John Mitchler and Dave Covill run the Highpointers Club for those interested in bagging the 50 US state tops. Inevitably, this is a touch bigger than the Hall of Fame. According to Issue 47 (fourth quarter 1999) of 'Apex to Zenith' (the Highpointers Club newsletter) the Club had a membership of 2042, with 84 people having completed all 50 state tops and 156 having managed the 48 contiguous states (i.e. all except Alaska and Hawaii). So, the scale is different, but the bagging mentality, principles and problems seem familiar, as these newsletter extracts show:
...Cal Dunwoody completed all fifty in descending order of height, starting at age 68 with a two-week seminar to learn about ice climbing, rock climbing and crevasse rescue, then a traverse of Denali (Mt McKinley) in 1989, and ending with Florida's Britton Hill in 1999, age 77.
...The newsletter editors have been in contact with the Richardson family of Foster, Rhode Island, who live directly adjacent to the highpoint, Jerimoth Hill. The Richardsons cherish their privacy, and feel strongly that they have a legal right to control access. They have had several visits from people who have littered or come during the night.
...Rhode Island status: 12 visited on July 17, 53 visited on Sept 5. Next access date: 9 October 1999. A few rogue trespassers still plague the owner of the easement. Club policy requires members to visit on open access dates.
...Five 50 state completers during first quarter 1999, and four of the five finished on Hawaii.
...High Point, New Jersey: The summit tower has been closed for more than a year because it was deemed unsafe.
...Although many state highpoints are on public property, over 30% are on private property. We must therefore, in order to protect the fabric of our club and its endeavors, begin to systematically form a club-wide ethics policy.
...The Highpointers Club has reached an agreement with Penn Virginia Coal company allowing access to Black Mountain, the highpoint of Kentucky. A waiver for access must be signed in advance and mailed to the coal company. When visiting, only the road to the highpoint may be traveled.
...Whit Rambach completed the 50 state highpoints on 7 August 1994 and ends up being the first person to complete all 50 twice.
...Andy Martin became the first to complete a Pacific-to-Atlantic link of completed county highpoints. Sending the rest of his family on ahead to North Carolina, Andy took eight days going across Oklahoma, Arizona and Tennessee, to link his previously done western and eastern counties.
...Everyone who gets serious about highpointing eventually faces the challenge of Denali. The initial phase is considering whether it is even an option. Denali requires commitment to physical conditioning and attainment of skills necessary for the climb.
...The origins of mountaineering, peakbagging and highpointing as sports are distinct. Three points set highpointing apart: origins, goals and methods. The variety of goals encourages a variety of methods from climbs and hikes to jaunts and drives.
For more details of the club and the newsletter, see highpointers.org. Mitchler and Covill have also collaborated to produce a guidebook to the 63 county tops of Colorado: 'Hiking Colorado's Summits', $15.95 from Falcon Publishing (www.falconoutdoors.com).
