What qualifies as a 'summit?'

[Kraken]

My buddy and I were talking about this yesturday. What does and does not qualify as a summit of a mountain? Say for instance, you climb Rainier. If you climb from Paradise to Camp Muir, summit and then descend...this is a summit.

 

But, what if you climb to Muir, summit, return to Muir, then rope up with another team or what not, and climb to the top again. Does this count as a second summit?

 

You did drop down 4000+ feet. Does it take climbing the entire mountain from the utmost base to make it a summit?

 

I'm not arguing that you could climb to the top, descend 500 feet, go to the top again, and repeat, repeat, repeat, and say you summited X times. I'm asking if you descend a sigificant amount, can you count it as a summit?

 

Guys like Mike Gauthier have summited Rainier 200+ times and I would bet they don't descend to Paradise inbetween each summit.

 

I would have to say it is a gray area, maybe an opinion? I think if you descend enough, then go to the top again, you can say you summited multiple times. That's just my two cents.

[Cobra_Commander]

what an important question.

[minx]

i read someplace that the folks who climb all of the 14rs in CO only count it as a climb if 3000' of vertical is achieved. probably an arbitrary and capricious number but they've set some standard.

[Farva]

Interesting question. FWIW I was talking to a climbing ranger at Muir a couple of years ago, and he told me he ran up to the summit and back to Muir seven times in one day. He technically reached the summit seven times - but I don't think he would ever claim to have climbed the mountain seven times that day.

[Alan]

Interesting question. FWIW I was talking to a climbing ranger at Muir a couple of years ago, and he told me he ran up to the summit and back to Muir seven times in one day. He technically reached the summit seven times - but I don't think he would ever claim to have climbed the mountain seven times that day.

 

What were his times? Was it verified?

[Stefan]

The summit is the top. If you do not touch the top, then you do not reach the top. You can still complete a route and not do the top.

 

I do not know of any other hard and fast rules involving the summit.

[Alpine_Tom]

Did you summit Rainier if, when looking at your summit "team photo" you realize that you were standing about ten feet away from the high point of Columbia Crest? Or does the crater rim count, as Mike Gautier says?

Does summitting Rainer require starting from Paradise? Why not Longmire? Why not the park entrance?

 

Does summiting Hood count if you ride a cat or ski lift part of the way? If not, then is it cheating to take a snowmobile up to the trailhead of Baker in a winter climb when the road is closed?

 

It's all arbitrary, and up to your own personal values. People who stress over what the rules should be should spend more time climbing and less time worrying about others' climbs.

[Dru]

 

I do not know of any other hard and fast

 

Hard and fast? Is there a speed record or a Mohs scale for that? How hard is hard and how fast is fast and are those VERIFIED RECORDS???

[Chaps]

I think it only qualifies as a summit if you're having fun when you do it. This holds true for sit-start summits of The Big R, or speed climbing, or if you're just doing it for the chicks. A lot of people on this board want to make fun of the best climbers, but lets face it...they're having way more fun than you are. You're living your life snaring yourself in arbitrary rule sets.

 

For the record, I think a true summit would require tagging sea level first. However, if you start at the bottom of Death Valley, and then you summit, is the mountain actually higher? I think this is the more important question.

[Cobra_Commander]

SHUT YOUR TRAP CHAPS

[Chaps]

What is with the negativity Cobra? Did you eat too many bran muffins for breakfast?

[Cobra_Commander]

Why would bran muffins have a negative impact on my day? They are delicious.

[Chaps]

If the pressure gets too great, you can always unscrew one of your metal parts to relieve yourself.

[Ireneo_Funes]

Is that the same as "uncaging the soul"?

[Dechristo]

Chaps qualifies as a summit of guano.

[Cobra_Commander]

from bran-eating bats

[Dechristo]

Mount Chap'sbatscat

[slothrop]

I've made a habit of jumping up and down really fast, Super Mario-style, to rack up as many "summits" as I can when standing atop a mountain.

[Dru]

You have heard the phrase, "summit or plummet".

 

Therefore, by the process of logic, anything which does not qualify as a plummet, is a summit.

[Chaps]

What a bunch of fluff posting! Talk about negativity...you all could use a dose of nice-ality. Hello! Making fun of people isn't all there is to life! Some times being nice can have its own reward...like when you're nice to a rich person and then they die and leave you millions of dollars. You might want to look in the mirror and realize that you're a loser because you carry around a hatred for all the good things in life like fuzzy little puppies or being kind to a self promoting speed climber on a internet bulletin board. Who know what door might open for you? Give life a chance, be nice!

[Dechristo]

Chaps, be thankful you're a summit and not a plummet.

 

Gratitude, Chaps, is your answer... not sycophantics.

[Kraken]

I ask the question not because I'm going to stay on Rainier for a few days, and want to climb it as many times as possible, but want to make sure I phrase it right.

 

I'm just curious generally curious as to what it would qualify as.

[Chaps]

Ok..well mine is the official answer. The rest of these guys are making it up.

[olyclimber]

When is this guy gonna go away?

[Dechristo]

When is this guy gonna go away?

 

Do you remember Chaps writing this?:

Well two can play at this game. I'm just going to post junk on your board, and lets see how it makes you feel!