limits. I wanted to go there (really just to the edge and look in out of curiosity) and asked approval. I was given a copy of the is a Klondike Philosophy Statement discouraging bushwhacking in and the presence of humans in the Klondike. I read it, respected their points, and did not go.

I bushwhacked from the Northwest Plateau down to Klondike Pond in 1973 with Chris Drew, who was the ranger at Chimney Pond that summer, as he had never been there either. He rationalized our one-time trip by knowing that I really wanted to examine the glacial features on the floor of that cirque. I know other glacial geologists who have been turned down in their requests to enter the Klondike, summer or winter.

 

[RoySwkr]

Bruce Brown may also have been a completer of the New England 3000 footers, but I have no record of it, and have lost contact with him.

How about Bob A. & Mark H. who finished the NH3Kw and US50?

As for the Fifty Finest List, Moxie and Saddleback are only ones I don't have as yet. I always thought Saddleback (2998') would "grow a couple feet" when the new quad map came out so I'd have a "must get" excuse to go back in there.

Well, NOAA thinks its 3001 even if USGS doresn't:
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6564&page=3&pp=15

 

[RoySwkr]

So, according to the County High Points website, Arthur Josephson, Roy, and Papa Bear have all completed the Fifty Finest List.

Andy M has now created a more official (and perhaps updated more often) prominence completers page at:
http://oldadit.googlepages.com/FRL.txt

... I guess there's a hundred finest list afterall.

Not officially. Beyond the New England 50 and Northeast P2k you can make whatever claims you want, of course they may have to be withdrawn if a correct list appears

 

[Dennis C.]

RoySwkr: "How about Bob A. & Mark H. who finished the NH3Kw and US50?"

I've kept in contact with Bob A.. and to the best of my knowledge neither he nor Mark have completed the New England 3000s. It's apparent that they've moved on to other priorities in their lives.

 

[Dennis C.]

Official update from Bob Anderson:

"Neither Mark nor I finished the NE 3000 footers. I have all the VT and
NH but not the Maine ones. For the last three years I have been busy
geocaching. I still rank #1 in New England and expect to hit 4000
caches in a couple months. P.S. Mark has the geocaching bug too." /Bob

 

[RoySwkr]

in addition to John Person and Dennis C., I imagine at least a few more people are darn close to completing. If the FF hasn't had a fifth finisher yet, there will be one by the end of June, if not much sooner.

Well, there are 22 more NE3k finishers who are only a couple of weekends away, but after a list of 451 a list of 50 may seem too short to bother with

And I hear that DC is waiting for one more finisher so he can be #6

> what's number 51?

Perhaps Adams Mtn VT

> And how many of the second fifty peaks are under 3k?

Maybe a couple dozen, there are 1 or 2 under 2000'

> Were there any surprises when putting together the second half?

There were plenty of P1k peaks in New England I'd never heard of, even a couple in NH

>Just in general, when generating a list like this, is using Topozone a
>reasonable method, or is it much better to own hard copies of the
>topographical maps so that you have the whole area physically in front
>of you?

At current prices you probably cannot afford enough hardcopy maps to do the job right as you also need the low country maps for col elevations. I did most of the Northeast at map libraries which also had larger tables than I had at home but even if you can find a vacant gymnasium some of the ranges are too big at 1:24,000. Until topozone increases their scan resolution, there will always be some areas that need to be detail checked in hard copy but you probably need some sort of base map to visualize large areas.

For Pennsylvania, I didn't own any quads and no local libraries had them so I looked at the maps online. I went to the public library which had larger monitors and a faster Internet connection than I did. Basically, I traced the ridgelines on a DeLorme Atlas noting summit and col elevations, and would run branch lines to anything to the side that had several contours. I also ran spur lines to every county highpoint that wasn't on a main ridge. I could only do this for about 45 minutes at a time before my eyes got fuzzy and as I only went once a week the project stretched over a year.

> Do you simply end up calculating the prominence for all New
>England peaks above 2500', and from there figure out which are the
>most prominent?

You will miss a lot of them if you do that But seriously, the first list of SE P2k was fairly accurate with respect to the high peaks but left off some outlying "molehills" that no hiker had ever heard of.

And it isn't that easy to determine the prominence of peaks individually as the col next to a certain peak may actually "belong" to a more prominent peak somewhere else - a col near Rte.110 in Berlin NH is not the col for Long Mtn but rather for Sugarloaf in ME. Having a graphic diagram of summits and cols makes it easier to pair them up.

If anyone wants to undertake a listing project, a prominence cutoff of 1400' should yield just over 100 peaks in New England. From another viewpoint, there are something over 200 peaks with 1000' prominence in New England and sooner or later somebody will climb them all. (I only did 2 last year so it may not be me.)

 

[Nate]

Andy M has now created a more official (and perhaps updated more often) prominence completers page at:
http://oldadit.googlepages.com/FRL.txt

Well, Andy's list is now outdated again. As of Tuesday, the Fifty Finest List has had it's fifth known completer, as I hiked my last peak, Cold Hollow. Now is Dennis C.'s chance to finish as number six on this list.

 

[Papa Bear]

Well, Andy's list is now outdated again. As of Tuesday, the Fifty Finest List has had it's fifth known completer, as I hiked my last peak, Cold Hollow. Now is Dennis C.'s chance to finish as number six on this list.

Congratulations Nate.

And Cold Hollow is a really pleasant peak. Is the jar still there? Who's been up there lately?

 

[RoySwkr]

Well, Andy's list is now outdated again. As of Tuesday, the Fifty Finest List has had it's fifth known completer, as I hiked my last peak, Cold Hollow.

Report it to Andy (his e-mail is there) and unless he's off on another funky expedition your name will appear promptly

If the FF hasn't had a fifth finisher yet, there will be one by the end of June, if not much sooner.

Not fair to make predictions then cause them to come true

Now is Dennis C.'s chance to finish as number six on this list.

Well, he has only 2 left so could happen anytime he feels like it, they're so easy even I could do them

As this list continues to grow in popularity, the next challenge will be the first person to complete this list in winter.

A lot of people who have done the NEHH in winter are pretty close and none of the remaining peaks are very hard, mostly depends on when somebody decides to do it.

 

[ColdRiverRun]

A year and a half since the last update! This "online" list needs to be updated, especially when VFTTers finish! Is there a separate website for these list yet?