We can argue about which country has the best mountains but deep down in our hearts we all know it's Switzerland and people only say otherwise cause it's expensive as fuck
>>2870669Switzerland is beautiful and the Alps are one of the best mountain ranges on earth, you'll hear no argument from me there. The problem is, those mountains are for the most part bare, or solely coniferous.There's really no beating the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the autumn.
finland has a mountainof sorts
>>2870669What makes a mountain "the best"? Scenery is nice but I play in the mountains for wilderness not scenery.
>>2870669Norway or Switzerland for a 1 week hut hiking holiday with my gf?
>>2870682Ngl, autumns look beautiful in temperate forests
>>2870682>>2870692Fall in temperate forests is wildly over rated. Temperate Springs are paradise on earth and don't get the recognition they deserve.t. former east coaster
>>2870693>don't get the recognition they deserve.I don't think so. I would say spring is the only season with cult following. And it's pretty reasonable because imo spring has the best weather but autumn is the most aesthetic.
>>2870692>>2870709I've seen too many horror movies taking place in fall to be at ease during the fall in the woods.
>>2870682>There's really no beating the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the autumn.Sure there is. Rockies anytime of the year beat the White Hills of New Hampshire
>>2870727Well, one of my scariest descends happened here so I guess there's a grain of truth in this
>>2870728He spoke the truth but there's gonna be a lot of east cope from this post.
>>2870669the same mountains also overlap france, germany, and austriaand you chose to deal with the swiss???fuck that
>>2870669The Alps look nice but they are way too developed. Practically a theme park. Many places are better.My favorite ranges are the Coast Ranges up through BC and AK. Pure wilderness.
>>2870728There's like two tree species over there and shit tons of posted hunting preserves everywhere that you can't see on Google maps. East coast is real nature and you can go anywhere and do anything you want. West coasters have no Bushcraft skills because there are almost no natural resources and any place you can possibly drive to is heavily monitored land or private property. The greatest state in the country is Vermont.
>>2870842>West coasters have no Bushcraft skills because there are almost no natural resources and any place you can possibly drive to is heavily monitored land or private property.lmao what? The west coast and way, way more public land than the east coast. Have you ever actually been to the west coast?
>>2870849Yes, and that's how I know that what you're saying is a myth. Northern New England is nothing but public land. You can walk into any woods you see, make fires, do target practice, even cut trees down and make a fort. In my experience, I couldn't maintain that kind of lifestyle when I lived out West. All the land within a reasonable driving distance of where I worked either ended up being private when I showed up, was inaccessible, had weird laws, etc. It really sucked and I had a bad time, moved back to New England within 4 months. I'm sure there's good country out West, but not within day trip distance of any place you can actually live or work. Out is a lifestyle for me and not something I just do on vacations so I need good public land in my backyard.
>>2870842>screeching reeeeliterally none of this is true. Are you retarded? my local national forest is half the size of vermont. My state has public land equaling 5x the size of the entire state of vermont. lol>You can walk into any woods you see, make fires, do target practice, even cut trees down and make a fort.Which you can do in any NF of which there is vastly more of in the West>East coast is real naturelol. Without an apex predator llike griz, wolves or lions...it aint real nature. I have all those on my prperty>I'm sure there's good country out West, but not within day trip distance of any place you can actually live or workAre the retard who lived in grand junction and complained about forest service roads being to rough for your car? lol. This such an ignorant opinion thats not true in the slighest.
>>2870825>not mentioning Italy
>>2870693Eh. I don't like the light green of the leaves, I prefer when they darken. Plus spring stinks, whereas fall smells delicious, and there are many more bugs in spring than there are in the fall. As an added bonus, the undergrowth clears out massively in fall, whereas springs up massively in... spring. Makes off-trail wandering very annoying and the ticks, bleh.
>>2870669I moved to Switzerland from Canada a few years ago. The views are stunning, but the downside is I've found it's much more difficult to get that feeling of remoteness here and it's something I miss.Like along that Augstmatthorn to Harderklum ridge in your photo, you can see Interlaken most of the way there, along with little huts and farms and cows all along the other side of the ridge. Even doing multi-day alpine pass hikes, after a full day of slogging up the mountain you're usually met with a staffed, full-service hut at the top. The hot meal is nice but it kind of feels like you've spent the whole day trying to get away from civilization just to be met with civilization at the top.Plus you have to deal with the fucking Swiss every day you are here.
>>2870825>>2871246What's wrong with the Swiss?Sorry but I'm not familiar with this country.
>>2871251You know how when old people retire and run out of real problems to worry about in their daily lives, they start to invent things to obsess over and be upset about instead? Like staring out their windows all day and calling bylaw on anyone who parks on their street for 1 minute longer than they're allowed to? That is the essence of Swiss culture. The entire country feels like you are living in a spiteful retirement community or an HOA.I have genuinely never met such a miserable group of people anywhere else I have travelled in the world. They are completely intolerant of the most basic physical and social existence of other people around them. We have had our neighbors bang on our door and threaten to call the police on us for taking a shower past 10:00 PM. This is not an uncommon occurrence here.Obviously there are good people individually but as a generalization the Swiss are just incredibly unfriendly, arrogant, self-interested, and rude. We live in the French-speaking side of the country and my wife has had multiple French coworkers move back to France explicitly because they couldn't handle how rude and obnoxious the Swiss are. Do you know how bad it has to be for the FRENCH to find you too rude and arrogant to deal with?We are planning to move back soon too for the same reason. The nature and salaries are genuinely not worth the misery of dealing with Swiss culture.
>>2870693>Temperate Springs are paradise on earthThis. April to June with all that fresh green and emerging plant life is just the best time ever. Cool but not cold, warm but not hot.
>>2871261Lol what the fuck
>>2870669if you like Switzerland so much why haven't you installed extraflags yet?t. went to the Alvier range last year and will return soon
>>2870682The average ski lodge altitude in the alps is around 5,000 feet.Thats the altitude of Denver Colorado.Las Vegas is at about 2,000 feet elevation.Lee Canyon ski resort (lodge) is at about 8,500 feet and the peak of the mountain (Mt. Charleston) is at 12,000 feet.Its a 45 minute drive from downtown Las Vegas to Lee Canyon ski lodge.Unrelated pic of Donner Pass (yes, THAT Donner) outside of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains, California.
>>2871482Mountains in Colorado aren't that high from base to peak because the base is way higher than in Switzerland
>>2871489So if I jump over to Mt. McKinley whats going to be your next cope?
>>2871501Then I'm gonna call it Denali
>>2871502Then why are you speaking english and using computers and the internet Surely someone who hates white people as much as you wouldnt be this much pf a hypocrite
>>2871503Where did I say I hate white people? I'm not calling European peaks their Native American names. I'm calling a mountain in a part of America that doesn't even have white inhabitants its Native American name.
>>2871505What's the Nepalese or Chinese name for Mt. Everest?
>>2871506Tibetan name is Chomolungma but I can never remember the Nepalese name
>>2871261They truly are miserable annoying cocksuckers. It's a very scenic place as you said but it isn't worth living there, and you're right that compared to Canada there is little sense of remoteness. Geneva and Zurich might also be the worst cities I've ever been to.
>>2871505Then you should be speaking a Native American dialect wrong name by the way, the tribes have names none of which are "native american", you racistif you care so very much about local language, you should be speaking onebut you don't, because you're just a champagne liberal hypocrite and we can all see it as plain as day
It is India, Nepal or America, If you pick Switzerland its obvious you dont belong on this board because you dont hike or go outside, you just read instagram like a slave retard faggot. you should delete this thread if you have any self respect at all.
>>2871514>champagne liberalThe point of being a champagne socialist is that you masquerade as someone wanting change but doing nothing because it would affect your own status, what the fuck does "pretending to not want serious change but doing nothing" entail? Being a liberal already involves champagne, I've never heard anyone splice that phrasing so awkwardly
>>2871526If it's blowing your mind this hard, you can just pretend I called you a retarded faggot and address the rest of the post.
>>2871536He was being a contrarian douche.He has no desire to have a legitimate conversation.
>>2871519>you dont hike or go outsideDude, I summited a 2500 m mountain in trainers with just 0.5 l of water in my backpack
>>2871540>with just 0.5 l of waterYa but....how much meth?
>>2871503Denali is simply a better name. It sounds cool."McKinley" is shit. Who gives a fuck about some random president.
>>2871575I much prefer McKinley. He is a great example of American exceptionalism, which is what made this country great. If it weren't for McKinley, we wouldn't have Alaska. If it weren't for men like McKinley, we wouldn't have America.
>>2871575Ill bet Gulf of America made you cry
>>2871593It made me laugh desu
>>2871577>If it weren't for McKinley, we wouldn't have AlaskaImagine being this fucking retarded. McKinley had nothing to do with the aquisition of Alaska and never stepped foot in the state. Why are you so fucking stupid?
>>2871577wrong>>2871593Gulf of America vs Gulf of Mexico makes no difference to me, both names suck
Since we went on a tangent of "what natives called it"....Orcas are also called "killer whales".Thats actually a mistranslation from a guide when the natives were asked what they called it.The proper translation is "whale killer".Weird how it makes so much more sense now....
>>2871510So far I've lived in Zurich, Bern, and Lausanne, and worked in Geneva for a year. Bern is easily the best city of all of them, things seem a little more laid back there and you are close to the good mountains. Lausanne is hands-down the worst. The most recent reason we have been reported to building management was because we own a dog and another tenant recently found three (3) dog hairs on the floor of our shared laundry room. They showed me the picture they took of the "mess" we made and I genuinely could not understand what the fuck they were upset about until they zoomed in. I didn't expect anything to come of it, but we got an email from our landlord yesterday saying we now need to vacuum the laundry room after every time we use it because of the complaints. Counting down the days until we can leave.
>>2871888Different neighbour than the one who threatened to call the police over us taking a shower btw. It's a beautiful place to visit for a week or so to get some hiking or skiing in, but you could get pretty much the same experience in France, Italy, or Austria for significantly cheaper and without the miserable people.
>>2871261>>2871343>>2871888can confirm on the swiss, everything anon said is true if not worsealso they have this weird zeal about things, the dumbest and more insignificant the thing the grater the zealand the french arn't that rude, it's an american misconception because most of them can't observe basic politeness
>>2871261>had our neighbors bang on our door and threaten to call the police on us for taking a shower past 10:00 PMthings that never happenedif someone had a schizophrenic episode and did this, they would get killed on the spot
It's northern Italy
>>2871514I live and am from AK. It's a red state and everyone here would disagree with you. None of us give a flying fuck about some insignificant president from fucking Ohio. Based on your logic you should live in Ohio and suck other crackers' cocks.
>>2872939You do not understand the bitterness of germanic boomers. These fucks are miserable and absolutely despise anyone living a better life than them. And they have nothing to do all day either.
Tards wont like it but USA has the best mountains >easily accessible >affordable (free)>wide variety, jagged, rounded, glaciers, developed, undeveloped , temperate, rain forestHeck even one state, like Hawaii, California, oregon, Alaska, Colorado beats any country in the world
>>2870669ok but there's no nature so it disqualifies against PNW
>>2871261the swabo-alemanni are truly the final personification of the Spießbürgertum. They combine German rule-autism with French conservatism in the worst ways. I hate them.t. Palatine German
>console wars over mountains>people "claiming" mountains like they personally made them
>>2871261>Do you know how bad it has to be for the FRENCH to find you too rude and arrogant to deal with?Thats the perfect summary. They are like the worst french but then you add the german autistic strictness to them
>>2871519>India
>>2871526>you masquerade as someone wanting change but doing nothing because it would affect your own statuswhich is exactly what happened
>>2871888Its like country is full of guys who never got punched in the face and Karens. Could you even imagine confronting someone over such bullshit (having evidence pictures!) and then even snitch to the landlord
>>2872327>>2872327Just to rectify (cause I'm a frog), we just view the US style politeness as "fake" and "verbose", it's not that we don't like being polite it's just that you guys just pretend too much and this fake kindness and forced small talks are viewed as being rude and cringe in France. Like in France if I am asked if something is good I'll say "yes I like the taste because I like strawberries". In the US it's like "yeah brother it's the best cake I ever had, soooooo good, hey Karen come here taste anon's cake.. it's fantastic. Where did you find those berries ? Oh wow me and my cousin own a berry farm in {random place I'm supposed to know apparently}, you guys should visit us there some day and have a drink" while they have zero intention of ever calling you again and didn't believe a single word they say.
>>2870669Im not well traveled enough to argue, but isnt Pacific Northwest agreed upon as most beautiful place on Earth?
>>2873199>agreed upon as most beautiful place on Earthsuch a place doesnt exist.
>>2873199>but isnt Pacific Northwest agreed upon as most beautiful place on Earth?lmfao
>>2871540i think i live around 2000m
>>2870687it all looks the same honestly
>>2874227Yeah but it was over 17 km and over 1300 m of elevation gain
>>2873168spot on.California is the only place you can (in the space of a day)start in a mediterranean climate of oaks or redwoods next to the oceanpass through a 100F irrigated desert full of every kind of fresh produce imaginablevisit a walmart and buy 99.9% of whatever you need for extremely cheap (no VAT bullshit, even with retarded California 7.25% minimum sales tax)go to picrel or 13,000'+ within 2-3 hours from the road (depending on how hard you're hustling)be home before sunset and watch the sunset over the ocean from either the redwoods or a michelin star restaurant in a tier 1 world cityother american states don't have the redwoods, but the simple ease of accessing real solitude (out west) whenever you want to is incredible, and the ease of getting whatever you need pretty much whenever you need it is incredible too.euros cannot comprehend. I used to date this emotionally abusive but incredibly intelligent german girl who had travelled all over the world (much less europe), and she was absolutely blown away by what I showed her here.
>>2876967>13,000'+ within 2-3 hours from the roadIsn't a hike a bit pointless if you do most of it by car? Also what about acclimatization?
>>2876979>pointlessnot really, no. why would it? it's like 4 hours the night before and 4 hours the next day. 3000' up over 2.5 mi takes 60-100min, 10-20 min at the summit, 70-50 min down. it's easy if you're not overburdened and just hustle>acclimitizationI never have issues day 1 provided I keep moving and stay caffeinated. might just be me though. I personally tend to do ok to 12.5k' but start to feel it past that. I don't stick around too long if I haven't been up in the mountains for extended periods leading to it.
>>2870669>which country has the best mountainsI've been in the mountains of Canada, USA, Bolivia, Switzerland and Norway. I can confidently say that the country with the best mountains is the one I'm currently walking up at any given time.
>>2876967>California is the only place where you can do this incredibly specific thinga bit of a pointless argument... in a day you can start from Venice and drive to the mountains, climb up a beautiful 3000m+ peak made of dolomite, have dinner in a castle on a hill on the way back, and be strolling besides the canals by sunset. This is also a unique experience, but so what?
>>2873198Lmao dude you sound like you genuinely don't understand friendly and openness. People do say that because they feel that. They do in fact hang out and are in fact friendly. Perhaps you are not as friendly with your neighbors mon ami. My visits in France have always gone well. But I also find you frogs cheeky and funny in general so when your Paris fucks act snotty it brings a smile to my face. Seems to piss them off more tho which just makes me smile more
>>2871251Imagine a country so strict and anal about rules that even the Germans think they're petty tyrants.My mother was raised by an honest-to-God grizzled Prussian war veteran who father and even she can't stand the Swiss.
>>2877070If find it terribly funny when Americans are confronted with a culture that doesn't work like their own. It's always this same reaction. That French anon explained how the French have a different concept of politeness and your reply is basically>Nah, you're wrongExaggerated friendliness might be perceived as polite in your culture, but it is often perceived as fake (or even suspicious) in many other cultures. Friendliness and openness take different forms in different places. Wild concept, I know.
>>2877340>Exaggerated friendliness>missed the point entirelyhis point was that its not "exaggerated" its just is genuine friendliness. That it seems exaggerated or fake to you is a product of your culture and its inherent limitations.
>>2877341Kek, I love it. The point is that it is perceived as exaggerated. You don't notice because it's normal in your culture.
>>2870669bro I literally just hiked hardergrat this weekend.
>>2870669its Alberta but whatever
>>2877342>The point is that it is perceived as exaggeratedExactly, which is why when its not exaggerated at all but indeed genuine...its Euros lack of understanding and parochial view that being nice is somehow fake which is why they are perceived as being rude and bitter.
>>2877346It's not a lack of understanding, the message was coded inadequately. What feels genuinely nice to you can feel fake nice to a Frenchman. Conversely, what feels like being genuinely nice for a Frenchman might be considered rude in your country.
>>2877348>It's not a lack of understandingLOL
>>2871519nah it's china but it's not for laowai
>>2877349The attempt of trying to be friendly was understood, but it registered as fake friendliness because it was coded the wrong way. It's a bit like sending out a message on a wrong frequency, it was meant for Mr. Genuine but it reached Mr. Fake.
>>2877341>his point was that its not "exaggerated" its just is genuine friendlinessTo your first point: exaggerated has several meanings. For example "enlarged or increased beyond the normal : greater than normal" IOW, the expression "exaggerated friendliness" does not imply they are doing it intentionally or for duplicitous reasons.To your 2nd point: bullshit. House next to me was bought by an American as a vacation home. I've talked to him far more during his sporadic visits over 2 years then the previous 2 owners over the previous 24 years. I can safely say that yeah, it's an act. He's doing it because he feels his has to do it. Especially when he first bought the house.
>>2877355>>2877372LMAO. seething Euros trying to cope. many such cases. sad!
>>2877353not for anyone, I'll take the accessibility of the Alps or Rockies. Also it may not have nearly as many giants, but Alaska's best matches the best anywhere, and has areas just as remote if that's what you want. Anyway USA mogs
>>2871482American ski culture is extremely gay and expensive, though. I can go skiing here in Switzerland for $50-70 per day or $500 for a season pass.>>2871540lol>>2871888>living in a cityServes you right>>2876967You can easily go from the Mont Blanc to Monaco in a day, passing through Provence on the way. The only thing we don't really have in the Alps is genuine wilderness.
>>2870682Its been a decade and the treefag is still here shitting up threads. Its almost endearing.
>>2870669USA and its not even close.
>>2877429>trying to copeCoping with an American neighbour is not fun.
>>2871489Base to peak in Colorado is over 2400m within 11 nautical miles along some front range peaks. It is called topographic relief or just relief in USA mountaineering. States like Arizona also have 2400m relief within 11 nautical miles. In fact every single western USA state has that minimum or better except for Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana (mostly plains states). The craziest relief is found in Alaska (5,488m in 11 nautical miles, most in the world), California (3,000m+ in 11 nm), and Idaho (2400m in 6 nautical miles). The western lower 48 USA states have well over 100,000 mountain peaks with a minimum technical prominence (different from local relief, much more restrictive) of at least 100m. Additionally, in terms of continuous elevated terrain, the western USA is 2nd on Earth after the Tibetan plateau. For example the average elevation of the four corners states is 5,800 feet or 1768m. The western USA is also unambiguously the snowiest place in the world, only Japan, and very tiny unreliable locations in the Himalayas come close. The snowiest all time record places in the European alps are casually beat by Arizona and New Mexico since 1950.
>>2879312More info on all time USA snow records since 1949-1950. Official and Confirmed RecordsMore than 850 inches (21.59 meters) - CA, UT, AK, WA (1,140 inches)More than 600 inches (15.24 meters) - OR (835 inches), MT, WY, ID, CO (837 inches)More than 450 inches (11.43 meters) - AZ, NM, NV, NY, VTMore than 300 inches (7.62 meters) - MI, NH, ME, SDMore than 250 inches (6.35 meters) - WV, WIStats including official or unofficial Records that are well backed (whichever is higher)AK - 1,200+ inches (30.48 meters), multiple years, Chugach mountains, 300+ inches fell in one week in 2021WA - 1,140 inches 1999, Mt BakerUT - 903+ inches 2023, Alta areaOR - 903+ inches 1950, Crater Lake (750+ inches as recently as 2008)CA - 893+ inches 2023, Mammoth mountainCO - 838+ inches 1979, Wolf Creek PassNV - 768+ inches 2017, Mt RoseWY - 675+ inches 2008, Grand Targhee (595-600 inches as recently as 2022)MT - 669 inches 1954, Lost Trail (420-450 inches as recently as 2018)ID - 629 inches 1949, Pomerelle mountain (420-450 inches as recently as 2018)NM - 590+ inches 1973, Taos ski valley (254 inches as recently as 2016, actual averages are lower than stated on resort sites, 170 inches actual average)NH - 566 inches 1969, Mt WashingtonAZ - 560+ inches 1973, San Francisco Peaks and White Mountains, (399 inches official as recently as 2023, AZ Snowbowl, actual longterm average 232 inches)VT - 470 inches 2025, Jay PeakNY - 467 inches 1977, Tug HillMI - 392 inches 1979, Delaware MI areaME - 389 inches 1996, SugarloafSD - 365 inches 1994, LeadWV - 301 inches 1960, Krumbrabow state forestWI - 295 inches 1997, Hurley area20 out of 50 USA states are essentially world class for snowfall stats. All of the above listed states also have longterm average snowfall areas with greater than 200 inches (5.08 meters), except for WV and WI. Nine states have longterm average snowfall areas in excess of 400 inches (10.16 meters). bestsnow.net has good data
>>2871261>my wife has had multiple French coworkers move back to France>We are planning to move back soonThe moment you realize that our efforts are not in vain. You have to go back sooner though.>t. romand
>>2871261>>2871888>Lausanne is hands-down the worstNice trips.I thought that only the German-speaking Swiss people were difficult to deal with and the French and Italien speakers pretty relaxed?I would have expected that Lausanne would be one of the best towns due to that.
>>2879312first of all, the Tibetan Plateau is literally miles higher than the Colorado Plateau or the Rockies or whatever, also way bigger. The only real comparison to the Tibetan Plateau is in the Andes, centered around the Altiplano, still much less grand than central Asia.second of all, Antarctica has a significantly larger area of "elevated terrain" than even central Asia, even if you include the other mountain ranges in the area and not just the Tibetan Plateau >inb4 doesn't count because it's just ice on top of the landanyway, I'm a fan of "jut" (https://peakjut.com/). It's far from perfect, no single measurement is, but for me it's the best single stat for measuring how impressive a mountain is. Pic related shows that Central Asia is obviously the most impressive (with the very best parts being the Nepal Himalayas and Pakistan Karakoram/Himalayas), Alaska and Canada are next, and the Andes and Alps are pretty good too. This image suffers from very limited data in certain regions by the way, most notably in Asia and the Arctic I think. Like the Tian Shan range in China is missing here, as is the Kunlun Shan and pretty much all of Tibet really. Probably the Himalayas and Karakoram are missing thousands of giants also. And the Mackenzies, Arctic Cordillera, Russian arctic ranges etc. I'm sure the Andes are missing many also, probalby whatever dataset this is is only relatively complete for USA and Europe.
>>2878112Call me legion for we are many
>>2879431The western continuous USA has more than 330,000 sq miles (673,400 sq km) of continuous land area above 2000m + elevation. 712,000 sq miles (1,844,100 sq km) continuously above 1000m. This is *in the lower 48 USA only*, and it is 2nd on Earth for any nation. An additional 700,000 sq miles (1,813,000 sq km) is continuously linked at the same specs in Mexico, Canada, Alaska (1.4+ million sq mi total combined). This is the 2nd largest elevated terrain region at such elevation on Earth, after the Tibetan plateau, and is larger than the entire Andes. And technically even larger than the combination of the entire Himalayas plus the entire Tibetan plateau (1.2 million sq mi). The additional ranges in Afghanistan and other 'stans added to the continuous area of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau is 2.0 million sq miles above 1000m continuous. The entire South American cordillera has 0.9 million sq mi of TOTAL land over 1000m. The maximum definition of the Andes and Patagonia is 1.3 million sq mi, which includes vast areas under 1000m. The average elevation of the entire NA cordillera which includes valleys and canyons and low areas, is 5,200 ft (1585m), over 1.46+ million sq miles above 1000m, 3,781,400 sq kilometers, all of which is continuous. The whole for North America (USA, Can, Mex) is 2.0 million sq mi above 1000m, only 1.4 million sq mi continuous. There are also sub-plateaus and regions within this vast area that have average elevations over 3000m in the USA (including 40,000 continuous sq miles/ 104k sq km, in CO alone averaging more than 3000m). The highest neighborhood in the USA is 3840m (12,600 ft). Continents (minus Antarctica) continuous1st Asia2nd North America3 South AmericaNations (million sq mi @1000m+)1st China (2.065 million)2nd USA (1.130 million)3rd Russia (0.506 million)4th Mongolia (0.501 million)5th Iran (0.394 million)6th Mexico (0.3868 million)7th Canada (0.3862 million)Copernicus GLO-30
>>2879487To put this further into perspective.The lower 48, 11 western USA states (872,308+ sq mi @1000m+). Would be 2# globally by themselves in continuous elevated terrain at a national level. Having more total land 1000m+ than the entire nation of Russia (which is 6 times larger), more than 5 times the land above 1000m+ than Brazil (which is 3 times larger), nearly the entire continent of South America, the entire continent of Australia and the entirety of continental Europe combined times , etc. The 8 "mountain" states by themselves have 740,788 sq miles (1,919,000 sq km) of total land area above 1000m and over 100,000 peaks with 100m prominence, again these 8 alone would be #2 globally by more than 200k sq mi).Combine all this with the prolific Pacific winter jetstreams, and you also get the snowiest places on Earth unambiguously. More than half of all winter snowfall in Maine, Vermont, New Hamsphire, and Michigan/Wisconsin. Comes directly fro mthe Pacific ocean winter jetstream, which picks up additional snow over the great lakes and dumps it immediately west. It also does this for the Great Salt Lake and gives Utah 500 to 900 inches + of snow (12.7m to 22.86m).
>>2879489*dumps it immediately EASTAlso this and geography is also why the lower 48 is snowier than Canada (by a lot surprisingly). Only parts of Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, and Northwest terrritories are world class in snow, versus 20 USA states. Still a lot in land area but less proportionally than the USA. Mexico is too warm to be anywhere near world class capable, even in its snowiest areas (under 250 inches all time record).
>>2879491To put this further into perspective.British Columbia. Widely considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth and one of the best for snow (rightfully). Would rank 3rd on this >>2879317 list in the USA, and 5th for highest average snowfall in the USA. Also I've been there several times and it demolishes Europe quite easily. But by the specs alone, 3rd in the USA all time snowfall, and 5th in the USA by average snowfall.
>>2879487ok now do amount of land above 3000m, or 4000m. even 2000m leaves you with mostly just western Colorado and Wyoming as a contiguous area. The Rockies and Tibet aren't a good comparison because Tibet is so much higher. At least the Altiplano is close to as high as Tibet, still a good sized area above 3500m.by the way a very large contiguous area of southern Africa is above 1000m (but below 1500m), it's hard to tell because of the mercator projection but I think it's a similar if not slightly larger contiguous area above 1000m than the entire North American cordillera.https://www.floodmap.net/another cool site btw>>2879493not sure why snowfall is so important to you, but you know the snowiest places aren't measured right. some mountain in Alaska or BC like Waddington or Fairweather probably destroys any places where snowfall is actually measured. And Japan mogs all where people actually live.
>28794942000m 300,000 sq miles+, I already mentioned it. 3000m still over 100,000 sq miles combined USA total, non-continuous. Southern Africa is under 0.62 million sq mi @1000m+ total. Everything below #7 wasn't worth mentioning. The western USA has a more extreme climate and more variation than Tibet/Himalayas and even the Altiplano in numerous specs.The snowfall specs include indirectly measured areas in extreme; Chugach mountains eg. The only other places on Earth that come close to or exceed 1000 inches directly and indirectly are Japan, teensy unreliable areas of the Himalayas without good indirect measurements even. Japan and Alaska are the highest indirectly (both 1,200 inches plus, some reports of 1,500+). A common misconception is that farther north equals more snow. *The snowiest latitudes overall are the high 30s and overall 40s north. The snowiest elevations are below 3000m.*By all the specs and stats. The western United States of America is the 2nd most mountainous area on Earth (number of peaks, elevated terrain, variation, climate etc) and probably 1st for mountain/outdoors sports. In some regards it is 1st in specs, eg snow, outdoors sports, Mount Saint Elias is the most impressive mountain any man could ever view on Earth from the sea. Best mountain nations overall (specs, variety, civilization and order, combo of wilderness and easy access, outdoorsman heritage)1. USA2. Canada3. Russia (-1 for civilization thoughever)Asia (shitholes, over populated, failed states and nanny states), Latin America (failed states, shitholes), Europe (nanny states, over populated), Australia (not that impressive geography, nanny state), Japan (over populated, nanny state), Africa (worst shitholes, worst failed states, not that impressive geography honestly) etc.
Africa, from like Uganda down to South Africa by my estimates has around 2M square miles of continuous land above 1000m, it's not really mountains though, mostly just a moderate elevation plateau. Small gap to another 300M sq mi in Ethiopia.North America has about 2M sq mi also (plus like 700k in Greenland), not quite continuous because of many valleys between subranges in Canada and Alaska but close enough to continuous since those those are just narrow valleys between mountains.above 2000m, Africa mostly disappears (besides Ethiopia), and North America becomes fragmented. At 3000m North America pretty much disappears besides a handful of small areas. The Andes meanwhile are still continuous even above 3500m, and even above 4000m there's a nearly continuous area that looks to me to be over 100k sq miles. Then Tibet is pretty continuous until close to 5000m.anyway, I'm not even sure what I'm trying to argue here. Whether NA has the best mountains, or that it's the second most mountainous or whatever is as much about semantics and opinion as anything, and I don't necessarily disagree. But I'm also saying that both the central Asian ranges and the Andes are significantly higher elevation, and that basing your argument around "x amount of land above y meters" is an absolutely terrible hill to stand on if your position is that NA mountains are on top, puns intended
>2879512The entire continent of Africa is barely 2+ million @1000m+. Southern Africa continuous, 0.622 million. All of southern Africa 1.05-1.1 million. The rift systems break up huge otherwise continuous areas. The amount of area above 2000m is literally 1/20th of the 1000m value. Copernicus. Another interesting fact. The Russian Federation has more forest than the entire continent of Africa. Similarly, the USA and Canada combined also have more forest than the entire continent of Africa. The 3 best nations on Earth for high quality forest are similar to the mountain list.1. Russia2. USA3. Canada
>>2879514Also, it is not just elevated terrain that the makes the USA dominate. Total numbers of peaks, vertical relief (5,489m in 16 linear km, contour to contour, 1st globally), climate, population density (western USA is 4th lowest globally overall, Canada is lower than Australia and Siberia in subunits), outdoorsman heritage (USA is probably 1st or 2nd in the world in this category), access overall (moderately high in the USA, 2nd best of the mega-nations), conservation land (at least 33% of the entire USA is public outdoors recreation land/conservation land, ie 1.267 million sq mi or 3.281 million sq km).
>>2879518Annapurna has 6400m relief in 16km. Rakaposhi has 6000m in 12km. Dhaulagiri has 5800m in 10km
>>2879534also, random ass Langtang Lirung, a mountain no one had ever heard of before it was in the news for being the source of the crazy mudslide in Nepal a couple weeks ago, has over 5600m vertical relief in 16km.
>>2870669Norway’s might be better
>>2879429>I thought that only the German-speaking Swiss people were difficult to deal with and the French and Italien speakers pretty relaxed?not at all, they're all insufferable in their own ways
this ranking is two weeks in the makingSSS tier - super super amazing>Karakoram (+surrounding ranges, lots of the circles include some surrounding ranges in addition to the main one)>HimalayasSS tier - super amazing>Alaska-St Elias>Tian Shan>Hengduan>Central Andes>PatagoniaS tier - amazing>Alps>North America Pacific>Tibet>Rockies>Altai>New Zealand>CaucasusA+ tier - personal favorites, would be A or B tier if I were more objective, not that this ranking was ever objective>Southern China - Southeast Asia>African Rift>Guiana Shield>Western Ghats>Hawaiian Islands>Antarctic PeninsulaA tier - excellent>New Guinea Highlands>Arctic Cordillera>Norway>Northern Andes>Kamchatka>Brooks-Mackenzie>Central America>Japan-Taiwan>GreenlandB tier - great>Southern Africa>Transantarctic>Aleutian>Iceland>Indonesia>Queen Maud Land>Russian Arctic>Mediterranean>SimienC tier - still good>East Australia>Northeast China - Korea>Appalachian>Brazil Atlantic>Sahara>Arabia>Madagascar - Reunion>Borneo - Philippines - Sulawesi>Ural>CaribbeanI actually wrote a sentence or two about each but that's literally too much autism for one post.the circles are pretty arbitrary, and even some ranges not in any circles are decent, like the Cameroon Line, or South Georgia. And obviously there's worse and better ranges and subranges within circles also, but I don't want to rank 5 gorillion subranges.
