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View Poll Results: Which is your favorite: Rocky or Appalachian mountains
Rocky 213 55.91%
Appalachian 168 44.09%
Voters: 381. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 06-01-2016, 07:08 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh (via Chicago, via Pittsburgh)
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Ancient Appalachians for me
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Old 06-01-2016, 10:07 PM
 
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Travelassie View Post
I never met a mountain I was not in awe of, or loved. Each group has its own beauty, I would never be able to pick a favorite. I grew up in the foothills of the Alleghenies, miss them sometimes. But I have visited the Rockies a few times in my life, and was in awe of their majesty.
What part of the Alleghenies are you from? Happens to be my home territory too.
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Old 06-09-2016, 10:32 AM
 
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Mount Washington NH weather....

last hour 76mph winds
last 24 100mph wind/s.
current temp 27F
last night's low; 23. wind chill factor -4F
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Old 06-09-2016, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Providence, RI
12,581 posts, read 21,733,355 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by odurandina View Post
Mount Washington NH weather....

last hour 76mph winds
last 24 100mph wind/s.
current temp 27F
last night's low; 23. wind chill factor -4F
I was at the summit (did the cog railway) over the weekend. It was 78 and sunny at the base station (el. 2,700 ft), and 40 with 30-40mph gusts at the summit (but relatively clear) barely 3,500 feet above the base station. It was, for Mt. Washington, a good day. One of the brake operators said that the highest the temp has ever been on Mt. Washington is 72 degrees. Here's a shot I took from the Cog station at the summit:

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Old 08-21-2016, 03:06 PM
 
Location: Far Southwestern Virginia
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Old 08-22-2016, 03:28 PM
 
Location: Durham, NC
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As a huge homer who loves his state and his state's mountains... still gotto go with the Rockies.

It's not a matter of height. It's actually a matter of raw rock, for me. The cliffs, ruggedness of the Rockies, the treeline, and the alpine lakes do it for me. As far as height goes, I actually think the Rockies are close to the perfect height for a mountain range. Any taller and it becomes excessive, and inaccessible without gear and life-risking treks. Any shorter and it just lacks that imposing quality.

There are some great rugged areas in the Apps like the Presidential Range, Franconia Notch, and Katahdin in the northeast, and then Linville Gorge, Tanawha, and parts of the Smokies in the southeast. And that's pretty much it, plus several other small areas. The Rockies, by comparison, have several lifetimes worth of stuff equivalent to that as well as places the Apps have nothing close to matching in terms of ruggedness.
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Old 08-22-2016, 06:50 PM
 
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,484,119 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vatnos View Post
As a huge homer who loves his state and his state's mountains... still gotto go with the Rockies.

It's not a matter of height. It's actually a matter of raw rock, for me. The cliffs, ruggedness of the Rockies, the treeline, and the alpine lakes do it for me. As far as height goes, I actually think the Rockies are close to the perfect height for a mountain range. Any taller and it becomes excessive, and inaccessible without gear and life-risking treks. Any shorter and it just lacks that imposing quality.

There are some great rugged areas in the Apps like the Presidential Range, Franconia Notch, and Katahdin in the northeast, and then Linville Gorge, Tanawha, and parts of the Smokies in the southeast. And that's pretty much it, plus several other small areas. The Rockies, by comparison, have several lifetimes worth of stuff equivalent to that as well as places the Apps have nothing close to matching in terms of ruggedness.
Fair enough.

I still prefer the old rock and thick forestry of my home range. I think it's not so much a comparison as two different kinds of beauty.
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Old 08-23-2016, 01:31 PM
 
Location: Bel Air, California
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The largest mountains on earth are in Minnesota and were formed about 2 billion years ago. The mountains are still here tho they are significantly flatter and have been pushed all the way across the state and into Iowa. I still come across them sometimes when I'm tilling the garden.
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Old 08-24-2016, 05:09 PM
 
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I prefer the Rockies.
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Old 02-17-2019, 09:27 PM
 
Location: Nashville
3,533 posts, read 5,791,023 times
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I am a native Cascadian (grew up in Oregon) and have now lived in all three mountain ranges. I've never been to Alaska, but I bet the prize for most grandiose and beautiful mountains in USA (if not the world) would go to Alaska. I have to say that it is an interesting comparison. For me, I am not so impressed by the Colorado Rockies, whereas the Rockies in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are pretty spectacular and resemble more the Cascades with more greenery, rivers, lakes and biodiversity. The Appalachian mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee blew my mind with the biodiversity and forests that look almost somewhat tropical in the Summer. Sadly, I was not there in the Autumn, but the pictures I have seen of Smokies make it probably the most mystical beauty of any mountain range imaginable. However, in my opinion there is just no mountain range in the lower 48 that can compare to the beauty and grandiosity of the Washington Cascades and Olympic mountains. I say this as a native Oregonian who is pretty loyal to his mountains. I, myself, have climbed South Sister and Mt McLoughlin. The only mountain in Washington state I climbed was Mt Pilchuck which has views that are mind-numbing and blow away anything you will find in Colorado. One mountain nobody ever sees in Washington is Glacier Peak and its prominence is higher than almost any peak in Colorado and its beauty is spectacular and nicer than any peak I have seen in Colorado in pictures or person.

Colorado has so much publicity and I believe is promoted because of its top quality and world class ski resorts. However, many people would contend that Maroon Bells is the most scenic mountains in Colorado and I will say in the Northern Cascades of Washington you will have even more magnificent peaks like this surrounded by water that nobody knows about because they are not near a world class ski resort like in Aspen. Washington's grandiosity just is ignored because it is not promoted so much as a mountain sport state. Somehow, people think Colorado is associated with mountains and Washington/Oregon with greenery and rain, not realizing the North Cascades are even more jagged , dramatic and grandiose than the Rockies.

I also use to have a view of Mount Hood right from my front yard and lived right near it. As well, I had a little view of Mount Rainier from where I use to live and would get pretty spectacular views of it in the South Puget Sound. I also use to see Mount Baker when I lived in Bellingham. There is just nothing in the lower 48 that can compare to Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Mount Hood or Mount Shasta. Mount Olympus rising over the Puget Sound and surrounded by the Pacific Ocean is also mind-blowing. Yes, people forget that the Cascades even run into California and Mount Shasta is the third largest mountain lower 48 and also more majestic than anything I could see in most of the Rockies.

However, I will say the Rocky mountains of Montana with Glacier National Park, Bitterroot Mountains, Beartooth Mountains, Gallatin Range, Grand Tetons and even the Sawtooth mountains are absolutely stunning and I would personally consider them more scenic than anything in the Appalachian mountains. Ironically, when people think of Rocky mountains they only think of Colorado and forget where the more beautiful parts of the Rocky mountains are located in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. As well, the Canadian Rockies and Canadian Cascades (that run through British Columbia) are probably, in my opinion, the most beautiful mountains in the entire North America, if not the world. Banff and Jasper National Parks really have no contenders except for the Alaskan range. Mount Denali would probably be what I consider the most beautiful mountain the world and is the most highest rising mountain from sea level in the world. It rises 20,146 ft from sea level. Nothing in the Himalayas, Andes, Rockies or anywhere else can make such a claim.

Colorado does have some gems, but they are so isolated and remote and still I feel they are so inferior to what I see in the Cascades. The Cascades to me have the best of both worlds of what you would get both in the Rocky mountains and Appalachian mountains. You have high rising jagged peaks with very thick forests, amazing biodiversity and wildflowers. In fact, I think Mount Rainier National Park holds some type of record for having the largest amount of wildflowers of anywhere in the country. Don't quote me on that, but it is famous during late spring and early Summer for its plethora of wildflowers that grow in the lower elevations of the park.

Anyhow, I really admire the Appalachians and feel they are much nicer than the Colorado Rockies and I am planning on leaving Colorado and moving to the Appalachians. One nice benefit of the Appalachians is their accessibility and the fact you don't have to be a millionaire to enjoy them. In Colorado, the most beautiful mountain towns are outrageously expensive because of the ski resorts and general Colorado hype. Living in Denver and going to the mountains is a real pain and the more beautiful mountains are far away. Even if Appalachians are farther from some Eastern cities your commute time will probably be the same if not less. The traffic jams to get to parks and popular trails are dreadful here. As well, many are complaining that the Colorado Rockies are now being contaminated with too many careless locals and tourists. So, don't expect so much solitude at the more popular trails in Colorado either. Growing up in rural Southern Oregon I am use to having some of the most amazing mountain and coastal areas all to myself even in the Summer.

Summarzing all I have said, I would vote for the Rocky mountains to be more scenic only because of places like Glacier National Park, Grand Tetons, Beartooth-Abasorka, Gallatin mountain range and the mountains that run through Idaho, such as Sawtooths and the most beautiful lakes in North Idaho and North Montana like Flathead , Pend O'Reille, etc. But, the Appalachians are no slouch and have so much diversity and beauty that I do feel rivals even the Northern Rockies, especially in places like New Hampshire, upstate New York , West Virginia and North Carolina. The lakes, forests, trees, rivers , cliffs and biodiversity are important assets when making an assessment of natural beauty.


The Colorado Rockies are also much smaller looking than the Cascades. What makes them stand out is they are jagged, barren and rocky. Hence, the name. There isn't many spectacular glaciated peaks though or glaciated rock formations like you would see in the Cascades or the Northern Rockies. In fact, the highest rising mountain in Colorado is Mount Elbert and the same size in prominence as Mount Baker in Washington which is 10,784 feet. Most of the Colorado peaks have very small prominences and really do not rise any higher than most Appalachian peaks. But, the barren and jagged rocky peaks give them an appearance of being bigger. Whereas, in the Cascades you have many peaks with a prominence of over 5000 and many over 8000. Mount Adams in Washington is much larger looking than any peak in Colorado.


The Northern Cascades and Olympics are unbeatable though and superior both Rockies and Appalachians.

The Cascades are pretty much the closet things we have to the German/Swiss/Austrian Alps in the USA.

Last edited by RotseCherut; 02-17-2019 at 09:47 PM..
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