What counts as a repeat summit?

[14ercooper]

Sometimes it gets a bit fuzzy and requires more thinking, but I generally count a peak as a summit if two things are true: it's my first time on the summit that outing (typically returning to my car or a town or similar between outings), and I climbed the mountain (vs driving to the top).
In my opinion, going over a peak during a traverse counts for a summit, but you don't get to count it a second time on the return trip (such as going Torreys-Grays-Torreys from Loveland Pass - I'd only count it as a single summit of Torreys).

[rijaca]

I've started ticking off my 14er checklist and I ran into a quandary... Last year I climbed Grays Peak from Argentine pass, then went up Torreys, and climbed up Grays again on the return route. Would this count as two ascents of Grays Peak since I technically did reach the top of Grays twice?

No.

Here's another scenario: to climb mountain C (14k feet) I would have to climb mountain A (13k) and mountain B (13.5k). After summiting C I head down and tag B and A again. Would that count as 1 summit of C, 2 summits of B, and 2 summits of A?

No.

[climbingcue]

I say you have to go back to your car in between to count another summit of the same peak.

I think you can also recount it if you drop 3,000 ft or more then climb it again. So no car needed, but again it is your list. Do it the way you would like.

[Chicago Transplant]

I get the "its your list" and largely agree, but you can't just drop a few feet and keep going back over a summit and count it every time. There needs to be a reasonable cut off, otherwise you could say you climbed a peak 100 times in like 10 minutes just going back and forth along the ridge for a few feet. I doubt anyone would think that counts as 100 summits, its just the first one that counts. Just use a reasonable sense of judgement with "your list".

Since the OP asked, I personally don't think returning over a summit as part of a more distant summit's ascent should count as a repeat. For example, going over Belford to get to Oxford and back over Belford is only one ascent of Belford in my opinion. I once walked over the summit of Castle 3 times in a day to do a "Y" shaped out and back to other peaks, I count that as one ascent of Castle - not 3.

[Above_Treeline]

I've started ticking off my 14er checklist and I ran into a quandary... Last year I climbed Grays Peak from Argentine pass, then went up Torreys, and climbed up Grays again on the return route. Would this count as two ascents of Grays Peak since I technically did reach the top of Grays twice?

Here's another scenario: to climb mountain C (14k feet) I would have to climb mountain A (13k) and mountain B (13.5k). After summiting C I head down and tag B and A again. Would that count as 1 summit of C, 2 summits of B, and 2 summits of A?

I'm curious how you all define repeat summits in your checklists.

I'd probably count it as 1 summit, if it's on the route up and back

I don't really buy into the it's your list argument, it'd be kinda lame if I added pikes only driving up. I suppose you did climb these 2x though

[montanahiker]

I get the "its your list" and largely agree, but you can't just drop a few feet and keep going back over a summit and count it every time. There needs to be a reasonable cut off, otherwise you could say you climbed a peak 100 times in like 10 minutes just going back and forth along the ridge for a few feet. I doubt anyone would think that counts as 100 summits, its just the first one that counts. Just use a reasonable sense of judgement with "your list".

How about an arbitrary number of feet? Say, 300?

[Chicago Transplant]

I get the "its your list" and largely agree, but you can't just drop a few feet and keep going back over a summit and count it every time. There needs to be a reasonable cut off, otherwise you could say you climbed a peak 100 times in like 10 minutes just going back and forth along the ridge for a few feet. I doubt anyone would think that counts as 100 summits, its just the first one that counts. Just use a reasonable sense of judgement with "your list".

How about an arbitrary number of feet? Say, 300?

Personally I would be more along the lines of agreeing with climbingcue and say 3000'

[daway8]

I also do not count going back over a summit on the way back - not even on a recent painful 4 peak day that involved doing 3 peaks on a ridgeline and then re-summiting 2 of them, dropping off the far side of the pass to get the 4th peak then dropping back down and coming back up over the pass (yeah, not my most brilliantly planned day...).

I mean it's your list and all, but if it was just purely your own list and that was it then there would be no reason to ask others for input. Implied in the fact that you're asking about it is that you care to a certain extent what the "community norms" are.

The "community norm" in this case is, no, going back over a summit doesn't count as doing 2 summits.

[madmattd]

I've always used the rule of needing to return to a "legal" trailhead (can be the same TH or different) before counting a summit again. That gets a little muddy in CO where 4WD passes can be considered a TH, etc, which is I suppose where the 3000' rule could come in too.

[jrbren_vt]

Part of me wants to say if you descend by whatever the accepted drop is between to summits to make them 2 distinct summits, then reclimb, that is a second summit. I think a between CO 14ers, Adirondack 46er peaks and NH 4000ers, the number is somewhere around 300-500'. I am too lazy to look it up. I think it is different in each case. Yet I am reluctant to give myself two Redcloud summits for the day last June when I did Redcloud and Sunshine via the standard route and returned back over Redcloud. If I can't count the second summit of Redcloud, why can I count Sunshine ? If I have to back to the car for a second summit, why don't I have to go back to the car for a second (but different) summit on the same hike ? Why can't anyone spell Red Cloud right ? I guess I don't count any summit twice in the same day ...

[Ed_Groves]

I also do not count going back over a summit on the way back - not even on a recent painful 4 peak day that involved doing 3 peaks on a ridgeline and then re-summiting 2 of them, dropping off the far side of the pass to get the 4th peak then dropping back down and coming back up over the pass (yeah, not my most brilliantly planned day...).

I mean it's your list and all, but if it was just purely your own list and that was it then there would be no reason to ask others for input. Implied in the fact that you're asking about it is that you care to a certain extent what the "community norms" are.

The "community norm" in this case is, no, going back over a summit doesn't count as doing 2 summits.

+1
Well said.

[cheechaco]

I 'learned' (and begrudgingly adopted) this rule years ago. We did Colorado Mines Peak, then Flora, then did Breckinridge, back up Flora, then did Witter and Eva, then back up Flora. I was excited about having done seven peaks in a day. Then my buddy says "Oh no, you only got 5". I was not happy, but it makes sense so that's the rule I play by.