Highpointer

Welcome to Highpointer! Research, plan, and track your progress tagging each of the 50 State Highpoints!

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What is Highpointing?

Highpointing is the activity of reaching the point of highest elevation within a given geography; in our case, the 50 states of the USA. And what an adventurous way to experience the beauty and variety this country has to offer! Each state highpoint is unique, it may be located on a farm, road, rock, mound, hill, point, dome, knob, butte, mesa, bald, peak, or mountain. It may be in a city, on private land, on the grounds of a school, in a park (local, state or national), or in a wilderness area. The opportunity for positive and memorable experiences is boundless!

Rules for this pursuit are few, and ascents are generally defined by the individuals themselves. Highpointing has no formal governing body. The organizational body for state highpointing in the U.S. is the Highpointers Club. Generally, any route to the top - walking, climbing, driving an automobile, etc. - is considered a valid means of attaining the high point. Each individual must decide what constitutes good sport. Many will prefer reaching the high point under their own locomotion, or to climb a certain number of vertical feet en route, but the means of ascent is a personal choice.

Fun Facts:

- About 15 of the states can be ascended by automobile. Many of the rest can be reached via an easy hike. Only 15 to 20 require more serious effort, depending on an individual's fitness and skills. Denali is by far the most difficult, requiring serious training, thousands of dollars, about three weeks, and favorable weather conditions to summit.

- The first person to successfully climb each U.S. state highpoint was A.H. Marshall, who completed the task in July 1936, when there were only 48 states. Marshall's 48th highpoint to complete the task was Indiana's modest Hoosier Hill. Only four individuals are known to have completed all 48 states before the addition of Alaska and Hawaii in 1959.

- The first person to climb to the top of all 50 U.S. states was Mitch Michaud in 1970. Since then, about 300 people have successfully climbed to the top of each U.S. state. Mount Everest, by comparison, has seen over 5,000 ascents by more than 3,000 individuals.

- In 1986, Jack Longacre placed an ad in Outside magazine which led the next year to the formation of the Highpointers Club, which is devoted to climbs of U.S. state highpoints.

* Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highpointing