this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2026
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As someone who has lived near both sets of mountains, I'll take the Appalachians and Adirondacks over the Rockies.
I love the Adirondacks, but they're not mountains.
They were when life first started, but not anymore.
Mt Washington is a mountain tho.
What angle are you coming at from? As a viewer of mountains? As a hiker? As a Rock climber? Like, what criteria are we viewing this comparison through?
Mountain-ness. Despite not even being 2 km, Mt Washington's prominence, weather, view, etc all make it more like a mountain, while "mt" Marcy, you can hike in like 3 hours and it's mostly gradual forest trail.
Washington fills the social role of a mountain, it's something you prepare to hike, bring a bag with food and water and a heavy jacket, maybe even microspikes, you check the weather to make sure you're not going to get swept away by 200+ mph gusts, you leave at daybreak so you don't get caught by night during descent, you get to the top and say "This is definitely a mountain", any Adirondack, you walk up casually with zero preparation , not even water and that's it. Maybe you check for avalanche warnings if it's winter.