Everything about Peak Bagging totally explained
Peak bagging (also
hill bagging,
mountain bagging, or among enthusiasts, just
bagging) is an activity in which
hillwalkers and
mountaineers attempt to reach the summit of some collection of peaks, usually those above some height in a particular region, or having a particular feature.
Peak bagging can be distinguished from
highpointing. In peak bagging, the targets are the peaks of mountains or hills, and the popular lists usually require that the target pass some threshold of
prominence. In highpointing, the goal is only to reach the highest point in some geographic area (for example, county, state, or country), whether or not it's a peak.
Styles
For some peak baggers, simply being present at the highest point is sufficient to check the summit off the list. This allows for driving to car-accessible summits and declaring the summit "climbed." Drive-ups are allowed by the U.S. State Highpointers club and by the County Highpointers club, whose members are collectively attempting to reach the highest point in all 3,142 U.S.
counties.
Various organizations have adopted rules for what to do when a peak is on private land or otherwise inaccessible, whether off-road vehicles may be used, etc.
Some peak baggers increase the challenge by completing a list of summits within a time limit, or climbed at certain times of the year, such as in winter.
Usually, a peak that's climbed frequently has the summit marked by a
cairn. In some parts of the world, a 'summit register' may be located in a watertight container (a glass jar, can, etc.) stashed in a protected spot. Peak baggers write a note or log entry and leave it in the "peak log" as a record of their accomplishment.
Arguments for and against
Traditional climbers or adventurers may argue that bagging devalues the experience of climbing in favour of the achievement of reaching an arbitrary point on a map; that bagging reduces climbing to the status of
stamp collecting or
train spotting; or that's seen as obsessive and beside the point.
Some baggers say peak bagging is a motivation to keep reaching new summits.
There is also concern that encouraging the climbing of certain mountains has caused trail damage from
erosion through heavy use and, where mountains have no trails, created trails. Proponents note that many peakbaggers become active in maintaining trails, and more aware about mitigating damage than casual hikers. Furthermore, as any list will include less-visited summits, it may tend to reduce footfall on more popular hills which tend to suffer more from erosion.
Peak bagging lists
For a list of notable peak bagging lists, please see
Lists of mountains.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Peak Bagging'.
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