determining a ranked peak

[Kevin Baker]

How exactly do you determine 300' of prominence? I know Roach says 300' above the highest saddle connecting to higher terrain. I am close to finishing all of the named peaks/hills in my home county (El Paso) and would like to include the unnamed points with 300' of prominence. I think Roach and Martin climbed these as well for the counties they completed. Is there a way to easily see this, because I am having a hard time determining if some of these little bumps qualify! For instance, this point above St Peter's Dome is higher than the named point and is seemingly just barely 300' above the surrounding terrain. I think this has 300' of prominence.

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=13&n= ... ayer=DRG25

[John Kirk]

The key to ranking is how interpolation is employed. In this case, the saddle is between the 9,720 and 9,760 contour intervals. The interpolation since the saddle isn't printed would be 9,740. The elevation of the peak has a closed contour of 10,040, and interpolated at the midpoint would be 10,060. From this, 320' of prominence is derived subtracting the interpolated saddle elevation from the interpolated peak elevation. Where this gets really subjective is when there is a printed elevation at the saddle that is lower/higher than the interpolated elevation. I have put my lists together using a liberal interpretation, where I use the lower of the printed or interpolated saddle elevations to give peaks the benefit of the doubt. I'd be interested to see what the El Paso County List looks like when you're done. By the way - I've been meaning to ask you for beta on Cheyenne Mountain - what's the best access?

[Kevin Baker]

John:

Thanks for the clarification. I will send you my list of El Paso peaks as soon as I get the unnamed ones with 300' of prominence identified. As for Cheyenne, it is accessible via a forest road off of Old Stage Rd. The hp is not in the restricted area. The road wraps around the mountain to a saddle at 9K' east of the true summit. I will send you the route I took. This road is not clearly marked on the map.

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=13&n= ... ayer=DRG25