Fourteeners
In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet (4267 meters). Colorado has the majority of fourteeners in the contiguous United States (53), followed by California, which has the second largest group of such peaks in the contiguous 48 states (12). Climbing all of Colorado's fourteeners is a popular pastime among peak baggers; another popular target is climbing all of the fourteeners in the contiguous United States. Various ski mountaineers have completed ski descents of all the Colorado fourteeners, and the first attempts are being made to complete ski descents of all U.S. fourteeners.
The summit of a mountain or hill may be measured in three principal ways:
Not all summits over 14,000 feet qualify as fourteeners. Summits which qualify are those considered by mountaineers to be independent. Objective standards for independence include topographic prominence and isolation (distance from a higher summit), or a combination of the two. However, fourteener lists do not always consistently use such objective rules.
A rule commonly used by mountaineers in the contiguous United States is that a peak must have at least 300 feet (91 m) of prominence to qualify. By this rule, Colorado has 53 fourteeners, California has 12, and Washington has two.
According to the Mountaineering Club of Alaska, it is standard in Alaska to use a 500-foot (150 m) prominence rule rather than a 300-foot (91 m) rule. By this rule, Alaska has at least 21 peaks over 14,000 feet (4,267 m) and its 12 highest peaks exceed 15,000 feet (4,572 m).
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