Four-thousand footers

The Four-thousand footers (sometimes abbreviated 4ks) are a group of forty-eight mountains in New Hampshire at least 4,000 ft above sea level. To qualify for inclusion a peak must also meet the more technical criterion of topographic prominence important in the mountaineering sport of peak-bagging.

The White Mountains Four Thousand Footers List is established (and revised from time to time) by the Appalachian Mountain Club. The AMC calls it the White Mountains List, but others call it the New Hampshire List because it does not include Old Speck Mountain (4,170 ft) in Maine, which is outside the White Mountain National Forest but within the White Mountains.

The AMC also maintains a list of New England 4000 Footers, all falling within Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Other lists of 4000-footers not maintained by the AMC include the original set of 4,000-foot mountains for peak-bagging: the 46 High Peaks in the Adirondacks.

The AMC has revised its 4000-footer lists as surveying became more accurate or the selection criteria were adjusted, with the White Mountains list growing from 46 peaks in the 1950s to 48 in 1982. The proper inclusion or exclusion of several peaks is still a matter of some dispute.

The 48 lie in the White Mountain National Forest, within two northern counties of New Hampshire: Coos and Grafton. All peaks except those of Mount Washington, Mount Moosilauke and Cannon Mountain are on land owned by the Forest Service, and these three are almost completely surrounded by it.

Prominence
A topographic prominence criterion is applied to exclude high points which are considered subsidiary peaks of a larger mountain. The definition of topographic prominence is the vertical separation between a peak and the low point of the highest ridge connecting it to a higher one. In practical terms, prominence is the minimum distance a hiker must descend before ascending a higher peak.

The AMC's 4000-Footer lists require that a mountain rise 200 ft beyond a ridge connecting it to its neighbor. Earlier versions required either 300 ft of prominence or 1/4 mi of separation.

Four Thousand Footer club
A committee of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) sets the criteria and collects information verifying that peaks meet them. It also maintains a list of the Four Thousand Footer Club's self-declared members, who request recognition for having ascended on foot all of the 48. The first of these was compiled in 1958.

There are numerous variations in completing the Four Thousand Footer list. For example, the AMC maintains a roster of those making ascents between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Another not officially recorded is reaching each summit twelve times, once in each of the twelve months, in any calendar order. This is known as The Grid. , the feat has been claimed by 68 individuals.

The New Hampshire list
New Hampshire Four Thousand Footers are listed below in descending order of their elevations. Some of these names do not appear on maps, and some alternative names are indicated below.


 * 1) Washington:	6288 ft AT*
 * 2) Adams:	5774 ft AT**
 * 3) Jefferson:	5712 ft AT**
 * 4) Monroe:	5384 ft AT**
 * 5) Madison:	5367 ft AT*
 * 6) Lafayette:	5249 ft AT*
 * 7) Lincoln:	5089 ft AT*
 * 8) South Twin:	4902 ft AT*
 * 9) Carter Dome:	4832 ft AT*
 * 10) Moosilauke:	4802 ft AT*
 * 11) Eisenhower:	4780 ft AT**
 * 12) North Twin:	4761 ft
 * 13) Carrigain:	4700 ft
 * 14) Bond:	4698 ft
 * 15) Middle Carter:	4610 ft AT*
 * 16) West Bond:	4540 ft
 * 17) Garfield:	4500 ft AT**
 * 18) Liberty:	4459 ft AT**
 * 19) South Carter:	4430 ft AT*
 * 20) Wildcat:	4422 ft AT*
 * 21) Hancock:	4420 ft
 * 22) South Kinsman:	4358 ft  ("South Peak") AT*
 * 23) Field:	4340 ft
 * 24) Osceola: 	4340 ft
 * 25) Flume:	4328 ft
 * 26) South Hancock:	4319 ft
 * 27) Pierce:	4310 ft AT*
 * 28) North Kinsman:	4293 ft  ("North Peak") AT*
 * 29) Willey:	4285 ft
 * 30) Bondcliff:	4265 ft  ("The Cliffs")
 * 31) Zealand:	4260 ft  ("Zealand Ridge") AT**
 * 32) North Tripyramid:	4180 ft ("North Peak")
 * 33) Cabot:	4170 ft
 * 34) East Osceola:	4156 ft  ("East Peak")
 * 35) Middle Tripyramid:	4140 ft
 * 36) Cannon:	4100 ft
 * 37) Wildcat D:	4070 ft  ("Wildcat Ridge") AT*
 * 38) Hale:	4054 ft
 * 39) Jackson:	4052 ft AT*
 * 40) Tom:	4051 ft
 * 41) Moriah:	4049 ft AT**
 * 42) Passaconaway:	4043 ft
 * 43) Owl's Head:	4025 ft
 * 44) Galehead:	4024 ft AT**
 * 45) Whiteface:	4020 ft
 * 46) Waumbek:	4006 ft
 * 47) Isolation:	4004 ft
 * 48) Tecumseh: 	Traditionally 4003 ft, resurveyed July 2019 3997 ft

AT* = Appalachian Trail passes over summit; AT** = AT passes near summit

The New England list
This list consists of the New Hampshire list, plus the following:

4000-Footers in Maine:


 * 1) Katahdin (Baxter Peak): 5268 ft AT* (northern terminus)
 * 2) Katahdin (Hamlin Peak): 4756 ft
 * 3) Sugarloaf Mountain: 4250 ft AT**
 * 4) Crocker Mountain: 4228 ft AT*
 * 5) Old Speck: 4170 ft AT**
 * 6) Mount Bigelow (West Peak):	4145 ft AT*
 * 7) North Brother:	4151 ft
 * 8) Saddleback Mountain : 4120 ft AT*
 * 9) Mount Bigelow (Avery Peak): 4090 ft AT*
 * 10) Mount Abraham: 4050 ft
 * 11) South Crocker Mountain:	4050 ft AT*
 * 12) Saddleback Mountain (the Horn):	4041 ft AT*
 * 13) Mount Redington:	4010 ft
 * 14) Spaulding Mountain:	4010 ft AT**

4000-Footers in Vermont:


 * 1) Mount Mansfield: 4393 ft LT*
 * 2) Killington Peak: 4235 ft AT** LT**
 * 3) Camel's Hump: 4083 ft LT*
 * 4) Mount Ellen:	4083 ft LT*
 * 5) Mount Abraham:	4006 ft LT*

LT* = Long Trail passes over summit; LT** = LT passes near summit