Define Obsessive Behavior

[LifeIsGood]

That there are 58 14ers in CO.

Hmm, well how many are there? Bill Middlebrook says there are 58, so that’s how many I completed!

[rijaca]

That there are 58 14ers in CO.

Hmm, well how many are there? Bill Middlebrook says there are 58, so that’s how many I completed!

53 according to Lists of John. The CMC used to recognize 54.

[Scott P]

Even continents aren't necessarily well-defined or agreed upon (Elbrus vs. Mont Blanc, Kosciusko vs. Cartensz).

Okay, I guess it is true that even the 7 Summits list is confusing: Mont Blanc really is the highest mountain in Europe. A glance at a map tells most rational people that Mount Elbrus is outside of Europe.

Which map is that? Most geographers consider the boundary between Europe and Asia to be the spine of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains.

Europe-political-boundaries-continent.jpg

[d_baker]

what else can we include on this list of irrational thought processes, that the people seem to think they are 100% correct about???

Can we include the obsessive repetition of looking at the forum, ohhhh, say 1,032x in a day?
Hitting refresh button at least 1/2 of those times?

What about where the Gore "begins" for those that are most interested in the higher peaks?

The obsessive talk on what 14er(s) are the top 5?
Because it's not subjective....

FKT rules.

[LifeIsGood]

Um, I think the main point about Europe’s highest peak, is that there is no clear separation of two continents, as there is in the case of all the others.

I am very curious what a poll of citizens in European countries would produce- probably they all say Mont Blanc!

[d_baker]

Um, I think the main point about Europe’s highest peak, is that there is no clear separation of two continents, as there is in the case of all the others.

I am very curious what a poll of citizens in European countries would produce- probably they all say Mont Blanc!

But that's a prime example of your question....

[LifeIsGood]

Darin, are you saying that it would be obsessive of me to poll hundreds or thousands of citizens of European countries?

You can’t talk me out of doing this.

[Scott P]

I am very curious what a poll of citizens in European countries would produce- probably they all say Mont Blanc!

Some in Western Europe (especially France) would say that, but pretty much all of Eastern Europe and most of the rest of the world would say Elbrus.

Western Europeans often think of Europe as political rather than geographical, i.e. the EU, but politics aren't really what define a continent.

As far as a clear separation, the Ural and Cacausus Mountains are a pretty clear seperation (though in reality the continent should be Eurasia).

I agree that the poll would be interesting though, but the Ural and Caucasus Mountains have been considered to be the boundary of Europe and Asia for a very long time.

You can’t talk me out of doing this.

I say do it, but make sure to include Eastern Europe too!

Anyway, speaking of Europe, you do know that it's the Europeans that teach Oceania as a continent rather than Australia, right? That's why they usually choose Carstenz as the 7th summit.

If you polled Europeans on this, most would say New Guinea is part of the same continent as Australia. That's how it's taught in most European schools.

I'd add the Carstenz vs Kosciuszko debate to the poll too, though the likely outcome seems pretty predictable.

[LifeIsGood]

This is getting so meta now, but I’m going to roll with it, and respond to Scott P with this:

If Mount Elbrus is on the border between the continents of Europe and Asia, then it’s still not the highest mountain IN Europe! I guess it’s the highest on the edge of Europe.

As a side note, the Ural Mountains, despite being commonly used as the boundary, definitely do not appear on the map as “a pretty clear separation” between two continents, but rather definitely in the middle of A continent.

As far as Carstensz Pyramid, I thought it replaced Australia’s high point mainly because Mt Kosciuszko is just an easy day hike, at 7,000 feet elevation, and is therefore not mountaineering.

[Chicago Transplant]

Just to be even more controversial, Carstensz is in political Asia as its on the Indonesia side of the island New Guinea, vs Papua New Guinea being politically Oceania.

[Choss Plate]

And I HAVE summited Mauna Kea in Hawaii (and Mauna Loa), therefore I have stood atop the HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD, as it is 33,500 feet above the ocean floor (but really it’s only 13,800 feet above sea level).

This is an oft-cited fact I’ve never fully understood. Is that essentially the “dry prominence” a.k.a height above the underwater saddle with Everest (or maybe Whitney or Denali, depending on what the seafloor is like)?

In that case, why couldn’t you just add the depth of Challenger Deep to Everest’s elevation to take back the title of “highest”?

[bdloftin77]

And I HAVE summited Mauna Kea in Hawaii (and Mauna Loa), therefore I have stood atop the HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD, as it is 33,500 feet above the ocean floor (but really it’s only 13,800 feet above sea level).

This is an oft-cited fact I’ve never fully understood. Is that essentially the “dry prominence” a.k.a height above the underwater saddle with Everest (or maybe Whitney or Denali, depending on what the seafloor is like)?

In that case, why couldn’t you just add the depth of Challenger Deep to Everest’s elevation to take back the title of “highest”?

Someone calculated prominences on either Mars or on the moon and did exactly that with the highest point. Makes more sense than "infinity" or "undefined."