Introduction

This is the third report for the BwB International Peak-bagging Tables, comprising Halls of Fame for all the BwB prominence categories, and Progress Registers and Rolls of Honour for some. 

Unlike earlier years, there will be only one edition of the Tables from 2022, and any new entrants joining BwB in 2023 ff. will first feature in next year’s Tables.

Review of the Year

2022 was the year when peak-bagging got back to normal in many parts of the world, but not all.  COVID restrictions were generally eased, making foreign travel a less challenging prospect for most.  The pandemic was not, however, totally in the rear-view mirror.  I have received reports from some members of Long COVID restricting or preventing them from peak-bagging.  My good wishes go out to those who are suffering from this condition, and to all who find ill-health impacting on their ability to hike and climb.  In 2022, I too found myself in that position.

One hundred and thirty-four people have been recorded in the 2022 edition of these Tables (one hundred and five in 2021), as well as eight deceased baggers who feature in the Halls of Fame and/or Rolls of Honour.

The average age of those in the 2022 Tables is 53 years (57 years in 2021), although ages range between seven and ninety-three years.   65% (63% in 2021) of the people in the Tables this year reside in Europe, 30% in North America (34% in 2021), and 5% (3%) in Africa, Asia and Australia.  11% (13% in 2021) of the people in the Tables self-identify as female.

In the second edition of the 2021 Tables we introduced a new feature -  a separate section in the Progress Registers for Juniors, with annual certificates for those who made progress in the year in at least one P-Category.  This feature was well-received and will continue.  It would be good to expand the junior membership, so if you sometimes hike the hills and mountains with your children, ask if they would like to be included in the BwB Junior Progress Registers.

Another development that has been introduced for 2022, separate from the Tables, and potentially open to a wider group than just BwB members, are the annual P-Index League Tables.  You can find the information about these here.    

2022 also saw the introduction of another addition to the website – the BwB Journal.   You can read about this here.  BwB members have been very generous in contributing articles, and I already have a few to feature in the next edition in May/June 2023.  Please keep them coming. 

As I observed last year, the BwB membership, both those who participate in the Tables and those who do not, continues to expand into a wide and varying group, ranging from those who can deploy the full range of mountaineering skills to climb the most challenging peaks in the world, to peak-baggers who just enjoy hiking.  All in the Tables, to a greater or lesser extent, find prominence a useful tool in deciding what peaks they wish to target for their ‘peak portfolio’.  What unites us all is the contentment we feel in upland places, both in our own countries and abroad. 

7000m+ Report

In previous Reports, I mentioned the peaks over 7000m in altitude that BwB Members & Associates have climbed.   To this list can now be added K2 8614m, P4020m (known in China as Qiáogēlǐ Fēng/乔戈里峰), climbed by Eric Gilbertson in July 2022.  On this expedition he also put up the second ascent by a BwB member of Broad Peak 8051m, P1071m on his second attempt.  You can read about his expedition here.    

To the list has also been added new member Craig Barlow’s ascent of Mount Everest 8849m, P8849m in 2016.  Three BwB members have now climbed the highest peak in the world.  In addition, Reuben Kouidri’s ascent of Pik Lenina 7134m, P2787m in 2017 has been added to the list. 

An updated list of 8000m and 7000m peaks climbed by BwB participants is given below.

Obituaries

Each year in this Report there are short obituaries of BwB peak-baggers who died in the year.  In addition, there may also be a tribute to a person who died in an earlier year who had a strong interest in international peak-bagging.

Ken Whyte (1953 – 2022)

Rob Woodall writes about Ken:

Ken Whyte, a well-liked and prolific Scotland-based peak-bagger, died on 7 March 2022.  He had been having treatment for a brain tumour for over a year.

Ken was born in Forfar in 1953.  His bagging record is extraordinary - pretty much everything over 500m/P30m in Britain (3870 out of 3876 summits), and most of the P100m summits of Ireland (825/833), his outings often bicycle-powered.  He was known for his speed and fitness, coming from a hill-running background with Lochaber Athletic Club.  He was the 38th person to reach the Marilyn Hall of Fame (i.e. having bagged 600 British P150m summits), on Ben Donich in 1999 - and his 1000th was Beinn Ghoblach, just twelve months and five days later!  

He loved islands - Scotland has hundreds of them and he "completed" (i.e. bagged all the P30m summits) on ninety-six islands – far more than anyone else.  He enjoyed the friendly rivalry of league tables – in Britain he completed thirty-six sections and fifty-six Topo Regions, again well ahead of his nearest rivals.

He liked to escape the Scottish winter and bagged many Spanish mainland and island peaks.  He was the first person on Peakbagger who got anywhere near the summit of Puig Major, the P1436m Mallorca island highpoint.  He applied Scottish access principles and boldly marched up the military road to the gate (although even he didn't get inside).  His overseas ascents also included Meru and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Taranaki in New Zealand, and the Falkland and British Virgin Island national highpoints.

Tom Cope (1948 – 2021)

Tom was a prolific climber and leading member of the Colorado Mountain Club who also climbed internationally.  Outside the USA, his ascents included Kilimanjaro, Orizaba, Elbrus, Kinabalu, Fuji, Ararat, Meru, Musala and two Olympus – both Greece and Cyprus, among many others.  You can read his obituary here.

Although Tom was a keen highpointer and international peak-bagger, he does not appear to have been interested in prominence, and so the decision has been taken not to include him in the BwB Tables.

2022 - 2023 developments

A year on from my last report, the impact of the COVID pandemic may have lessened, but the first major war in Europe since 1945 has caused severe disruption, both in this continent and beyond.  I think it will be many years before Mount Elbrus in Russia is a viable peak-bagging target for many people, at least in the USA and Europe.  I do hope that people head to climb Hoverla 2061m, P721m, Ukraine’s highest mountain, when it is safe.  It is certainly my intention to do so. 

Also, it is clear that the accelerating effects of climate change are creating additional risks for peak-baggers, including more violent storms, increased risk of flooding, forest fires and rock-fall.  You have only to read this account of a summer ascent of Mont Blanc to be aware.

On a more positive note, it is clear that these increasing risks do not deter peak-baggers from venturing forth.  Mountaineering and hiking have never been risk-free activities, and those who engage in these pastimes are, hopefully, good examples of people trained in risk assessment and management.  In my view, those peak-baggers who venture beyond their own home country are even more resourceful and able to cope with the unexpected challenges that often are a part of international travel and adventuring.

In 2022 there have been further developments in transforming what started in 2019 as my personal project to link peak-baggers across the world.  It is clear from the feed-back I have received, and the expanding membership, that peak-baggers consider BwB to be of use and value to them.  BwB has effectively become an online international peak-baggers’ club, now offering:

·      A discussion Forum on any matters of interest to peak-baggers across the world.

·      A resource for linking those planning trips and expeditions.

·      Annual Tables celebrating peak-bagging achievements, not just for the dedicated, but also those who are starting the pastime or have more modest goals.

·      Online meetings and talks.

·      A website journal publishing articles of interest on mountains and those who climb them, and

·      A website gallery for pictures contributed by the members.

Future new features may include Peak-baggers of the Year Awards, e-certificates for Hall Members and Awards Holders, members’ profiles, an annual photo competition and a notable achievements register for all BwB Members and Associates.

Looking forward

The risk with all such projects as BwB is that they are in jeopardy when the originator is unable to continue them.  I do hope that BwB could continue in some form when I am no longer able to coordinate its activities.  To this end, my medium-term goal is to transfer the running of BwB to a group of motivated members. 

In 2022 good progress was made towards that goal.  We now have nine HoFMeisters, with each P-category run by a separate person or persons.  This panel is coalescing into a group who can take over the running of BwB, as I begin to step back.  My warm thanks go to Steve, Filippo, Deividas, Mihai, Adam, Rob, Denise and Richard for the time and work they have put into BwB over the last year.  You can read profiles of the BwB HoFMeister team by going to the home page on the website for each prominence category.

An extra thank-you goes to Deividas for bringing his much-needed IT skills to make the BwB Tables an easier process to compile.  Putting together the annual Tables has become quite a lengthy and complicated process as BwB expands, and Deividas’ work should help greatly for 2023 and future years.

However, more people are still needed.  By 2024 I would like to hand over the running of the P-Index League to another, and find someone to edit the BwB Journal.  It would also be good to have somebody as Deputy HoFClerk, to help with the work of recruitment, enrolling new members, answering emails and coordinating the work on the annual Tables.  The task of coordinating the Forum could go to another.

Further ahead, the work running the website will need a younger person, with better IT skills, than I have.  Ultimately, I see my role as just the P100m HoFMeister for as long as I am able.

As before, I wish you all a safe, rewarding and exhilarating peak-bagging year, and encourage you to pass your love of the mountains onto others.

Mark Trengove

BwB HoFClerk

Wales, April 2023

The 2022 Tables can be accessed via the menu board on the left-side of the website, or directly by the links below:

·   P100m

·   P300m

·   P500m

·   P600m

·   P1000m

·   P1500m

·   P2000m

·   P-Top 100