Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board What constitutes a California 14er?

It’s seems to me (as I hike along trail crest to Mt. Whitney’s summit) that in addition to Whitney and Muir, the needles are also separate “pointy things” that are over 14,000’ elevation. Yet the needles aren’t considered 14ers.

Soooo … what is the technicality? Is there some minimum distance between peaks requirement … some minimum elevation loss/gain between peaks requirement … a combination of things?

Good question, Jamrox. Paul Richens has a site explaining peakedness. I think it is similar to the guidelines used for the Colorado 14ers. Paul states: "...To put objective parameters on the dictionary definition, the peak was required to have an elevation rise of at least 400 feet above the land bridge (col or pass) connecting it with its closest neighbor peak and be at least one-half mile from its neighbor peak." You can see Richen's definition at http://pweb.jps.net/~prichins/calif100.htm . His site lists the top 100 peaks in California.

Using the above definition would make sense. Porcella and Burns do not include the three needles (3rd Needle, Crooks Needle and Keeler Needle) as 14000 foot peaks in their book Climbing California's Fourteeners. They include them in the section on Whitney. I figure though, if you are doing the other 14'ers it doesn't hurt to go to them also. They sure seem like seperate peaks above 14000 feet.