John Kirk Completes P2Ks

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John Kirk Completes P2Ks

Postby Brian Kalet » Thu Oct 13, 2016 1:47 pm

John Kirk became the fourth person to complete the P3Ks of Colorado on 10/8 with an ascent of North Mamm Peak and became the third person to complete the P2Ks of Colorado on 10/9 with an ascent of Sleepy Cat Peak.
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Re: John Kirk Completes P2Ks

Postby dhgold » Thu Oct 13, 2016 2:03 pm

Congrats. I didn't realize that I was the 3rd to finish the 3ks.
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Re: John Kirk Completes P2Ks

Postby John Kirk » Mon Oct 17, 2016 2:06 pm

Congrats to you also on finishing the 3ks this last weekend Brian. Me being #3 for 2ks reveals a lot about the significance of prominence thus far in CO peakbagging given that twice as many people have finished a list sixteen times larger and arguably more than sixteen times more difficult (CO 12ers).
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Re: John Kirk Completes P2Ks

Postby dhgold » Mon Oct 17, 2016 5:50 pm

To elaborate on JK's notion that prominent peaks are somewhat overlooked:

I think people are missing out by going after elevation thresholds instead of prominence thresholds. While I haven't come across a category of peak that I couldn't motivate for, IMO high prominence peaks are overall the most worthwhile. A prominent peak is more likely to both have a view and, as the highest point in the area, feel like a real summit rather than just a bump on the ridge. I've found it's easier to get "civilians" motivated for major prominences than for random P300 peaks. If you like visiting new places, prominent peaks are far more widely distributed than elevation threshold peaks.

Some good lists to go after:

In Colorado, once you've finished the Centennials, the P2K peaks, are a sensible next objective. It's an easier list than the Bicentennials but more diverse, it will take you to a lot of new places. There are some long hikes, some near drive-ups and some scrambling but nothing that requires a rope. As far as access issues, only a couple of the peaks are modestly problematic.

The "penultimate last great problem" of Colorado peak bagging is the complete set of 425 P1Ks. Mike Garrett seems to have run out of steam heartbreakingly close with only 9 remaining. Many of these peaks have access problems and there is at least one real show stopper.

For my money, the single best peak list to go after in the contiguous US is the one comprising the 57 peaks with at least 5000 feet of prominence. This list has it all: drive-ups (Pikes, Mount Washington), multi-day approaches (Gannett), easy hikes, snow and ice (Cascade volcanoes), 5th class (Grand Teton) and all sorts of random objective difficulties such as possible encounters with caravans of people crossing the border surreptitiously (Mt Miller), grizzly bear nesting grounds (MacDonald) and closures that rule out the entirety of the good climbing season (ibid). These peaks are in 13 states and two of them are east of the Mississippi so you'd see a lot of the country doing them. To John's point about the relative neglect of prominences, only eight LOJers have completed the 57 Ultras as opposed to the 35+ who have completed the 638 Colorado ranked peaks >= 13000'.
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Re: John Kirk Completes P2Ks

Postby MikeRodenak » Tue Oct 18, 2016 2:52 pm

Nice work gentlemen! :rock:

I do have a soft spot in my heart for the prominence peaks, and while the 13k list is my primary objective, the 57 Ultras are a goal that I would like to pursue more as well as other prominence thresholds in Colorado. I echo dhgold's sentiments regarding views and the feel of being on a real summit. I have always found it a nice bonus when one of my 13er summits is also a high prominence peak, I always find myself looking forward to those more than the usual "bump on a ridge". Having just done West Elk on Saturday, it reinforced that sentiment, and I look forward to more prominence peaks. Especially as the fall snows start to hit the higher peaks and my new 13ers take a back burner. Might be some good fall P2Ks out there to check out, thanks for the inspiration!
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Re: John Kirk Completes P2Ks

Postby TeresaGergen » Sun Oct 23, 2016 8:02 pm

Congrats to John and Brian.

With respect to the Ultras, it appears that access to Hayford Peak is threatened:
http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/hayfor ... 81377.html
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