NEng 3k Finishers

There seems to be some speculation as to who has finished the NEng 3ks. No need to speculate any longer. I have compiled this list from a variety of sources and cross checked and verified the information to the best of my ability. I believe that this list is accurate and complete. It shows the name, date and finishing peak.

If you believe otherwise, please email me.

NEng 3k
1 Tom Sawyer Traveler 6/23/80
2 Gene Daniel III Cranberry Pk 10/28/84
3 Samuel Hagner Cranberry Pk 10/28/84
4 Deane Morrison III Cranberry Pk 10/28/84
5 Frank Pilar Cranberry Pk 10/28/84
6 Dennis Crispo Greylock 9/10/88
7 Arthur Martineau Spruce Mt VT 12/3/88
8 Eleanor Comstock Eagle Cliff 12/10/88
9 Dan Comstock Eagle Cliff 12/10/88
10 John McHugh Belvidere 10/14/89
11 Bea Paisley Blue, ME 9/22/90
12 John Paisley Blue, ME 9/22/90
13 Anne Gwynne Blue, ME 9/22/90
14 Frank Laak N Kearsage 10/21/90
15 Bob Matzco Sisk 10/21/90
16 John Person W Tucker 7/4/96
17 Ed Robertson Aeolus VT 11/5/96
18 John Swanson Cardigan 7/6/97
19 Roy Schweiker Avery Peak 10/12/97
20 Sue Eilers Monadnock 11/4/00
21 Arthur Josephson Bald Mt VT 11/4/00
22 Narcisco Torres Cup Snow 11/4/00
23 Erik Schlimmer Tumbledown 7/30/04
24 Glen Houle Barren 9/9/06
25 Dennis Spurling Big Squaw 9/30/06
26 Jim Crawford Mon 439 10/9/06

NE3K's

Excellent research.

Does anyone know who on this list may have also completed the ADK100 in addition to Sue Eilers, Dennis Crispo, John Swanson and Erik Schlimmer?
Or may be actively working on the ADK100?

Thanks,
Peakbagr

NEast 3k Finishers

cantdog said:

Who has completed the 770?

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NEast 3k
Dennis Crispo Davis 8/2/97
John Swanson Davis 8/2/97
Sue Eilers Monadnock 11/4/00
Erik Schlimmer Tumbledown 7/30/04

Nice job Jim!!

Jim, thank you for doing all the research and posting this definitive list of New England 3k finishers. Considering this is the definitive list, does that mean the following people have yet to complete the list:

Doug Romano
Jeff Romano
Bruce Brown
Carl Dokla
Larry Garland
Herb Foster
Diane Sawyer

I ask because this topic came up about a year ago, and at that point The Schlimmer posted a list of finishers, which both agreed with yours and listed the names given above. It also gave the names of the three people who finished in 2006, even though at the time those three still had peaks on the list to conquer (which just goes to show that Erik's list of completers wasn't completely accurate, although certainly very close). If the seven named above haven't yet finished the whole list, I'm sure they're really close.

Just overall, I wonder who will be the next few people to finish the New England 3k's. It's interesting how fifteen people finished the list between 1980 and 1990, but only another eleven since then. Is this because less people have been working on the list after the initial set of completers, or because bushwhacking in New England has grown popular enough that the bushwhackers aren't as much of a tight-knit community as they used to be, so that now there are people who are working on and finishing the list under the radar?

In looking over the list of finishers, I'm glad I'm able to see what everyone finished on. I think it's interesting that of the 26 completers, only four finished in Vermont and five in New Hampshire. Maybe Vermont kind of makes sense, since there's far fewer 3k's in Vermont, and overall that state's trailless peaks far more often tend to have open woods compared to the other states. But considering there are more 3k's in New Hampshire than in Maine, I'd think more people would have finished in the Whites, but I guess this just goes to show you. Plus, it's also interesting to see who planned well ahead of time what peak they wanted to finish on, versus those whose final peak was simply determined because it was the only one left (i.e. those who finished on mountains with trails, or at least dramatic views, versus those who finished on some wooded peak that no one's ever heard of).

Anyway, Jim, thank you again for putting in all the work to generate this list of completers.

Nate, neither Doug nor Jeff Romano, both of whom are long time hiking companions of mine, have finished the list. I understand that Herb Foster will finish next year. For me, because of driving distances, I knew that I would be finishing in ME, so several years ago I choose Big Squaw to finish on. I took so long to finish the list I ended up doing at least one peak with 22 of the 26 finishers. All of us finishers are obessive-compulsive people, just some are more intense than others.

Nate said:

I think it's interesting that of the 26 completers, only four finished in Vermont and five in New Hampshire. ... Plus, it's also interesting to see who planned well ahead of time what peak they wanted to finish on, versus those whose final peak was simply determined because it was the only one left

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For any list, some people deliberately save an easy peak to finish on so they can invite family and friends (or at least a peak where the summit is obvious so you know when you are there), while in other cases the finishing peak is whatever is left over - often difficult or unappealing. For the 3k, most people saved trail peaks and DC cleverly picked a drive-up so many of the refreshments arrived by car although he and most others walked up. A few people did finish with bushwhacks including one guy who arguably saved the toughest for last.

As for states, in the '70s it wasn't even certain that the whole of New England would ever be completed (particularly ME) and so most people started with the goal of just the NH 3k, then VT, and finally ME. Just as a majority of NH 4k finishers never complete the New England 4k, 2 of the first 3 NH 3k completers never did the rest of New England. So I am not surprised that 60% of completions are in ME with most of the others easy peaks that were probably saved deliberately.

The Group I finishers (1980-84) all knew each other and hiked together in
various combinations, and I believe the same is true of the Group II (1988-90) finishers. Remember that before Internet bulletin boards the only way to hear of such a list was from someone you knew. [There of course remains the possibility that someone presently unknown made their own list and hiked them.] The remaining finishers are far more scattered in time and often knew each other only from register entries if at all - I've met only 3 of the 10 others for example and 2 of them like myself are people who started in earlier groups but were slow to finish. With the Internet, it's much easier to exchange information without being part of a group but at the same time it's easier to arrange to go with someone you might not otherwise have heard of.

Thanks for all your work compiling this list, Jim.

I assume Sue Eilers finished on New Hampshire’s Monadnock?

Were you able to communicate with all these people? I wonder how many of the early finishers went on to climb all the mountains on the present-day list, and how many of the latter-day finishers climbed the mountains that have dropped off the list.

Isn’t his name Narcisso Torres, not Narcisco? Or have I been misreading it?

I don't think any of the earlier finishers have ever done the "new" 22 peaks, which were added to the list in April of 1992. The "general" rule for folks who started the pre-1992 list has been that all you needed to do were the peaks on the list that you started with. I started with the original list around 1980, and because I was still doing the list in 1992, I decided to do all of them, including the disqualified peaks. I really enjoy doing different peaks, so it gives me another 32 mountains to do. I don't know of anyone else of the recent completers doing the disqualified peaks. BTW, I think you have the correct spelling of Narcisso's name.

RoySwkr said:

... DC cleverly picked a drive-up so many of the refreshments arrived by car...

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Ooohhh, that's why Dennis finished on Greylock. When I saw that, I initially thought he choose Greylock because, being a denizon of Mass., where better to finish the 3k list than on the highest point of one's native state?

But, of all the completers (particularly of Group I and II), I wonder how many are still actively hiking? I think that would be an interesting list to work on, how many 3k list finishers you've hiked with. I'm already up to two, and this will be bumped up to four once Onestep and Mhrsebago finish the list.

On an unrelated note, is there a record of how many completers there's been of the Fifty Finest List? Obviously there's Papa Bear and Oncoman (and probably Roy too), but how many of the 3k finishers would have also made it up Moxie and Saddleback/Saddlerock?

Nate said:

...
On an unrelated note, is there a record of how many completers there's been of the Fifty Finest List? Obviously there's Papa Bear and Oncoman (and probably Roy too), but how many of the 3k finishers would have also made it up Moxie and Saddleback/Saddlerock?

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There's a few more sub 3Ks on the NEFF list besides those 2:

Shaw (NH) 2990'
Kearsarge (NH) 2920'
and
Belknap (NH) 2382'

Peobably most folks have done Kearsarge and Belknap, bur perhaps Shaw is not so commonly done.

Interestingly, Belknap is the lowest of the NEFF by far.

Yeah, I only mentioned Moxie and Saddleback because not only are they not 3k's, but they're also peaks no one's ever heard of, and almost nonexistant are the people who would hike them that aren't working on the Fifty Finest List (afterall, with Shaw, even if you haven't heard of that particular peak, the Ossippee Mountains are decently known, and if you do go hiking there, in all likeliness you'll go for the highpoint of the range, which turns out to be Shaw - that's what would have ultimately brought me to Shaw, even if it wasn't listed on the Fifty Finest or Y-Alpine lists).

NE3K's

Great work Jim on that list. After finishing the NH 4's, NE 4's, NEHH, NH100's NH200's it was time to tackle the rest of the 3k's. Being from NH, I finished those first, but was going back and forth from VT and Maine for something different. I put the mtns in groups for travel purposes, and how many trips might be needed. Most of the trips were with friends and some by myself. Some were easy and , well, some were not so easy . Some were the same old viewless pks , alot were outstanding w/views. Years went by and the list got shorter, VT was finished, and off to Maine . I wanted to finish in Baxter park because of the remoteness, and the fact that I had a great time there every time I went there. I wanted to finish on Doubletop, but when Dana and I tried to go to Barren from OJI , it took an hr to go 1/4 mile , not good. Turned back to try again some other time. The next day was Squaws busom. Next was Doubletop and then back home the next day. Herb Foster and I did Barren in Sept , got to the top in a thunder storm, wich ended soon and started clearing enough to get some views. Went up and down the slide w/views. A full day , but rewarding. It took me 18+ years , but I am still hiking. hopefully for awile longer. Thanks to all who have helped me through the years, I'll be back to Barren and others again. Glenn

Some questions about the 3000 footers...

1. How many of the 770 are in New England?
2. Roughly how many are trailless?
3. Is one particular state considered the toughest?

Neil said:

Some questions about the 3000 footers...

1. How many of the 770 are in New England?
2. Roughly how many are trailless?
3. Is one particular state considered the toughest?

Click to expand...

1. There are 315 of the 770 in NY, 174 in NH, 166 in Maine, 109 in VT, 4 in PA and 2 in MA.
2. A lot! The spread sheet does not say which are which.
3. With 316 of the total, I would imagine NY.

Neil said:

Some questions about the 3000 footers...

1. How many of the 770 are in New England?
2. Roughly how many are trailless?
3. Is one particular state considered the toughest?

Click to expand...

1. 451 or 453 depending on which "list" you have
2. One of the finishers can probably answer this
3. Maine is generally considered the toughest
It will be interesting to see other peoples answers on this.
Jim

Tom Rankin said:

1. There are 316 of the 770 in NY, 174 in NH, 166 in Maine, 108 in VT, 4 in PA and 2 in MA.
2. A lot! The spread sheet does not say which are which.
3. With 316 of the total, I would imagine NY.

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Not sure we have the same list but I have 315 for NY and 109 for VT. Haven't really counted up those other states.

Rik said:

Not sure we have the same list but I have 315 for NY and 109 for VT. Haven't really counted up those other states.

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Oops! Those numbers are correct! Forgot about the header line!

Neil, there are 451, more less, 3ks in New England. I think about 60%+ are trailless. Most everyone agrees that ME peaks are more difficult than NH, considering both vegetation and access. VT is easy.

The Private Property issue looks way worse in New York than the other states. Thick fir and blowdown can be a problem but No Tresspassing signs will stop you dead in your tracks.