What is a Peakbagger?

Since I own the "peakbagger.com" domain name, it seemed like taking a crack at trying to define the term and explaining a little bit about the concept would be an appropriate subject for a little rambling. So here goes:

Peakbagger (n): A mountain climber whose principal goal is the attainment of a summit, or a specific set of summits.

At first glance, this definition seems kind of oxymoronic; after all, isn't the goal of virtually all mountain climbers to attain summits? While that is true, my argument is that non-peakbaggers actually have other goals. Mountain climbers have always had trouble justifying their often dangerous and time-consuming sport, and in the table to the right I have tried to summarize ten of the more common justifications for climbing that are out there. The motivation to climb for most climbers comes from a varying mixture of those ten factors (and often other ones not listed, too).

My feeling, though, is that the peakbagger is focused disproportionately on reason #10 in the list at right. He climbs a peak because he wants to get to the summit, because it is there, because it needs to be climbed. Very often, he climbs a peak because it is on a list--by some combination of factors, it can be grouped as part of a logical set.

Orthodox mountain climbing is mainly focused on the challenge (reason #1 at right) of the peaks. Now that virtually all major summits in the world have been climbed, the focus is on what one could call "routebagging" (climbing new routes), "stylebagging" (using less protection, no oxygen, etc.), and "speedbagging" (minimizing ascent time) on the peaks. Most peakbaggers have very low interest in these kinds of pursuits. If the goal is the summit, how one gets there is not important. Why not just go up the easiest route possible?

Indeed, peakbaggers come in for a lot of abuse from most serious mountaineers. And, the worst-case scenario for a peakbagging exploit can certainly seem deranged. Imagine a boring hike on logging roads in cut-over forest, alone, in a rainy white-out, heading towards a non-descript clearing that marks the high spot of some random human-defined tract of land (such as a county, for example). There is no scenery, no social interaction, terrible weather, and precious little exercise, challenge, observation of nature, wilderness experience, or anything else. The main force behind this peakbagger's journey is existential summit drive. What other reason could there be for such a miserable trip?

Lists of peaks are central to peakbagging. While I think that it is perfectly valid to use the term in the context of a climber focused on an individual summit, most peakbaggers try to organize their summit fixations by going after peaks that meet certain criteria. "Highpointers" are peakbaggers that try to reach a set of high points--of states, countries, continents, national parks, or anything else. Another group of peakbaggers try to climb all summits over a certain elevation threshold in a certain area--the 4000 foot peaks in New Hampshire, the 14,000-foot peaks of Colorado, or the 8,000 meter peaks of the world. There are an infinite number of possible lists the creative peakbagger can dream up. This site features a listing of over 200 lists used by peakbaggers.

All of this leads to a certain emphasis on quantity over quality for many peakbaggers. Virtually every common peakbagging list has at least a few major, famous, or dominant summits, but the bottom rungs of many lists are often filled with many uninspiring peaks that would never enter the consciousness of a "real" climber. Today's serious mountaineer would rather climb Mount Rainier by several hard routes (Liberty Ridge, Willis Wall, etc.), while many peakbaggers would instead rather do Rainier by the easiest route and use the other ascents to get the state high points in Kansas and Iowa.

Many serious peakbaggers have a curious mix of skills. Technical rock and ice climbing prowess is usually not their strong suit, simply because there are very few summits worldwide that require those kind of skills. Generally speaking, you will not find peakbaggers in climbing gyms, at popular cragging spots, on waterfall ice, or on the big walls of Yosemite. Why, you can climb El Cap from the backside very easily! You do sometimes find peakbaggers practicing their rock or ice climbing, though, but only in preparation for a climb of some peak on some list that requires it.

Compensating for the general lack of technical climbing ability in many peakbaggers is a very strong sense of how to travel in the mountains. Peakbaggers are often excellent off-trail scramblers and bushwhackers, strong and tough hikers, and well-schooled at map-reading and navigation. Many miles of mountain pathway have given the typical peakbagger a toughness and variety of experience that many 5.14 crag climbers never get from their roadside cliffs. Real peakbaggers have really "been around": in deserts and rainforests, across snowfields and glaciers, up crumbly rotten rock ridges in terrible weather, on grueling 20-mile days--and in many cases, solo. (It can be hard to find partners willing to come along on many of the wackier peakbagging adventures.)

What I am trying to say is that we are not really that bad. If you meet a peakbagger, have some courtesy, have some sympathy, and some taste. The demons that drive them may seem strange, but are not really that much different from those of other climbers.

--Greg Slayden, April, 2004

A peakbagger's summit photo in an almost total white-out (Mount Bogong, Australia, 1993)