Asia

Sure, Asia is the largest continent, so it makes sense that it has more mountains than any other. But even given its size, Asia still has way more impressive ranges and peaks that you would expect, a veritable embarassment of mountain richness.

You start, of course, with the vast Central Asian complex of mountains, the only place on earth where peaks rise greater than 7000 m/23,000'. In fact, there are so many an accurate count is not yet possible, and no one really knows the true world height rank of Aconcagua, highest peak outside Asia. The famous Himalaya is just one of the many ranges in this huge chunk of lofty real estate, and the Karakoram, Pamir, Tien Shan, Hiudu Kush, Kunlun, and hosts of other ranges all cover an area of well over 2 million square miles, almost the size of the contiguous United States.

Even outside of the Central Asian complex, Asia presents a staggering variety of ranges. Along the Pacific Rim, high volcanoes dominate the landscape, from the icy slopes of Kamchatka's 4800m/15,000' Kluchevskaya to the numerous high, verdant cones of Indonesia. Iran and Turkey are thoroughly mountainous countries with scores of 4000m and 5000m peaks that are almost unknown. The Indian Subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula are not known for their high peaks, but both have significant areas of relatively high mountains. Even the huge expanse of Siberia, with its wide, flat basins, has a lifetime's worth of decent mountain ranges hidden in its vastness.

I think it is difficult for most Europeans and North Americans to grasp just how big Asia is and how many mountains it contains. We grow very comfortable with the well-mapped confines of the Alps and the Rockies, totally unaware of the sheer scale and sheer number of virtually unknown and unexplored ranges that sprawl across Siberia, China, and Central Asia. To fully grasp the mountains of Asia requires us to increase our geographic concepts an entire order of magnitude. Even the veteran of a climb or trek in the Himalaya, well-impressed with the massive snowy peaks, may have no concerete idea of the fantasitic extent and varienty of summits the sprawl for a thousand miles behind Nepal.

The Peakbagger.com Mountain Range Classification Scheme allows only ten subranges per parent range, due to the way the range numbering system works. This limitation was rarely a problem as I divided up the world into its logical range components. North America needed all 10 subranges to work, but most other continents divided nicely into 9 or fewer Range2s. For Asia, though, I was forced to artificially divide it into 2 pseudo-continents, and even then I needed all 20 slots for sub ranges. Indeed, I think that the ideal and correct number of Range2s in Asia might be between 21 and 25. Every Range2 I created was usually the full equal of Range2s like the Rockies or Alps.

So, enjoy exploring Asia--in every sense of the word, the heart of the world's mountains.