Definitions

Potential lists to add to the existing array

Definitions

Postby Jeremy Hakes » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:48 pm

:idea: Not so much a list request, but maybe a list of definitions would be useful for people not quite as Type A as some of us. A potential list of words with useful definitions would/could be:

Ranked
Soft Ranked
(logically) Unranked
Line Parent
Proximate Parent
Isolation
Prominence
etc.

This would simply be a reference tool for people who are into the whole mountain thing, but not as strong as others in the map/definition dept.
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Postby John Kirk » Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:33 pm

After we completed the first state, CO, Gerry updated his site with the terms we put into use. He has a pretty good reference here:

http://www.climb.mountains.com/Project_Island.htm#notes

Or if you prefer not to navigate there:

Name.
A peak qualifies for a list if it is named or ranked. Named summits are on a list if they are ranked or unranked. The officially named summits include peaks, mounts, mountains, named ridges, named benchmarks if they do not have a peak name, named rocks, named hills, and other named features such as moraines. I enclose unofficial names in double quotation marks. If a summit has both a peak name and a named benchmark, the peak name takes precedence.


Prominence.
The Prominence of a summit in these lists is its rise above the highest saddle connecting the summit to higher ground. This highest saddle is called the Prominence Saddle, which I have previously called the Connecting Saddle. Thus, Prominence is the elevation of the summit minus the elevation of the Prominence Saddle. Prominence is a pure topographic measure that is independent of names, parents, and ranks. Occasionally, a summit does not have a given elevation, and in these cases, the summit elevation is calculated by extrapolating above the summit’s highest closed contour by half the contour interval. Often, a saddle does not have a given elevation, and in these cases the saddle elevation is interpolated between the highest contour that does not go through the saddle and the lowest contour that does go through the saddle. Given elevations in a saddle are used, but only if they represent the low point of the saddle. The maps used for calcutaing Prominence are the largest scale (most detailed) maps available for the region. In Colorado, these are the the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles, which typically have a contour interval of 40 feet in the mountains. In these lists, Prominence is given in feet.


Rank.
A summit has a hard rank, if it has at least 300 feet of Prominence. Summits that do not have a hard rank but could rank if extrapolated elevations were not used for the summit and/or interpolated elevations were not used for the Prominence Saddle, have a soft rank. Summits with a soft rank have a left-justified S in the Rank column. No entry in the Rank column means that the summit is named but unranked.

Parent.
The closest, higher, hard ranked summit is the Proximate Parent. The closest, higher, hard ranked summit that one would reach by climbing beyond and above the Prominence Saddle is the Prominence Parent. The term Line Parent is a synonym for Prominence Parent.

Isolation.
The Great Circle distance between a summit and its Proximate Parent is the summit’s Isolation. By definition, the distance to the Proximate Parent will always be less than or equal to the distance to the Prominence Parent. The distance to the Proximate Parent is the summit’s Isolation.


When two or more summits have the same elevation, they are ordered by decreasing Prominence. If there are peaks with the same elevation and Prominence, then they are ordered by decreasing Isolation.
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Postby TWorth » Thu Sep 06, 2007 6:20 pm

Good idea, these lists should be as easy to understand as possible without getting heavily into theory.

Gerry Roach's definitions are a good reference. For the state-wide CO list, we generally used the same definitions/methodology as Garratt & Martin's 13er list, with drop=prominence and neighbor=prominence parent. Their high 13er guidebook has a useful section explaining details and special circumstances, see pg 179-184. The CO lists here on LOJ grew as a simple extension of the existing 13er-12er-11er lists, with a few corrections here and there. A couple extra 11ers were found, and the lettering system was changed slightly.

For CO, I'm surprised there haven't been more corrections or "new" peaks found.
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