Why Climb?

We climb mountains for many reasons - for solitude, to get closer to nature, to escape the daily grind for a while, to achieve personal goals, to test our abilities, to see the world from a different perspective.

Peakbagging

As one of many reasons for heading for the hills, those of us who pursue a goal of climbing a specific group of peaks on a list are called peakbaggers.

In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) maintains a list of 48 officially-recognized peaks that are 4000 feet or higher, ranging from 4003-ft Mt Tecumseh to 6288-ft Mt Washington.

There are other lists in the Northeast too, including the New England 4000-footers, the New England 100-highest, and the Adirondack 46ers. The western states, too, have similar lists, such as the Colorado 14ers and the California 100.

I completed the 48 White Mountain Four Thousand Footers in July 2003, and our dog Muffin finished her Four Thousand Footer list in January 2006. I'm now concentrating on climbing favorite peaks by different routes, and on maintaining the Mt Clinton Trail through the AMC's Adopt-a-Trail program and the US Forest Service.