Highpointing is the activity of ascending to the point with the highest elevation within a given area.
Starting in the early 20th century, a few pioneers of highpointing began visiting the highest geographic point in each of the 50 U.S. states. In the early days, this endeavor involved dispute and original research, as the tools to precisely map every square inch of the country were just beginning to find widespread use — and this was part of the charm.
The first person to successfully climb each U.S. state highpoint was Arthur H. Marshall, who completed the task in July 1936, when there were only 48 states. Marshall's 48th highpoint to complete the task was Indiana's modest Hoosier Hill. [1]
Climbs to the tops of each state/province in Canada, Australia, Germany and other countries have also been recorded. In Germany, highpointing is known as "16 gipfel" (referring to the highest points of each of the German states). [2]
While most highpointers view highpointing as a hobby, it is also recognized by many in the mountaineering community. In 1991 a team consisting of Pete Allard, Jim Grace, Shaun Lacher, David Sandway and Dennis Stewart, who called themselves "The Highpoint Hoppers," set the first recognized record for climbing the highest point in each of the lower contiguous states in the fastest time. The team began on the summit of Mount Rainier in Washington at midnight on July 1 and finished on the summit of Gannett Peak in Wyoming on July 31 thus completing their goal of ascending all 48 state highpoints in one calendar month. Their time was 30 days, 10 hours and 52 minutes. For their effort, the Highpoint Hoppers got recognition in the Guinness Book of Records. [3] Fifteen years later, British climber Jake Meyer broke the speed record for climbing the lower 48 highpoints in 23 days, 19 hours and 31 minutes in 2006. The record stood until American siblings Josh and Lindsay Sanders broke the record in 19 days, 7 hours and 37 minutes in 2015. [4]
Aconcagua is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in both the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere with a summit elevation of 6,961 metres (22,838 ft). Despite its impressive size and stature, it is only the 189th highest mountain in the world. It lies 112 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital, the city of Mendoza, about five kilometres from San Juan Province, and 15 km (9 mi) from Argentina's border with Chile. The mountain is one of the Seven Summits of the seven continents.
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven.
Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. It is a dormant volcano rising 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level, and is the highest stratovolcano in the supercontinent of Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. It is situated in the southern Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the western extension of Ciscaucasia, and is the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains.
Reinhold Andreas Messner is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from the German-speaking province of South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen. He was the first person to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, doing so without supplementary oxygen. Messner was the first to cross Antarctica and Greenland with neither snowmobiles nor dog sleds and also crossed the Gobi Desert alone. He is widely considered to be the greatest mountaineer of all time.
The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for 268 miles (431 km) from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes described as the "backbone of England". Although not the United Kingdom's longest National Trail, it is, according to The Ramblers, "one of Britain's best known and toughest".
The eight-thousanders are the 14 mountains recognized by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) as being more than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in height above sea level, and sufficiently independent of neighbouring peaks. There is no precise definition of the criteria used to assess independence, and at times, the UIAA has considered whether the list should be expanded to 20 mountain peaks by including the major satellite peaks of eight-thousanders. All of the eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia, and their summits lie in the altitude range known as the death zone.
El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about 3,000 feet (914 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is a world-famous location for big wall climbing, including the disciplines of aid climbing, free climbing, and more recently for free solo climbing.
Peak bagging or hill bagging is an activity in which hikers, climbers, and mountaineers attempt to reach a collection of summits, published in the form of a list. This activity has been popularized around the world, with lists such as 100 Peaks of Taiwan, four-thousand footers, 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, the Sacred Mountains of China, the Seven Summits, the Fourteeners of Colorado, and the eight-thousanders becoming the subject of mass public interest.
Granite Peak, at an elevation of 12,807 feet (3,904 m) above sea level, is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Montana, and the tenth-highest state high point in the nation. It lies within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in Park County, very near the borders of Stillwater County and Carbon County. Granite Peak is 10 miles (16 km) north of the Wyoming border and 45 miles (72 km) southwest of Columbus, Montana.
The Welsh 3000s are the 15 Welsh Munros. These are mountains in Wales that are over 3,000 feet (914.4 m). Geographically they fall within three ranges, but close enough to make it possible to reach all 15 summits within 24 hours, a challenge known as the Welsh 3000s challenge.
The Badwater Ultramarathon is a 135-mile (217 km) ultramarathon race starting at −282 feet (−86 m) below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8,360 feet (2,550 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July when the weather is the most extreme and temperatures can reach 130 °F (54 °C) during the day at Badwater Basin.
Jake Julian Barrington Meyer is a British mountaineer and adventurer. He achieved fame by becoming the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest in 2005, aged 21 years 4 months. In doing so, Meyer also became the youngest man in the world to climb the Seven Summits. More recently in 2018 he summited K2, the second highest mountain in the world, and climbed Everest a second time. He has taken part in over 30 expeditions around the world.
Hoosier Hill is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Indiana with a claimed elevation of 1,257 feet above sea level. Hoosier Hill's claimed elevation is based on SRTM digital elevation data which is now considered to be outdated. Using newer elevation tools such as USGS's 3DEP, the top of Hoosier Hill is closer to 1,255.48 feet above sea level. Hoosier Hill is in the rural area of Franklin Township, Wayne County to the northwest of Bethel. The nearest intersection to the high point is Elliot Road and County Line Road. The nearest major landmark is Interstate 70 and Richmond 11 miles (18 km) to the south.
Christian Stangl is an Austrian alpine style mountaineer and mountain guide. He has become known as Skyrunner by numerous exceptionally fast ascents of high mountains. His major success was in 2013, when he became the first person to ascend the three highest mountains on all seven continents, the so-called Triple Seven Summits.
Matt Moniz is an American mountaineer and speaker noted for his ascents of 8,000 meter peaks and several of the Seven Summits.
Colin Timothy O'Brady is an American professional endurance athlete, motivational speaker and adventurer. He is a former professional triathlete, representing the United States on the ITU Triathlon World Cup circuit, racing in 25 countries on six continents from 2009 to 2015.
Daniel Bull is an Australian adventurer, mountain climber, and professional speaker. He has climbed the Seven Summits and the Volcanic Seven Summits. He also holds the world record for the highest altitude kayaking. He currently works as a motivational speaker.
Nirmal Purja is a Nepal-born naturalised British mountaineer. Prior to taking on a career in mountaineering, he served in the British Army with the Brigade of Gurkhas followed by the Special Boat Service (SBS), the special forces unit of the Royal Navy. Purja is notable for having climbed all 14 eight-thousanders in a time of six months and six days with the aid of bottled oxygen between April and October 2019. This was a record at the time of climbing, although it was broken in 2023 by Kristin Harila and Tenjen Sherpa, who summitted all 14 eight-thousanders in 92 days. Purja was the first person to reach the summits of Mount Everest, Lhotse and Makalu within 48 hours. In 2021, Purja, along with a team of nine other Nepalese climbers, completed the first winter ascent of K2.
Anja Karen Blacha is a German mountaineer. Blacha holds a number of climbing records: in 2017, she became the youngest German woman to climb Mount Everest and youngest German overall to climb all Seven Summits and in 2019 she became the first German woman to climb K2.
Arthur Harmon Marshall was the first person to successfully reach the highest point in every U.S. state, of which there were 48 at the time of completion. Marshall began in 1919 by climbing Mount Rainier, the highest point in Washington, and finished in July 1936 on Hoosier Hill, the highest point in Indiana.