Oregon 101

***This page is a description of this peakbagging project, including both an explanation of the list itself as well as a bit of the story behind how it went and some nice photos at the end!!! If you want to see an enumeration of all of the peaks done as part of this project, check out this page here!!!***

In the fall of 2024, my original plan was to hike the 41 or so P2ks in Texas and New Mexico, but Long Covid and a resultant undiagnosed and untreated asthma prevented me from doing so. Instead, I roadtripped up to the Blue Mountains, where I was able to knock out a quartet of P2ks despite my significant health problems. From there, I roadtripped into the Idaho Panhandle, where I would spend the next month and a half living with my partner before moving to Central Oregon, climbing what peaks I could and - critically - getting proper medical treatment. By the time I got to Central Oregon at the start of November, I was in a physical state to start doing more peaks, but I was limited in where I could hike given the early start to winter. So I ventured briefly to the coast for a triplet of P2ks, and then hung around Central Oregon climbing two more P2ks and several other smaller peaks

Originally, those 10 or so P2ks I had done in Oregon, along with additional smaller peaks, were part of my Long Covid List. I'll spare most of the details of that, but basically the list was a mess of different categories of peaks spread throughout the country, and it was always my intention to "butcher" the list and repackage the peaks into other lists over the years. And considering my plan was/is to live in Oregon until next summer, it only makes sense to start with repackaging those 10 or so peaks I already did into a larger list that I can pursue over that time. This list is the result of that line of thinking, and it comprises the 101 most prominenta peaks Oregon, corresponding roughtly to 1800ft of prominence. In its current iteraiton, there are more than 101 peaks on the list, and that's due to some uncertainty reagarding precise prominence values for peaks low on the list, as well as a practical limit in that a couple of the peaks are on private (restricted) property and accessing them could be challenging. Therefore, while there are 106 peaks on the list, the goal is to do 101 of those peaks, if that makes sense

This list represents a diverse range of peaks stretching from the icy giants of the Cascades, to the low-lying, temperate peaks of the Coast, to the high craggy peaks of the Wallowas, and the sky islands of the Great Basin, along with many other peaks scattered between. Some of these peaks, such as Three Finger and Broken Top, require technical rock climbing, while others such as Aneroid and Sacajawea, require long approaches through narrow valleys and steep aretes. Many of these peaks I'll backcountry ski and for others I'll have to do some serious mountaineering. While I have a lot of experience with hiking and backpacking, I'll have to learn new skills of rock climbing and glacier traversal in order to finish this list - and I'll have to refine many other skills along the way!

My hope is that the diversity of these peaks, will allow me to really get back into the game of serious peakbagging after nearly two years of setbacks due to factors outside of my control. The only thing this list lacks is particularly high-elevation peaks, but given that a lot of this list will be spent on rebuilding my physical capacity and relearning how to push myself with my newfound asthma, that's probably a good thing. My best guess is that I'll climb not only these remaining 80 or so peaks, but many others along the way in Oregon and surrounding states, but that remains to be seen. After fumbling my way to finishing the Southeast 202, not finishing the Northeast 131, and not even being able to start the Texas-New Mexico 41, I think it's in my best interests to set a smaller goal and exceed it if possible - that is, a smaller goal than I've been setting for myself lately :P